The Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program manages a community conservation area and locally-owned forest, the first of its kind in Papua New Guinea. The locally-driven initiative undertakes a range of activities to protect the watershed and provide the local population with sustainable livelihoods.

The conservation area covers 78,729 hectares of habitat, protecting endemic and endangered wildlife species, including the Huon tree kangaroo. The organization has partnered with the private sector and the government on a conservation livelihoods program and a coffee harvesting project, which has brought in more than US$75,000 for local farmers and their families. Farmers use this additional income to pay for their children’s school fees, family health expenses, and basic household necessities.

The initiative represents a unique model of community mobilization and leadership, and is the first time that the diverse indigenous communities involved in the initiative have come together to advance a shared conservation and sustainable livelihoods agenda.

 

Key Facts 

Founded: 1996

Location: Huon Peninsula, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea

Beneficiaries: 12,000 people

Area of Focus: Community-based conservation and livelihoods development

 

Case Study

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