PTFI

About the Program
The PTFI program is operated in Papua, Indonesia, by Freeport-McMoRan, Inc. The site covers several thousand acres with varied ecosystems including an estuary with islands and mangrove forests, lowland forest and sub-alpine zones on the mountains to the north. This area is known for its high levels of biodiversity, and the project sites are adjacent to the Lorentz National Park. The program's objectives include restoring several distinct areas with native vegetation to allow wildlife to thrive, as well as rehabilitating and releasing animals rescued from traffickers. Raising community awareness of conservation issues is an overarching objective, achieved through various educational projects.

Practices and Impacts

• The project team has focused on a reclamation of a subalpine ecosystem that has restored 1,161 acres (470 hectares). Plant establishment is challenging in the extreme climatic conditions, as the monitoring indicates that revegetation is slow, but the project team is working to mitigate this through growing their own plants and hydroseeding certain areas for better survival rates.
• This project team has developed an education and awareness project to help increase student knowledge of how how a diverse and clean forest system supports a wide variety of wildlife. Through this project, students get to be engaged in helping to restore habitats including a mangrove ecosystem. 
• A forest area is restored over the site of a mining tailing impoundment by planting native species of vegetation to recreate natural habitat.
• To assist in restoring an estuary island system with mangrove forests, mangrove propagules are planted in sites previously assessed as suitable.
• An internship program create opportunities for local vocational students to gain hands-on experience in best practices and careers related to land stewardship.
• Monitoring of wildlife such as birds and invertebrates helps to assess levels of biodiversity.