West Papua has a very amazing tourist beauty ranging from land to underwater tourism. The vast natural wealth makes this eastern Indonesian island a paradise for nature lovers and diving connoisseurs.
Papua has always been the target of people who like surfing or underwater tourism. Many things that can be found on this island ranging from the beauty of coral reefs to hills overgrown with green trees make this island a favorite place.
Papua is also known as a place that has the greenest tourism, especially ecotourism. The forests on the island of Papua are still very green and rich in biodiversity, so they can attract people to visit.
Many news reports that Papua is being planned to become ecotourism. Ecotourism itself is a form of travel to natural areas that are carried out to conserve the environment and improve the welfare of the population.
Ecotourism will have a very positive impact on improving the local economy. But indeed, the journey to reach West Papua as an ecotourism island is easy. Self-awareness is needed to protect Papua’s nature.
Ecotourism itself is not just talking about tourism that blends with nature. Rafting activities, mountain climbing, and staying at resorts can of course damage the environment. However, ecotourism is environmentally friendly and local customary culture.
The Reason West Papua is Suitable for Ecotourism
• Papua’s forests are the last jungle
Deforestation in papua occurs due to the expansion of land-based industries, such as timber, plantations, and mining. This results in illegal logging, the land becomes barren, and causes natural disasters.
• Papua’s forests as community resources
Papuans have very difficult access to go or find food in other areas. Meet their daily needs by taking food sources from nature or they get their livelihood from natural resources. That way they can live a decent life
If the nature of papua is destroyed, not only the papuan people will lose their source of livelihood, but also the animals and plants that live there will lose their homes. That is why ecotourism must be carried out for papua island.
• Papua is a lungs of world
Papua is located in the easternmost part of indonesia. Papua is the largest province in indonesia and is the largest island in indonesia and in the world. Papua land is known as the lungs of the world with an area of 33,934,714 hectares.
West papua is a province located on the western tip of the island of papua with the capital city of manokwari. Most of the island of papua is covered with green trees that must be preserved, in the hope of reducing the current air pollution.
Ecotourism has an Effect on Forest and Marine Conservation
One of the things that the Papuan government can do to realize Papua as ecotourism is a green investment that is environmentally friendly. These activities will refer to agricultural and fishery products that have great potential to be exported later.
Ecotourism will also have a positive effect on forest conservation in Papua. Forest protection so far has only focused on illegal logging which is very ineffective for preserving forests. The existence of ecotourism can provide more positive things.
For tourists who do ecotourism, they can enjoy the beauty of the forests and seas of the island of West Papua as well as get education about natural resources, tourists can also enjoy a variety of healthy food and seafood directly from the place.
Nature conservation which refers to ecotourism is very necessary because Papua experiences deforestation at 25% per year. If this number continues to increase, then at the end of the 21st century the air will increase to 3 degrees Celsius.
According to research, the temperature in Russia has reached 42 degrees Celsius, India has almost touched 50 degrees Celsius and Indonesia has reached minus 11 degrees Celsius in Gunung Kidul. If the GHG volume reaches 450 parts per million, it can harm the environment.
It will cause erratic global warming, whereas if forest conservation is carried out, the volume can be reduced. In this case, West Papua forests have a very important role in reducing GHG volumes.
Papua’s Natural Wealth that is Worth a Visit
Papua does have the highest biodiversity in the world. More than 20 thousand species of plants, 602 species of birds, 125 mammals, and 223 reptiles. With this biological wealth, Papua has great potential to become an ecotourism island that deserves to be preserved.
The Windiboy Mountains are mountains located in Wondama Regency, West Papua. In the mountainous plains of Wondiboy, there are four mountains, namely Mount Waropen, Mount Waisa, Mount waimaru, and Mount Taskbar.
In addition, Papua is very distinctive from the Arfak mountains wherein in 1824, European naturalists and Luigi d’Albertis had visited the Arfak mountains. In the mountains of Arfak, you can enjoy the beauty of nature and large butterflies.
In the mountains of Arfak, there are also beautiful twin lakes, namely Lake Anggi Giji and Anggi Gida. We can see the sturdy hills of Komprey and Tombrok hills. Around the twin lakes, there are tribes that live namely Hatam, Moile, Sough, and Maya.
However, to protect crops, the group’s land is protected by wooden fences and nets. This is done to prevent wild pigs from entering and damaging the plants. That way the Edor people are able to land on the island of West Papua.
