The Merauke Languages Project focuses on the ethnobiological documentation of two endangered Papuan languages of the Wasur National Park, Merauke-Indonesia: Marori and Smärky Kanum. The speakers of these languages are multilingual; the Marori people have almost completely switched to the most dominant language, Indonesian. These people have traditionally maintained close spiritual & cultural links to their natural environments, which have undergone unprecedented changes in modern Indonesia, affecting their biodiversity, and the peoples’ languages.

Fieldwork and research was conducted in collaboration with a variety of institutions and stakeholders, including the local government in Merauke, Balai Taman Nasional Wasur, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), and the newly established ANU Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language (COEDL).