Mamberamo-Pegunungan Foja Reserve, Indonesia Photograph by © WWF-Canon/Ian CRAVEN   Southeastern Asia: Extends across northern New Guinea Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests   52,200 square miles (135,200 square kilometers) -- about the size of Arkansas Critical/Endangered

· Down by the Rivers
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Down by the Rivers

Water is the lifeblood of this ecoregion. This unexplored area represents the lowland, freshwater, and peat swamp forests associated with the great lowland river systems of New Guinea.

Special Features

This ecoregion is centered on the Mamberamo, Sepik, and Ramu rivers of northern New Guinea. Habitats are diverse, including a mix of lowland and hill forests, grass swamps, swamp forests, and savannas. Pometia, Octomeles, and Ficus tree species and many others fill the canopies, while palms and ferns can be found in the understory, depending on elevation and the presence of swamps. Grass habitats are dominated by Leersia, Phragmites, and Saccharum species.

	A Scott’s tree kangaroo has a powerful odor that can last for up to a week on the hands of someone who has touched the animal.

Wild Side

Bats rule these forests. Among the 76 species of mammals that inhabit this ecoregion, 13 are endemic or near-endemic to these forests. Of these, several are bats, including the mantled mastiff bat, the lesser tube-nosed bat, the Fly River horseshoe bat, and the Fly River trumpet-eared bat. The highlands of the north coastal ranges harbor Scott’s tree kangaroo, considered to be the largest and most threatened forest mammal native to Papua New Guinea. The ecoregion’s two endemic bird species include Brass’ Friarbird and the pale-billed sicklebill. The raucous calls of large, black palm cockatoos can be heard in the lowland forests and swamps

Cause for Concern

This ecoregion is still relatively undisturbed, with 18 percent of the region in formally protected areas. However, a proposed dam, a highway, and agricultural activities pose a threat to the ecoregion’s biodiversity in the future. And hunting of tree kangaroos has the potential to quickly eliminate them from all but the most remote areas.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.