Lorentz National Park

Lorentz National Park, in the Indonesian provinces of Central Papua, Highland Papua, and South Papua, covers 25,056 square kilometers (9,674 square miles) in the southwest of western New Guinea, making it the largest national park in Southeast Asia. UNESCO designated it a World Heritage Site in 1999. The park is the only protected area in the Asia-Pacific region that includes a complete sequence of ecosystems by altitude, from marine environments, mangroves, tidal and freshwater swamp forests, lowland and montane rainforests, subalpine shrub and grassland, alpine tundra, to equatorial glaciers. Puncak Jaya (formerly Carstensz Pyramid), at 4,884 meters (16,024 feet), is the highest peak between the Himalayas and the Andes.

The park is a prime example of New Guinea’s biodiversity and ranks among the world’s most ecologically diverse reserves. Birdlife International considers it “probably the single most important reserve in New Guinea.” It contains five of the World Wildlife Fund’s “Global 200” ecoregions: Southern New Guinea Lowland Forests; New Guinea Montane Forests; New Guinea Central Range Subalpine Grasslands; New Guinea Mangroves; and New Guinea Rivers and Streams. Large portions of Lorentz remain unmapped and unexplored, and many plant and animal species are likely unknown to Western science. Local communities’ ethnobotanical and ethnozoological knowledge of the park’s biota is also poorly documented. The park is named after Dutch explorer Hendrikus Albertus Lorentz, who traveled through the area during his 1909–10 expedition.

Lorentz is home to 630 documented bird species (about 95 percent of Papua’s total) and 123 mammal species. Birds include two cassowary species, 31 dove and pigeon species, and 60 kingfisher species. Six bird species are endemic to the Snow Mountains, including the Snow Mountain quail and Snow Mountains robin; 26 are endemic to the Central Papuan Ranges; and three are endemic to the South Papuan Lowlands. Threatened species include the southern cassowary, Alpine woolly rat, southern crowned pigeon, Pesquet’s parrot, Salvadori’s teal, and Macgregor’s giant honeyeater. Mammals include the long-beaked echidna, short-beaked echidna, four cuscus species, wallabies, quolls, and tree-kangaroos. The dingiso, a tree-kangaroo discovered only in 1995, is endemic to the Sudirman Range.

Humans have inhabited the park area for over 25,000 years. The forests cover the traditional lands of eight indigenous ethnic groups, including the Asmat, Amung, Dani, Sempan, and Nduga. Current population estimates range from 6,300 to 10,000. Conservation strategies must incorporate the needs and aspirations of these peoples to succeed in protecting biodiversity, and cultural diversity is considered an important measure of the park’s success.

The main threats to Lorentz’s biodiversity are commercial logging, forest conversion for plantation agriculture, smallholder agricultural conversion, mining, oil and gas development, illegal road construction, and the illegal species trade. Global warming also poses a substantial threat. As of 2005, no commercial logging or other large-scale threats were reported inside the park, no forest conversion projects were active, and agricultural conversion was minimal. The illegal species trade is a serious problem. The large Freeport gold and copper mine has operated for decades to the west and north of the park but not within its boundaries. Oil exploration continues inside and northeast of the park. Overall biodiversity health is currently excellent, though logging and other threats may emerge in the future. Climate change is a real threat, but its specific effects on Lorentz are uncertain. Construction of the Trans-Papua Highway is expected to add 190 kilometers (120 miles) of roads through the area, some increasing access to mining sites within the park.

The first formal protection of a 3,000-square-kilometer core area came in 1919, when the Dutch Colonial Government established the Lorentz Nature Monument. In 1978, the Indonesian Government created a Strict Nature Reserve of 21,500 square kilometers. Lorentz National Park was established in 1997, covering 25,056 square kilometers, including an eastern extension and coastal and marine areas. It was listed as a natural World Heritage Site in 1999, though about 1,500 square kilometers were excluded due to mining exploration titles. As of 2005, no park staff or guards were assigned to Lorentz; success depends largely on local communities’ understanding and support for conservation. Several conservation organizations work in the area. In 2006, the Minister of Forestry established the Lorentz National Park Bureau, headquartered in Wamena, which became functional in 2007 and had 44 staff by mid-2008. A 2008 UNESCO Monitoring Mission noted the Bureau’s capacity was seriously limited by a lack of funding, equipment, and experience.