Papua New Guinea tropical rainforest
Papua New Guinea possesses one of the largest remaining tropical rainforest in the planet.
In Papua New Guinea you can find some of the most richest tropical rainforest vegetation in the world. There are over 9,000 species of plants,700 bird species and 250 mammal species The rainforest is particularly valuable to the nearly 6 million inhabitants of this area because it contains lots of natural resources such as: gold, copper, crude oil, Mahogany timber. The rainforest is being sustainably developed by - Chevron, a TNC oil company from the USA. They discovered oil in the Kikori basin area (north West of Port Moresby) in 1990. A pipeline was built and oil has been exported since 1992. However, the extraction of oil and the pipeline have damaged the ecosystem. The forests is also home to the indigenous peoples, the Maisin. For the Maisin, forests provide everything from food and medicinal plants, to materials for houses, canoes and tools. Under the Papua New Guinea constitution, the Maisin are the legal owners of their traditional lands. |
Animal and Plant Life
Rare plants and animals like the largest orchid, the largest butterfly, the longest lizard, the largest pigeon and the smallest parrot ever registered live in these forests. Location of Case Study |