Papua New Guinea - Upper Sepik River Basin

The property is a mixed cultural and natural site covering the middle and upper reaches of the Sepik River basin including slopes of the Central Range and potentially the Torricelli and Prince Alexander mountains. The Sepik River at 1126 km in length and covering an area of 7.7 million hectares is one of the world's greatest river systems. It is the largest unpolluted freshwater system in New Guinea and among the largest and most intact freshwater basins in the Asia Pacific. The diverse habitats of the basin rate as globally significant on a number of biodiversity indices. The area contains two Global 200 eco-regions, three endemic bird areas and three centres of plant diversity. Vegetation types, at altitudes from 0 to 3800 metres asl, include mangrove forest, herb swamps, tall lowland rainforest, cloud forest, and alpine heaths. The Telefomin region is said to contain the greatest marsupial diversity on the planet. Threatened species such as the New Guinea Harpy Eagle, Victoria Crowned Pigeon and the Northern Cassowary remain common and a number of restricted range birds are represented. The Sepik river fish fauna reflects the Great Northern Fish province, sharing many species with the Ramu and Mamberano Rivers.