A Study on the Habitat of Gidra Community in Papua New Guinea with Satellite Remote Sensing

Gidra speaking people living in Wonnie area of western province in Papua New Guinea are traditionally dependent on hunting and gathering. Sago is the main staple food and the vegetation consists of rain forest (Bua) and trees with savannah grass (Yap). The population density is very low and the people are very little affected by modernization. This study is an attempt to look at the people-resource interaction in the area for the past thirty years based on aerial photographs and various satellite data. The study showed the trends of yap versus bua distribution as well as the location of garden and Sago grove areas, which is important for studying the livelihood of the people.