A National Interpretation of the High Conservation Value Forest ...

4 HCV3. Forest areas that are in or contain rare,
threatened or endangered ecosystems
Description
Some ecosystems are widespread and under little threat, whereas others are naturally rare or are
declining rapidly due to human pressures. In order to conserve the full range of biodiversity, it is
important that sufficient areas of each of these rare or declining habitats are kept in good condition.
The most effective way to achieve this is to aim for adequate coverage within secure protected areas.
Where this is not feasible, or has not yet been achieved, sympathetic management is needed for key
sites outside the protected areas system. The goal for this HCV is to identify sites where this is
required for each rare, threatened or endangered habitat type. For some habitats, no such special
management will be required, for others every surviving example of the habitat may be considered
precious, but for many there will be a need to identify and concentrate on the higher priority sites
from a range of sites of varying importance.
Definition
1) Identified threatened or endangered lowland forests on satellite islands, mangroves, swamp
forests, Araucaria forests, Eucalyptus deglupta forests, Terminalia brassii forests, Castanopsis
forests, Nothofagus forest, Savanna forest and Monsoon forest.
2) All forests on karst or ultrabasic soils that do not promote regeneration are considered as
HCVFs
3) Forests that do not regenerate sufficiently after logging and where regeneration
management and/or silvicultural measures cannot be applied then in consultation
with DEC and PNGFA can be declared HCVF.
Rationale
No prioritization plans are available based on threatened or endangered ecosystems as there is
limited information or availability of data on the conservation of ecosystems in PNG. Some of the
most threatened ecosystems in PNG are island ecosystems, including satellite islands and ecosystems
in mountain tops.
Examples of forest types likely to be identified as of high concern include: lowland forests on satellite
islands, mangroves, swamp forests (Sepik plains, Gulf deltas and Fly river delta swamps), lower
montane forests, Araucaria forests, Eucalyptus deglupta forests, Terminalia brassii forests,
Castanopsis forests, Nothofagus forests, etc (refer to Appendix 8 for the vegetation types of PNG, see
also the text by Paijman, 1975).
Forest types found on particular substrate are notable for possessing high levels of endemism, such
as karst forest and ultrabasic soil forests. These should be considered of HCV.
Other forests may become threatened by global warming due to their isolation on mountain tops,
such as high montane forests, forests in areas of low relief and forests in fragmented landscapes.
Because of this, these are considered HCVFs.
There shall be no size threshold for forest types identified as threatened or endangered through
DEC’s Vegetation Change Analysis, or for forests on limestone karst or ultrabasic soils. Forests
threatened by global warming (i.e., high montane forests, forests in areas of low relief and forests in
fragmented landscapes) that maintain, or may attain, connectivity to larger areas of the same forest
type to maintain landscape-level processes (i.e., areas that together cover 500,000 ha or more on the
mainland and >20% on satellite islands) shall be considered, regardless of their size. If no
connectivity exists as defined in HCVF2, or if the forest links to other forests of the same type but
together do not reach 500,000 ha, it may not be considered HCVF.
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