Biophysical environment overview. 4.1.2.1 Papua New Guinea Highlands and the Kikori River Basin The Project footprint extends through several regions with distinct biodiversity characteristics that have high conservation value. These areas feature extensive tracts of montane, lowland hill and lowland forest environments which support a broad range of plants and animals, notably birds-of-paradise, cassowaries, fruit doves, tree kangaroos, microhylid frogs, fruit bats, vireya rhododendrons, ferns and orchids. Key biological aspects in the Papua New Guinea Highlands and the Kikori River Basin include: • Kikori River Basin lowlands and the Moro region bioregions, which are important for waterbirds, swamp fauna and over-wintering migratory waders • Hides Ridge, which supports a high-altitude beech (Nothofagus spp.) forest, dominated by epiphytes and ferns, with noteworthy ecological values - this forest is slow to regenerate and susceptible to die-back • Caves featuring cave-dwelling bats • Sinkhole swamps, the main breeding habitat in the karst area for tree frogs and other water-dependent frogs • Swamp forests that support a range of specialist vertebrates including the Twelve- wired Bird-of-Paradise Seleucidis melanoleuca, the New Guinea Flightless Rail Megacrex inepta and a range of aquatic fauna • Streams in the higher-altitude hill and mid-montane forest, which maintain populations of specialist vertebrates such as Torrent Frogs Litoria wollastoni and the Salvadori’s Teal Salvadorina waigiuensis • Lowland rivers, which support crocodiles and freshwater turtles Areas of conservation value within the Papua New Guinea Highlands and the Kikori River Basin include formally gazetted Wildlife Management Areas, consisting of the Lake Kutubu Wildlife Management Area and the Neiru Xxxx Hills Wildlife Management Area, along with World Wildlife Fund-designated conservation areas.
