PROGRAM GOAL: To create a 90 000-ha, legally-protected Conservation Area in the core of the Torricelli Mountains, Papua New Guinea 

Zoos Victoria is the major partner of the Tenkile Conservation Program in the Torricelli Mountains of Papua New Guinea.  The community-based program has an integrated approach, coupling support for local community development with biodiversity conservation projects.  The program is managed by the Tenkile Conservation Alliance.

The flagships of this program are two critically endangered tree kangaroo species: the Tenkile (or Scott's Tree Kangaroo), Dendrolagus scottae, and the Golden-mantled Tree Kangaroo (locally known as Weimang), D. pulcherimus.

THE CONSERVATION ISSUE

Wildlife in the Torricelli Mountains have been serious affected by large increases in the human population (human populations have tripled in the last 50 years), as well as changes in traditional beliefs and hunting methods. The distribution of tree kangaroos has declined by 70–80% and some wildlife species have become locally extinct.

This loss of biodiversity is significant in its own right.  Reduced hunting success and consequent protein deficiency is also compromising the health and wellbeing of the local people.

KEY PROGRAM OBJECTIVES

The Tenkile Conservation Alliance works closely with the 41 villages on whose land the Tenkile and the Weimang occur to:

• Protect both tree kangaroo species through a hunting moratorium signed by all the villages
• Establish the Torricelli Mountain Range as a legislated Conservation Area
• Develop sustainable alternative livelihood strategies to reduce hunting pressure on wildlife and increase long-term food security, e.g. local rabbit farms (using a strain of rabbit that does not present a risk of establishing in the wild) and gardening workshops
• Monitor Tenkile, Weimang and other wildlife populations using distance sampling to document long-term population changes in reponse to hunting moratoriums etc.
• Develop local community capacity for sustainable natural resource management through awareness-raising, education and training

The establishment of the Conservation Area is a community-led process, and recognises the spiritual and economic importance of the forests to local communities.  Each village decides which areas of forest they will protect and which areas they will use for gardens, collection of forest products, etc.  They then prepare their own rules and regulations, and enforce them locally, ensuring compliance with these decisions from the entire community.

VIDEO: The story of 'Suna' - an female Tenkile discovered in 2007 by villagers in the remote Torricelli Mountains, PNG.  Tenkile (or Scott's Tree Kangaroos) are Critically Endangered.

ZOOS VICTORIA'S ROLE

Zoos Victoria has been actively involved in this conservation program since its beginning in 1998.  In response to the local communities' concerns about declining tree kangaroo numbers, the Tenkile Conservation Alliance was founded in 1999 and Melbourne Zoo staff were part of the field team that established the first local hunting moratorium.

As Chair of the Tenkile Conservation Alliance Board, Zoos Victoria is responsible for overseeing and guiding the project's direction and activities in close collaboration with field staff.

Zoos Victoria's direct staff contribution includes securing external donor support, preparing and submitting grant applications, and providing technical advice (such as research expertise) to assist the biological monitoring component of the project.

Zoos Victoria also directly provides core funding for the Alliance, enabling them to carry out the program objectives.

 PROGRAM OUTCOMES

• Wildlife protection
  • Hunting moratoriums established for Tenkile and Weimang, and signed by 41 villages 
  • Landholder agreement established with 41 villages for a Conservation Area within the Torricelli Mountains
  • Numbers of Tenkile approximately doubled between 2004 and 2008 
  • Fourteen tree kangaroo research sites established and maintained
  • Two Tenkile Conservation Alliance bases established
  • World-first birth of a Weimang in captivity at the Tenkile Conservation Alliance base
• Capacity building
  • Local people trained and employed as project supervisors, officers, trainers and facilitators
  • Management committees established in all villages; scientific knowledge and management training conducted for all committee members
  • Significant capacity building implemented to ensure local ownership and management of Tenkile, Weimang and other wildlife, including a drama and role-play program
• Alternative livelihoods and community development
  • Rabbit farms established in 39 villages, with increasing production success
  • A Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Program (European Union Grant) is currently being implemented.  Water tanks and toilet installation has led to 30% reduction in women’s workload and nearly 70% reduction in incidence of diarrhea
    

PROGRAM PARTNERS

The Tenkile Conservation Alliance involves zoos, government and local PNG communities, and is responsible for the delivery of this program.  The Alliance is registered in PNG as a non-government organisation, and is staffed by thirteen full-time employees.  The ongoing commitment of two former Zoos Victoria employees, Jim and Jean Thomas, has been crucial to the program’s success.

Australian Volunteers International has given invaluable support to the program.

The program is endorsed by the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the Australasian Zoo and Aquarium Association.