Indo-Pacific Conservation Alliance or IPCA, is a nonprofit corporation headquartered in

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

, that seeks to protect plant and animal diversity in wilderness areas and marine regions in the tropical Indo-Pacific region, including Indonesia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia.

Establishment

IPCA was founded in 1998 in collaborative association with scientists at the

Bishop Museum The Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, designated the Hawaii State Museum of Natural and Cultural History, is a museum of history and science in the historic Kalihi district of Honolulu, Hawaii, Honolulu on the Hawaiian island of Oʻahu. Founded in 1 ...

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

, and other institutions. It was established to act in alliance with, and to work through, existing in-country institutions as much as possible in order to reduce costs and build local capacity.

Activities

Its main programs are currently based in the

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

n province of Papua (western

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

), working with local communities such as the

Asmat Asmat may mean: *Asmat people, ethnic group in New Guinea *Asmat languages, of New Guinea *Asmat Regency, Indonesia *Asmat subregion Asmat subregion is a subregion in the northwestern Anseba region (Zoba Anseba) of Eritrea Eritrea, offi ...

to help them achieve sustainable development and protect their

rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

s and

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

. IPCA provides information, training, equipment and other support to stakeholders to help them conserve and manage their natural resources. IPCA also carries out scientific surveys to document biodiversity, how local people value and use those resources, and how it is impacted by threats such as commercial

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidder, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or trunk (botany), logs onto logging truck, trucksinvasive species An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...

Mission statement

''The Indo-Pacific Conservation Alliance is dedicated to the study and conservation of the native ecosystems of the tropical Indo-Pacific region and support for traditional peoples in their stewardship of these globally significant natural resources.''

Administration

John Burke Burnett has served as the Indo-Pacific Conservation Alliance's Executive Director since its founding. Dr. Allen Allison of the

is Chairman.

External links

Official site
* ttp://www.bishopmuseum.org Bishop Museumbr>Pacific Science Association
Scientific societies based in the United States Environmental organizations based in Hawaii {{int-org-stub