Rob Small's Masters Thesis: Uptake and the success of insect ...

Introduction
The collection of butterflies and insects from Papua New Guinea has evolved over the past
century. The major collections of insects began when the Hon. Walter Rothschild first
commissioned Alfred Stanley Meek to collect for him in what was then a land almost
completely unknown to the west. Today Papua New Guineans engage in insect collecting
and farming in order to provide an income by selling butterflies and other insects to
organisations such as the Insect Farming and Trading Agency (IFTA).
This income generating activity has received international acclaim for achieving both a
sustainable income for the rural poor of Papua New Guinea, who are severely limited in
opportunities to earn a cash income, and an incentive for the conservation of natural
resources.
The paper will examine the broad development context in which Insect Collecting and
Farming is conducted, the history and development of contemporary conservation thought
(both internationally and within Papua New Guinea) and in what way insect farming and
collecting fits into this framework, as well as the manner in which insect farming and
collecting developed in Papua New Guinea. Subsequently, through an analysis of IFTA’s
purchasing records (1995 to 2002) and four case studies, the manner of the uptake,
longevity and success of IFTA as well as the process insect farming and trading shall be
established.
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