Introduction

The Tenkile Conservation Alliance (TCA) was established in Papua New Guinea as a non-government organisation in 2001. Principally established to save the Critically Endangered (CR) Tenkile Tree Kangaroo (Dendrolagus scottae) from being hunted to extinction, TCA have developed their conservation model to address everything required to keep the home of the Tenkile Tree Kangaroo, the magnificent Torricelli Mountain Range, protected.

Torricelli Mountain Range

Working with the PNG Government and the United Nations, TCA is establishing the Torricelli Mountain Range as a Conservation Area. Once established it will protect nearly 40% of PNG’s mammals, and over 50% of PNG’s birds. These mountains are also the only place where three species of tree kangaroos co-exist: the Tenkile, the Weimang (Dendrolagus pulcherrimus – CR) and the Grizzled Tree Kangaroo (D.inustus – classified as Vulnerable).

TCA works with fifty villages, home to approximately 13,000 people, who now protect their tree kangaroos and primary tropical rainforest as a result of TCA education programs. Based in the remote area of Lumi, Sandaun Province, TCA employs many people from the area to manage the Torricelli Mountain Range. Since TCA’s inception, Tenkile numbers have increased from an estimated under one 100 individuals in 1996, to 320+ in 2015. There has also been an observable increase in many species that share this habitat.

Preserving tropical rainforest

TCA is effectively preserving nearly 1% of the remaining primary tropical rainforest in the world. They need your help to keep going at their present level and to grow into the future.