Jean Thomas
Tenkile Conservation Alliance – Conservation Education Program
| Location | Country | Categories | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Papua New Guinea | Australasia, Education, Mammals | 9 Jun 2005 |
The Tenkile Conservation Alliance (TCA) a non-government organization was established in Papua New Guinea in 2001. Its primary goal is to save the critically endangered Scott’s Tree Kangaroo (Dendrolagus scottae) or Tenkile from extinction. Restricted to approximately 40 square kilometers of the Torricelli Mountains, Sandaun Province the Tenkile occurs on land entirely owned by 18 villages. Hunting is considered one of the primary threats to the Tenkile whose population is estimated at only 100 animals. These factors make it imperative that any conservation effort engages local communities. Since 2003, the TCA has been conducting conservation education programs, providing alternative protein sources to villages and conducting research in the Torricelli Mountains to monitor the animal populations.
The Rufford Small Grant has provided funding for TCA’s conservation education program. The aim of this project is to support conservation of Tenkile, through development and delivery of conservation education programs within the Torricelli Mountains. The program aims to enable local people to make informed choices on how to use their natural resources, through:
- Raising awareness of the significance of their environment in both a local and global context,
- Providing practical solutions that address local conservation issues and,
- Empowering and motivating them to act on conservation issues
Picture: Tenkile (Photo taken by Matt Vincent)
For further information: tenkile@datec.com.pg www.tenkile.com
News & Updates
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1 September 2005 |
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Most teachers found the training workshop interesting and have learned a lot. Mr Ainui Robin “The nature of living things was an excellent unit of work that really helped me to know the importance of nature because many times I use to say that nature is ‘something nothing’ but the truth is that nature plays an important role in life” Mr Mathew Makari “I now realize that PNG is a very unique nation because it has a lot of plants and animals that are not found in other parts of the world. I also learned that humans have had and will have greater impact on the environment and I have to assist one way or another to disseminate information regarding ways and strategies to conserve our most fragile species in the environment.”
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During September, 27 teachers from 16 of the local schools attended a week long teacher training workshop. TCA’s Education Officer Mrs Jean Thomas wrote a training manual based on the PNG science and social science curriculum. The manual is designed as a resource that can help teachers with lesson plans, activities and background information on science and conservation. The content of the manual contains many local examples of animals including the critically endangered Scott’s Tree Kangaroo or Tenkile as it is known in the local language.