Tonda

Tonda Wildlife Management Area covers about 5,900 km² in the south-western corner of Western Province and is described as the largest protected area in Papua New Guinea^[1]. It adjoins Indonesia's Wasur National Park and is a Ramsar wetland of international importance^[2].

The site is an important wetland for over 250 species of resident and migratory waterbirds, and most of the world's little curlew stop over on the plains during migration^[1]. It also supports about 50 mammal species, including the spectacled hare-wallaby and bronze quoll, as well as saltwater and New Guinea crocodiles^[1]. Deer are hunted^[2].

Habitats include tidal river reaches, mangroves, swamps, grassland, savanna woodland and patches of monsoon forest; the dominant trees are mostly Acacia and Melaleuca^[1].

The terrain is flat, generally under 45 m above sea level, with coastal plains subject to seasonal freshwater flooding^[1][2].

The plains flood seasonally, and the wetland serves as a refuge for wildlife during drought^[2].

The land is under customary ownership, and about 1,500 subsistence gardeners and hunters live in 12 villages. The western part covers land of the Kanum peoples^[1].

The area was established as a Wildlife Management Area in 1975 and designated a Ramsar site on 16 March 1993^[1]. In 1995 WWF launched a Tri-National Wetlands Program linking Tonda, Wasur National Park and Australia's Kakadu National Park^[1].

Visitors come for fishing, birdwatching and hunting^[2]. The wetlands, with their massed waterbirds, are the main attraction.

The area is remote, in the far southwest of Western Province, and the nearest city is listed as Merauke across the Indonesian border^[1].

WMA rules restrict hunting by people who are not customary landowners, but the area faces poaching by people from Indonesia's Papua Province^[1]. It is part of the Trans-Fly region proposed in 2006 as a World Heritage Site^[1].