Paraecologists

Seven Wanang paraecologists form a team of biology experts, all recruited from the local village community and trained in various fields of biodiversity research with the help of the New Guinea Binatang Research Center and numerous overseas scientists.

Paraecologists are a leading force in the biodiversity research in the Wanang Conservation Area, working on several research projects on plants, insects and vertebrates in their rainforests. They know the rainforest intimately as they have spent their all life there.

At the same time they have advanced technical training in scientific methods and are taxonomic experts, each on his focal taxon: plants, birds, frogs, butterflies, ants, fruit flies, and more. The paraecologists are thus highly efficient and productive field researchers in biodiversity. Their contribution has been acknowledged in over 20 research papers and dissertations so far.

The paraecologist training in Wanang and elsewhere in Papua New Guinea has become an internationally recognized, and applauded approach to combining biodiversity research, local conservation and capacity building in tropical countries (link to Publications).

Wanang Paraecology Team:

Jonah Filip (Team Leader)

Dominic Rinan

Byron Siki

Ruma Umari

Luda Paul

Fidelis Kimbeng

Mark Mulau

Martin Mogia (Mentor and BRC Team Leader)

Paraecologists Dominic Rinan, Jonah Filip, Byron Siki and Mark Mulau (L to R) in front of the „House of Science“ in Wanang