Rare species long part of New Guinean tradition.

• Author: Herro, Alana
• Position: EYE ON EARTH

Scientists may know little about certain rare animals in western New Guinea (the Indonesian province of Papua), but some of them have long been a part of local knowledge and tradition, according to Bruce Beehler, an ornithologist and vice president of the Melanesia Program at Conservation International. Beehler and his team identified a number of plants and animals new to science during a December 2005 expedition to the isolated Foja Mountains, and also studied rare but documented species already known to local guides, including the Golden-fronted Bowerbird and Berlepsch's Six-wired Bird of Paradise.

Knowledge of creatures living in remote areas of New Guinea has been passed down through generations of New Guineans. This rich oral tradition includes information on medicines and life forms largely unknown elsewhere and is key to Beehler's efforts to conserve the region, one of the planet's most biologically diverse. "The forest peoples of New Guinea tend to be very knowledgeable about wildlife of their forests," says Beehler. "They can be teachers to us who know a lot less."

Raising global awareness of the importance of the Foja...