East Mimika Has Biological Diverssity Park

TIMIKA, Papua, Aug 21 (Antara)- East Mimika sub-district now has a biological diversity park called Mapurupuwau Park, which was officially inaugurated by Mimika District Head Eltinus Omaleng on Saturday (Aug 19). "Hopefully, with the presence of the park, local community could benefit the park, and help preserve local nature and culture," Omaleng said. The first and only biological diversity park was expected to become an icon of Mimika District and could attract domestic as well as foreign tourists, Omaleng said in his inaugural remarks. Wens, a representative of Kamoro tribe, expressed his appreciation to the Mimiki district administration for developing the Mapuruppuwau Park, which is also a historic site of Mimika. The park, which is located in Muare kampong in East Mimika Sub-district, has a statue of Mapuruppuwau, a prominent figure in the history of Kamoro civilization. The statue was built in 2006, but it was renovated last year. Meanwhile, home to the world's remaining virgin tropical rainforests with vast biological diversity, Papua Island is also endowed with endemic fauna such as possums, wallabies, tree-kangaroos, and endangered Long-beaked Echidna. It also has the world's longest lizards and largest butterflies. Its biodiversity includes 15 thousand to 20 thousand plant species (55 percent endemic), two thousand species of orchids, 602 species of birds (52 percent endemic), and 125 species of mammals (58 percent endemic), in addition to 223 species of reptiles and amphibians (35 percent endemic), 25 species of freshwater fish and 1,200 species of marine fish, as well as an estimated 150 thousand species of insects, according to the 2013 data of Papua Ecology. Large parts of the equatorial glacier fields in the highlands remain substantially unexplored. Protected areas within Papua province include the Lorentz National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the Wasur National Park, a RAMSAR wetland of international importance.