Daniel Okena
- Project name: Monitoring Wild Eastern Long-Beaked Echidnas in YUS Conservation Area, Papua New Guinea
- Project site: Huon Peninsula, Papua New Guinea
- EDGE species: Eastern long-beaked echidna Zaglossus bartoni
- Active: 2016 - 2018
Biography
Daniel is an early-career conservationist working with the Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program in Papua New Guinea. An applied researcher at heart, he has a bright future ahead of him as a conservation leader, as one of only two professionals in the country currently monitoring this unique species. He has also organised the community of Haia to construct the Supa Biological Research Station, which is dedicated to long-beaked echidna conservation.
The EDGE fellowship has equipped him with the resources he needs to continue his work on long-beaked echidna conservation. It will also allow Daniel to develop of a monitoring framework for the YUS Conservation Area (YUS CA) Ecological Monitoring Plan.
EDGE Project
Daniel’s project focuses on the Eastern long-beaked echidna population in the YUS Conservation Area. Daniel is establishing a monitoring programme for the echidna to allow long-term monitoring and protection of the species. Daniel is assessing:
- The value of no-take zones for effective management of populations of target species;
- Whether the YUS Conservation Area is effective at conserving biodiversity in Papua New Guinea;
- Whether species respond differently to the establishment of Conservation Areas.