Reed Magazine: Science in the Village (3/4)


Ethnobotany in New Guinea. Sopi, a Wamangu village elder shares the traditional name of a fig tree. Ficus pseudojaca known locally as "polo" in the Ulimu language provides purple dye for grass skirts.


A caterpillar feeding on leaves of Macaranga, a tropical tree of lowland rainforest in New Guinea.


Dancers perform in traditional dress at the Goroka Show in 2004.

The story of Brus illustrates how the traditional knowledge of Papua New Guineans can be developed into skills that are vital to biological research and nature conservation. Realizing this, an international group of scientists and I founded the Parataxonomist Training Center at Madang in 1997. Our mission is to train local people in biodiversity research, facilitate their collaboration with scientists, and foster their involvement in conservation education efforts targeted at broader audiences.

The term "parataxonomist," which is analogous to "paramedic," was coined by ecologist Dan Janzen, who works in the forests of Costa Rica. From the Greek, "para" means "in an accessory capacity." The parataxonomists truly stand at the side of the taxonomists who are responsible for describing new species and cataloguing the diversity of life on earth. The Parataxonomist Training Center follows the footsteps of the National Institute of Biodiversity in Costa Rica (INBio), and trainees like Brus now play a prominent role in New Guinea biodiversity research.

Talented and dedicated locals with little formal education can become successful parataxonomists. They receive general training in scientific methods, biology, ecology, and conservation, as well as practical training in processing biological specimens and computing. Their expertise is essential for conducting biodiversity surveys. They collect, preserve, sort, and identify biological specimens, in addition to performing experiments and making observations. The result of their work is deposited for further study in museum collections in Papua New Guinea and around the world, including the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. They also take digital photos and deposit their observations in computer databases that are accessible on the web, creating a first-of-its-kind resource for New Guinea.

Parataxonomists can greatly facilitate biological research, which is an important part of managing the wealth of biodiversity in countries like Papua New Guinea. Our experience has demonstrated that parataxonomist training is also an effective means for rapid biological inventory. By transferring knowledge from international researchers to local communities, parataxonomists are placed at the cutting edge of this effort.

Our current program includes 12 parataxonomists. They range from 18 to 28 years of age, with education ranging from grades 6 to 12. Members of the team take part in a variety of research and conservation projects. Our staff has assisted biological surveys by Conservation International, World Wildlife Fund, Princeton, Harvard, and the Smithsonian, to name a few.

In addition to providing a first-rate service to the scientific community, parataxonomists reach out to local communities at the grassroots level through environmental education. Naturally, they are more effective at addressing local audiences than experts from overseas. Parataxonomists are able to interpret the science of biodiversity for the people of New Guinea, and this can have far-reaching positive impacts. So far, our para- taxonomists have created educational leaflets, organized presentations in the primary schools, and published articles in national newpapers.

Overall, parataxonomists are an important link between landowners and professional biologists, groups that sometimes have difficulty understanding each other.