Richard Cuthbert

The Impact of Hunting on Wildlife Populations in Papua New Guinea

Town/RegionCountryCategoriesDate
Papua New GuineaAustralasia, Forests, Hunting14 Aug 2001

Human hunting of wildlife has been identified as a major threat to the conservation of biodiversity in tropical forests. While people have lived and hunted in tropical forests for thousands of years, recent studies indicate that hunting may no longer be sustainable in some areas. The continued use of forest resources is essential if an alternative is to be found to large scale and destructive development (eg logging and mining).

Papua New Guinea is a priority area for conservation with large areas of land still covered by forest and high levels of species endemism. Much of this forest is still owned and managed by the indigenous people of PNG. While this is encouraging, PNG is changing: the population is increasing, hunting technology has advanced, traditional taboos are being lost and the increasing ease of transport is altering the market for animal products. It is therefore vital to assess the impact of hunting in PNG. Surveys will provide a description of current hunting activity and indicate those species that are most likely to be at risk and will thus help direct future research priorities.

Final Report

The results of our study provide the first quantifiable estimates of the sustainability of hunting in Papua New Guinea. The results provide a valid indication of the vulnerability of the different groups to hunting.

As well as identifying which groups of mammals are likely to be vulnerable to hunting, the results of the model also indicates which species are most likely to be harvested in a sustainable manner. This is important, because hunting of wildlife is essential for many people in Papua New Guinea to provide a vital and substantial source of protein in the diet. Hunting data indicates that cuscus, bandicoots and ringtails are numerically the most important game animals in Papua New Guinea. The species may be able to provide an important harvest even in areas where increasing habitat disturbance is occurring (eg. clearing forest for coffee).

Information on the actual population densities of mammals in Papua New Guinea is urgently required, as population densities can vary widely between environments and this parameter will generate the largest error in the final harvest value. More data is also required on the harvest rates in Papua New Guinea, as most anthropological studies report hunting rates from 20-30 years ago. Repeating harvest surveys at the same sites would allow a paired analysis of past and present day hunting rates to assess how harvest rates have altered with the social and ecological changes that have occurred in Papua New Guinea over this time.

In summary, the data, while preliminary, suggests that certain species are likely to be vulnerable to hunting, whereas others can be hunted at relatively high rates. If conservation management in Papua New Guinea is to be married with the needs and the priority of local people to harvest wildlife for food, then the results of the hunting model suggest that people should be encouraged to continue hunting bandicoots, ringtails and medium sized cuscus in preference to the larger-sized ecological specialists such as long-beaked echidna, tree-kangaroos and wallabies.


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