Lorentz National Park

11 World Heritage Objects in Indonesia

Until this year there are 11 Indonesian objects out of approximately 890 objects around the world which are awarded as World Heritage by UNESCO. These World Heritage objects may get sponsored by World Heritage Fund under certain conditions. The World Heritage objects located in Indonesia are listed as follows: 

World Heritage of Nature : Indonesia has 4 World Heritage of Nature Objects.

Lorentz National Park 

Lorentz National Park is located in the Indonesian province of Papua, formerly known as Irian Jaya (western New Guinea). With an area of 25,056 km² (9,674 mi²), it is the largest national park in South-East Asia. In 1999 Lorentz was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It is also one of three places in the world which has glaciers in tropical area. This park has amazing biodiversity. There are approximately 630 species of birds and 123 species of mammals that have been identified in this park. Bird species two species of cassowary, four megapoda, 31 species of pigeon/dove, 30 species of parrot, 13 species of kingfisher, 29 species of sunbirds, and 20 endemic species such as long-tailed bird of paradise (Paradigalla caruneulata) and snow quail (Anurophasis monorthonyx). Mammals recorded include long snout thorn pig (Zaglossus bruijinii), short snout thorn pig (Tachyglossus aculeatus), four species of polecat, wallaby, wild cat, and tree kangaroo.

Lorentz National Park-Jayawijaya

Lorentz National Park

An outstanding example of the biodiversity of New Guinea, Lorentz is one of the most ecologically diverse national parks in the world. It is the only nature reserve in the Asia-Pacific region to contain a full altitudinal array of ecosystems ranging through marine areas, mangroves, tidal and freshwater swamp forest, lowland and montane rainforest, alpine tundra, and equatorial glaciers. At 4884 meters, Puncak Jaya (formerly Carstensz Pyramid) is the tallest mountain between the Himalayas and the Andes.

Cardtenz Pyramid, Jayawijaya Mountain.

Cardtenz Pyramid, Jayawijaya Mountain.

Birdlife International has called Lorentz Park “probably the single most important reserve in New Guinea”. It contains five of World Wildlife Fund's "Global 200" ecoregions: Southern New Guinea Lowland Forests; New Guinea Montane Forests; New Guinea Central Range Subalpine Grasslands; New Guinea Mangroves; and New Guinea Rivers and Streams.

Lorentz Park contains many unmapped and unexplored areas, and is certain to contain many species of plants and animals as yet unknown to Western science. Local communities' ethnobotanical and ethnozoological knowledge of the Lorentz biota is also very poorly documented.

The park is named for Hendrikus Albertus Lorentz, a Dutch explorer who passed through the area on his 1909–10 expedition.