The newly appointed CEO of Port Moresby Nature Park shares his thoughts about the park and its future in this exclusive interview with Paradise, Air Niugini’s in-flight magazine.

Johnpaul Houston with Ella, a spotted cuscus in safe hands at the Nature Park after being rescued from the pet trade. The Nature Park is the only organisation rescuing and rehabilitating animals in PNG. Credit: Lennox Matainaho

BAPNG: What type of experience do you bring to your new role of CEO of the Nature Park?

Johnpaul Houston (JH): My two grandfathers in the UK were big into natural history; nature has always been a major part in my life. I started out as a birdkeeper, so birds are a huge thing for me. From a career perspective, I have worked in numerous zoos across the UK, most recently setting up a new facility in Manchester. I’ve also worked abroad on projects with rare species in Indonesia and Vladivostok in Russia.

I sit on a number of committees with the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria, and I’ve got an involvement with the American Zoo Association’s Saving Animals from Extinction program for tree kangaroos.

I think the Nature Park’s a success because it’s a quality venue. People see it as a safe place to bring the family. They also recognise that we’re helping endangered species.

BAPNG: What do you think is the role of the Nature Park?

JH: The Nature Park has several pillars, but generally it comes down to education, conservation and research.

We’re probably best known for the education part of it, having 30,000 school children visit each year. The Sir Brian Bell Foundation funds a number of our education programs. We even drive out in our own buses and pick up the school children, so we’ve made it very accessible. Our programs deliver messages that are relevant to PNG, like, ‘don’t keep wildlife as pets.’

From a conservation standpoint, we house a number of rare species, including endangered tree kangaroos. We have also started a frog program in which we are writing husbandry guidelines for PNG frogs, so they can be preserved for future generations.

We are setting up facilities to bring in the most endangered species, to save them in the face of the chytrid fungus crisis. (PNG’s frogs are threatened by the fungus, a skin-eating plague that has already wiped out almost 100 frog species worldwide.)

Our conservation work also includes ongoing research into many areas, including turtles, tree kangaroos and orchids.

BAPNG: What has made the Nature Park such a success so far?

JH: I think the Nature Park’s been a success because it’s a quality venue. We’re accredited by the Zoological Association Australasia, and we’ve gained a lot from our partnership with Zoos Victoria in terms of customer service, guest relations, marketing and everything along those lines.

People see the value of the Nature Park as a secure and safe place to bring the family. They also recognise that we’re helping endangered species across the country.

Our visitors are 97 per cent Papua New Guinean, mostly locals from Port Moresby.

BAPNG: What new things are coming up for the Nature Park?

JH: We have been gifted some land by the National Capital District Commission (NCDC)and we’re aiming to become a centre for all the NGOs in the conservation sphere and climate change. The idea is that everyone can come together and share in each other’s experience and create a one-plan approach for conservation within the country.

BAPNG: The Nature Park recently hosted a climate change science fair. Why was this done and who was it aimed at? Can we expect more events like this?

JH: We reached out to schools and asked them to come up with some sustainability ideas to battle climate change. We saw some amazing projects by creative young minds, which were judged by University of Papua New Guinea lecturers. So now it’s something that we’re going to continue with for another nine years, to coincide with a tree-planting project. The main part of the project is to put 27,000 trees into the wider Port Moresby area to create some afforestation and reforestation with native species.

BAPNG: How is the Nature Park funded and does its future look safe and secure?

JH: We benefit from multiple scientific funds and international donations through foreign embassies. We also rely on our industry contacts and partners.

We’ve had an incredible partnership for more than a decade with ExxonMobil, and Digicel has become a major sponsor. The Brian Bell Foundation has been a huge sponsor for many years. We’re most grateful to the NCDC for its support and supplying us with about a third of our funding each year. We are really indebted to all of them, we couldn’t survive without them. We are a charity, and while we are so grateful for all our support, our work always requires further funding to keep PNG plant and animal species safe for future generations. That being said, our commercial arm is really picking up and we are trying to develop new revenue streams.

This article was first published in the February-April 2025 issue of Paradise, the in-flight magazine of Air Niugini.