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, subalpine shrub and grassland, alpine tundra, and equatorial glaciers.
Birdlife International has called Lorentz Park “probably the single most important reserve in New Guinea”.
[2] 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.
The park is named for Hendrikus Albertus Lorentz, a Dutch explorer who passed through the area on his 1909–10 expedition.
The forests of Lorentz encompass the traditional lands of eight indigenous ethnic groups,[4] including the Asmat, Amung, Dani, Sempan, and Nduga.
However, the park's success largely depends on local communities' understanding of and support for conservation, rather than external enforcement alone.
However an UNESCO Monitoring Mission in 2008 acknowledged that the capacity of the Bureau was seriously limited due to lack of funding, equipment and experience.