TRADITIONAL & LOCAL ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE

摘要: Despite changes associated with proximity to industrialised mining and the influx of modern hunting technologies (guns, and new materials: rubber, wire and nylon) village life around the Hindenburg Wall still revolves to a large extent around subsistence gardening and hunting. Wild plants and animals are still culturally and nutritionally important. Much of the hunting around the Hindenburg Wall is cyclic and seasonal, following the traditional gardening calendar and the fruiting of certain species of trees. Of all the species recounted to us from the testimony of hunters the tree kangaroos (Dubol: Dendrolagus stellarum/notatus) are by far the most important: having high nutritional, cultural, and exchange value. Other species of importance are the Coppery Ringtail (Pseudochirops cupreus), Dwarf Cassowary (Casuarius bennetti), Harpy/Papuan Eagle (Harpyopsis novaeguineae), Black and Brown Sicklebills (Epimachus fastosus/meyeri), Raggiana Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea raggiana), and the Vulturine Parrot (Psittrichas fulgidus). Much of the traditional knowledge of wildlife is sacred and only revealed during times of initiation. Knowledge of the traditional ways and values associated with these culturally important species should allow future conservation projects to be better integrated within the existing cultural landscape.