INSECT DIAGNOSTICS +
BIODIVERSITY CAPACITY BUILDING

Papua New Guinea

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COLLECTING INSECTS
PRESERVING INSECTS
CURATING COLLECTIONS
TAXONOMIC PRINCIPLES
IDENTIFICATION KEYS
DIAGNOSIS OF ORDERS
FACT SHEETS
GLOSSARY
OTHER RESOURCES
Background

Sustainable development of primary industries and protection of natural resources are fundamental to any country's future. Insects are estimated to represent over 60% of PNG's biodiversity and institutional capacity in entomology requires ongoing training, development and expert advice. By increasing understanding of its biodiversity, PNG's capacity to manage its natural resources will be enhanced. This will allow PNG to determine threats and opportunities in agriculture, forestry, quarantine and conservation. This will directly address development goals of The Port Moresby Declaration such as management of agricultural pests, biological control capacity, management of invasive pests, sustainable harvesting of forestry products, and conservation of species and ecosystems.

Lack of biodiversity knowledge limits PNG's capacity to identify key pest and beneficial organisms, or understand potential impacts of threats such as climate change on its natural and agricultural resources. There is also limited web-based storage and dissemination of this biodiversity information. These shortfalls seriously hamper the development of PNG's agricultural, forestry, conservation and quarantine sectors.

This program will help address these impediments by training public servants in regional centres, training NARI's insect collection manager at UNSW Australia, and by establishing a PNG biodiversity database at NARI.

COMPONENT 1:
ENHANCED UNDERSTANDING OF BIODIVERSITY AND TRAINING OF PNG PUBLIC SERVANTS

Insect Diagnostics Training Workshops

Insect biodiversity training will provide participants with vital baseline skills to accurately identify species of economic significance. It will also result in more efficient recording and retrieval of insect biodiversity information. It will have direct benefits in the implementation of management strategies, quarantine services, and pest and beneficial insect identification. Indirect benefits include enhanced participation of PNG nationals in best practice bioinformatics and entomology, and integration with extension services in PNG.

Workshops will cover:

  • Insect and data collection in the field

  • Insect curation - pinning and labelling

  • Diagnostic imaging

  • Pests, factsheets, expert help, apps, and web based information sources

  • 'Entomology methods and diagnostics manual' provided as stand-alone reference for trainees
COMPONENT 2:
STRENGTHENED INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY IN
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AND NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Collections Management Training

Entomology collections management training at UNSW Australia for the NAIC collections manager will be undertaken. This will result in strengthening of NARI in entomological diagnostics, collections management and biodiversity informatics. This will serve as a scientific baseline for management of PNG's natural resource and primary industries.

Bioinformatics Database for NAIC

A bioinformatics strategy and infrastructure will add value to NARI's goal of documenting the National Agricultural Insect Collection (NAIC) and digitising information about PNG's insects. A server will be setup at NARI which enable it to share and receive biodiversity data on the web through the Discover Life portal (www.discoverlife.org).

Workshop Locations

Four insect diagnostic training workshops will be undertaken in major regional centres across PNG between 2014-2016:

  • LAE, Morobe Province
  • MADANG, Madang Province
  • KERAVAT, East New Britain Province
  • PORT MORESBY, National Capital District