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The Melanesia CBC region includes
Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Fiji and
the Papua province of Indonesia. This insular sweep of the tropical western
Pacific harbors incredibly rich terrestrial biodiversity, high levels of
endemism, breath-taking cultural diversity, and unsurpassed marine ecosystems.
The region encompasses a High Biodiversity Wilderness Area and three
of CI's Biodiversity
Hotspots, as briefly outlined below.
The great island of New Guinea constitutes one of the earth's three remaining
High Biodiversity Wilderness areas, and its forest tracts dwarf those
of the rest of Melanesia. The remarkable forest resource of New Guinea are
perhaps only surpassed by its rich and diverse coastal and marine ecosystems,
with Milne Bay and the Raja Ampat Islands providing the most striking examples
in terms of size, pristine condition, and heterogeneity.
The New Caledonia Hotspot incorporates the main island of New Caledonia
(Grande Terre), along with the affiliated Loyalty Islands. New Caledonia
is Melanesia's most threatened hotspot. The extent of terrestrial habitat
degradation and the paucity of parks and reserves provides a mandate for
immediate action
The Melanesian Island Hotspot links the large islands of northern
and eastern Melanesia (New Britain, New Island, Manus, and the Admiralty
Islands, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu). There are high levels of both terrestrial
and marine biodiversity and endemism as well as major threats across the
hotspot. The terrestrial fauna of this island Hotspot is quite distinct
from that of New Guinea, having an "oceanic" component that New
Guinea lacks. Much of the lowland forest on these islands has been altered
or removed, and introduced predators have had adverse impacts on the fauna
of the remaining upland forests. The marine ecosystems are largely in good
condition, but the threats to them loom on the horizon.
Fiji is also included in the Melanesia CBC, although it is placed within
CI's Polynesia-Micronesia Hotspot. Fiji is an important center of
evolution and insular speciation and thus supports important terrestrial
and marine biodiversity. Much of Fiji's tropical habitat has been converted
to nonforest or plantation habitats. Reef ecosystems are threatened by coral
bleaching and unsustainable harvesting of commercially valuable species.
Though approximately 70 percent of New Guinea's original forest cover remains,
in all other areas of Melanesia, forest cover is less than 30 percent. While
Melanesia's marine habitats remain largely intact. Burgeoning threats include
the overharvesting of pelagic fisheries, destruction of mangrove ecosystems,
the live reef fish trade, shark-finning, and the overharvesting of sedentary
species such as beche-de-mer, giant clam and trochus. Thus, biodiversity
issues on mainland NewGuinea tend to focus on habitat conservation, while
on the smaller and more isolated islands, threatened species conservation
is the priority. These constitute the conservation mandates of CI's Melanesia
Center for Biodiversity Conservation.
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© Conservation International.
Photo by Peter Bosip |
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A family in Lakekamu -
Papua New Guinea. |
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| © Conservation International.
Photo by Roger Steen |
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Goodenough Bay, Milne Bay -
Papua New Guinea. |
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| © Conservation International.
Photo by Jamie Bechtel |
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| Raja Ampat, Papua - Indonesia. |
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