Areca jokowi

The area in the River Ima headwaters and Gunung Daweri where the seeds were collected and where the wild population is presumed to occur is entirely within the PT Kaltim Hutama logging concession. On Google Earth satellite imagery this area is still intact forest, but if the logging concession becomes active, the only population of A. jokowi is likely to be rapidly driven to extinction. No information on the scale of use of the fruits (as a betel nut substitute) is known, but this may also be a threat to the species if it is harvested destructively.

There have been recent 'conservation province' initiatives in West Papua and, on March 21st 2019, a special provincial regulation was ratified with aims to set aside 70% of the land as conservation areas, review land-based business licences and promote sustainable development with a commitment to preserve biodiversity and maintain ecological balance (INFS 2019). The single site where the wild population is presumed to exist is within a logging concession (Heatubun 2016). There are no protected areas nearby (Global Forest Watch 2023). Franky and Morgan (2015) report that within Kaimana Regency, two companies applied for permission to release land from the state forest estate for palm oil plantations in 2013; these permissions were not granted and they have no further information about palm oil permits in Kaimana Regency.

Areca jokowi is successfully cultivated in Gariau village c. 33 km away from its natural population, so it can be assumed it is reasonably easy to cultivate and can survive outside its native range, and would be suitable for horticulture. It is not currently represented in ex situ collections (BGCI 2023). Ex situ conservation methods could include artificial propagation, but also seed banking and study of the seed storage behaviour of this species. There is also no data currently about the harvesting and use of the seeds as a betel nut substitute, so the scale of this as a threat to the species cannot currently be quantified.