Our seven-party MOU, peer partnerships, and engagement with donors and scientific institutions form the foundation for the Mt Karimui Conservation Area.
- KCRMPI
- Partners with Melanesians (PWM)
- CEPA
- Karimui-Salt Nomane DDA
- Karimui LLG
- Simbu Provincial Government
- Mt Karimui Farmers' Cooperative
- CDA
- UPNG
- WCS
- CELCOR
- RCF
KCRMPI
Karimui Conservation and Resources Management Programme Inc.
Community mobilisation, clan engagement, day-to-day project implementation, custodian of community relationships.
Partners with Melanesians (PWM)
Partners with Melanesians Inc.
Technical lead on the protected-area establishment process. Led the gazettal of the Managalas Conservation Area (360,000 ha, gazetted 2017).
CEPA
Conservation and Environment Protection Authority
National regulatory authority and final decision-maker on protected area declaration.
Karimui-Salt Nomane DDA
Karimui-Salt Nomane District Development Authority
District-level support, including PGK 100,000 commitment toward final-phase work and secondment of a District Support Officer.
Karimui LLG
Karimui Local Level Government
Local government authority and community-level coordination and dispute resolution.
Simbu Provincial Government
Simbu Provincial Government
Provincial-level political support and co-funding.
Mt Karimui Farmers' Cooperative
Mt Karimui Farmers' Cooperative Society Ltd.
Livelihood vehicle generating conservation-compatible income through coffee, rice, cocoa, peanuts, vanilla, vegetables, livestock, poultry, apiculture, piggery, fish farming, and trade store operations.
Partners with Melanesians Inc.
Founded in 1984, PWM led the gazettal of the Managalas Conservation Area — 360,000 hectares in Oro Province, declared in November 2017 after 32 years of community-driven work, the largest conservation area declaration in PNG history.
PWM led much of the technical work for the Mt Karimui Conservation Area, completing about 70% of the gazettal preparation through community consensus building, participatory 3D modelling (P3DM) and phased engagement.
The October 2024 MOU was witnessed by Jacinta Gure, PWM's Acting Executive Director.
Scientific & research partners
Research access to one of the most ecologically significant, well-documented and climate-sensitive forest landscapes in PNG — an intact elevational gradient with recorded species shifts.
Partnerships that combine fieldwork with capacity building: training local field officers, supporting community rangers, biodiversity monitoring, joint publication and grant-funded field operations.
Conservation donors
A community-led, government-endorsed path to the first PNG Highlands conservation area — with 168,000 hectares already under community consent and a 302,000-hectare target — at a moment when CEPA is fast-tracking gazettal.
First, a pilot year of core funding: staff, operating costs and the chance to test KCRMPI's new policies and systems. Then multi-year support for gazettal, capacity building, management and livelihoods.
Bilateral & multilateral partners
A significant contribution to PNG's 30x30 commitment, aligned with climate, biodiversity and indigenous-peoples priorities, with a credible community delivery model.
Programme-level support as a beneficiary or sub-recipient in larger PNG conservation, climate or governance programmes, and direct engagement where eligibility allows.
Peer NGO & implementation partners
A locally grounded delivery partner in a strategically important landscape, with established community trust, a functioning MOU consortium and a long track record.
Fiscal sponsorship and joint proposals while KCRMPI builds its capacity; peer learning on gazettal, monitoring, community rangers and ecotourism.
Funders and donors
- GEF Small Grants Programme (UNDP) — community conservation funding 2011–2021
- Rainforest Foundation Norway (via Partners with Melanesians)
- National Environment and Biodiversity Fund (NEBF)
- Global Greengrants Fund (GGGF)
- WWF
- CEPA Minister's Office
- Simbu Provincial Government
- Karimui-Salt Nomane District Development Authority
- PNG DGTP-CDS (now PSSN) — strategic planning support
- South Pole Carbon Trade Company Ltd — REDD+ partnership agreement (2019)
Scientific and research partners
- Jared Diamond (American Museum of Natural History) — avifauna surveys, 1964–65
- Tim Flannery — PNG mammal collections and research
- Ben Freeman and Alexandra Class Freeman (Cornell University) — avifauna resurvey, 2011–2012
- Markus Lagerqvist, Ashley Banwell, Roger McNeill — Owlet-Nightjar rediscovery, 2016
- University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG)
- Madang Binatang Research Institute (PNG IBR / MBRI)
- University of Goroka (UOG)
- University of Technology PNG (UNITECH)
- PNG Forest Research Institute (PNG FRI)
- Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) — GPS training and field support
- Centre for Environmental Law and Community Rights (CELCOR) — community legal education
Implementing and institutional partners
- Conservation Melanesia Inc. (CM) — original implementing partner, 2006–2008
- Job Opu — strategic planning facilitator, 2008
- Research and Conservation Foundation (RCF)
- KGwan Eco-Habitat Inc. — networking partnership (2019)
- Sangmanga Cultural Environmental Protection (SCEP)
- Bismark Ramu Group Inc.
- Community Development Agency (CDA) — organisational capacity assessment, 2025
Whether you're a research institution, conservation donor, bilateral agency or peer NGO — there is a role for you in the Mt Karimui story.