A large proportion of the world’s tropical forests consists of lowland rain forests situated in basins of major tropical rivers, such as the Amazon, the Congo, and the Sepik–Ramu and Fly– Strickland river systems of New Guinea. These forests also form a major part of the three remaining Tropical Wilderness Areas, defined as large pristine areas exceeding 10,000 km of which > 70% is free from an...

In this article I investigate whether ‘political engineering’ can work to address problems of party system instability in new democracies. I look at the ambitious recent attempts to engineer the development of stable party politics in Papua New Guinea, one of the few post-colonial states to have maintained an unbroken record of democratic government. Despite its enviable status in this regard, ...

The dictyopharid planthopper genus Anasta Emeljanov from the Australasian region is revised to include six species including a new one: A. australiaca (Lallemand, 1935) comb. nov. (North Australia), A. lobosa sp. nov. (Papua New Guinea), A. minuta (Lallemand, 1935) comb. nov. (Timor, Indonesia), A. prognatha (Distant, 1906) (North Australia, Papua New Guinea), A. timorina (Lallemand, 1935) (Tim...

In this study nine new species and a new genus of Brachodidae are described from tropical Asia and Papua New Guinea. Synechodes polias sp. nov. and Synechodes tamila sp. nov. are described from Sulawesi and southern India, respectively. A new genus, Saccocera gen. nov. (type species Miscera orpheus Kallies, 2004), is described to accommodate five species occurring from Taiwan and Sumatra across...

I describe three new species of the diverse microhylid frog genus Oreophryne from Papua New Guinea. Two of these occur in two isolated mountain ranges along the northern coast of Papua New Guinea; the third is from Rossel Island in the very southeasternmost part of the country. All three are the first Oreophryne known from these areas to have a cartilaginous connection between the procoracoid a...

The genus Phrudoneura Meuffels & Grootaert (Diptera: Dolichopodidae) from Australia, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and New Caledonia is revised, and four new species are described. Phrudoneura collessi sp. nov. occurs in tropical and subtropical Australia, and is named in honour of the Australian Dipterist, Don Colless. Phrudoneura popondetta sp. nov. is from lowland Papua New Guinea, and P....

Anecdotal and published information suggest a low incidence and prevalence of type 1 diabetes in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Incidence and prevalence were followed prospectively from July 1996, using the PNG Paediatric Surveillance Unit (PSU). No children were receiving insulin in Papua New Guinea at the start of the period. Over the next 4.5 years, 8 cases were reported--an annual incidence of 0.0...

This article reviews the literature and current information on the use of Galbulimima bark in traditional medicine in Papua New Guinea. Galbulimima bark is used in Papua New Guinea as an analgesic, to treat fever or to get rid of head lice. It is used in divination to produce trance-like states for counteracting malevolent power that is thought to be the cause of a variety of illnesses. Galbuli...

Policymakers in Papua New Guinea want to expand the local rice industry. Currently, imports from Australia meet 99 per cent of rice demand. The Papua New Guinea government has an initial goal of reducing imports by 40 per cent. This self-sufficiency drive is fuelled by the size of the rice import bill, the desire for more jobs and the worry that it is wrong to import food. Concern over rice imp...