OVERVIEW
Flora Malesiana, established in 1989, documents plant diversity across the Malesian region, with West Papua recognized as one of the world’s most biodiverse yet still under-studied areas. The Nature-Based Climate Solutions Conference highlights how conservation, forest protection, and sustainable land use can support climate resilience and economic growth, with a focus on carbon markets, financing, and Indigenous-led management toward COP 30. This gathering underscores the vital link between biodiversity, climate adaptation, and sustainable economies, ensuring regions like West Papua play a key role in shaping global environmental strategies.
Flora Malesiana
Flora Malesiana (FM) is an international flora project aiming to name, describe and inventory the complete vascular plant flora of Malesia, the region including Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei Darussalam, the Philippines, Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea.
The Malesian biodiversity hotspot harbours a staggering vascular plant diversity with more than 31,300 currently accepted species reported from the region (Plants of the World Online). Published FM volumes, CD-ROMs and other output cover about half of these species and have been cited thousands of times, not just in highly specialized taxonomic journals, but also in journals which focus on a wide range of fields such as climate change, plant ecology, and conservation, as well as policy documents. Read more…
Nature-Based Climate Solutions
Indonesia’s Papua region is home to 34.2 million hectares of primary forest, covering 85% of its land area and representing 32% of Indonesia’s total forests. As the largest intact rainforest in the Asia-Pacific, it plays a critical role in carbon sequestration, climate regulation, and biodiversity conservation, storing approximately 11 gigatons of carbon. Its vast mangrove forests, wetlands, and coastal ecosystems further strengthen its ecological significance.
However, land-use changes driven by agriculture, logging, mining, and infrastructure projects pose increasing threats to these vital ecosystems. Nearly 30% of Papua’s land is allocated for large-scale industrial activities, impacting both biodiversity and the livelihoods of Indigenous communities. With nearly six million people—many of whom rely on forests and natural resources for their survival—Papua faces a delicate balance between economic development and environmental sustainability. Read more…