Infrastructure Improvement for the Crater Mountain Biological Research Station, Papua New Guinea

Wildlife Conservation Society, Bronx NY

Investigators

Abstract

A grant has been awarded to Dr. Andrew L. Mack at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) for upgrading infrastructure of the Crater Mountain Biological Research Station (CMBRS). The stations is located in Papua New Guinea (PNG), the young democracy occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea, the world's second largest island after Greenland. The island is home to over 5% of Earth's biodiversity and is one of three remaining tropical rainforest wilderness areas on our planet. Despite the unique biota PNG is one of the least-studied and poorest-known major ecoregions. The CMBRS and the WCS programs undertaken there are dedicated to furthering our knowledge of this critically important ecoregion and providing outstanding education opportunities for biology students in a pristine rainforest wilderness. CMBRS has been the premier rainforest research destination in PNG for over a decade-- nearly 100 researchers have worked here resulting in over 50 publications. Despite substantial efforts by WCS to maintain the station, the degradation from the tropical climate and twenty feet of annual rainfall is taking its toll on the station. It has become necessary to rebuild the station and upgrade its facilities to meet the increasing demands of visiting scientists and students. A new facility constructed of welded steel and vinyl siding will replace the present all-wood structure. This new facility will have an expected lifespan of over forty years. The materials will be pre-fabricated in PNG by a company that supplies mining camps and delivered to the remote CMBRS site by helicopter. The grant will also upgrade the current solar-powered electrical service and enable improved, modern computing facilities in this remote field site. The station is in the heart of PNG's second largest (260,000 hectares) and one of the most successful conservation areas. CMBRS provides scientific guidance for the conservation project, providing data for viable management planning. The station also serves as a unique educational facility; enabling university students from the US and other nations access to pristine tropical forests and its diverse and endemic biota. Student training programs at CMBRS immerse US undergraduate students in an intensive research-training program where they focus on biological field studies and natural history for at least three months. The station and WCS also oversee a wide range of training programs for PNG nationals who otherwise have little access to field-based research in the nation's rainforests. The education and research programs at CMBRS have significantly improved our knowledge of this unique ecosystem and promise to have even greater impact after the infrastructure improvements allow more work to be accomplished there.