Jayapura (8/6)- This year's World Environment Day celebration takes the theme "Connecting People to Nature." Through this theme, the celebration of Environment Day invites all people around the world to come back together to enjoy the beauty of nature and its wealth as well as to reflect on the importance of the value of these natural resources.

Furthermore, the celebration of World Environment Day also invites us to think about how we as humans are part of nature and how we depend on nature. It also challenges us to find fun and interesting ways to further experience and appreciate our important relationship with nature.

To celebrate World Environment Day, WWF Indonesia, Papua Program in collaboration with the Environmental Management Agency (BPLH) of Papua Province will organize the Promotion of Bird Watching Ecotourism Development and Cenderawasih Conservation in Papua. The activity will be held on June 9, 2017, in Rhepang Muaif Village, Nimbokrang District, Jayapura Regency.

Rhepang Muaif Village was chosen as the location of the ceremony because this village will be inaugurated as one of the five villages promoted as a bird of paradise ecotourism spot in Papua Province. The other locations are; Amai Village in Jayapura Regency and Berawai, Poom and Sawendui Villages in Yapen Islands Regency.

Peter Roki Aloisius as Northern New Guinea Leader, WWF Indonesia - Papua Program explained, "the momentum of this World Environment Day commemoration, we invite the community to unite and appreciate the important value of natural resources. For Papua, if we talk about nature, it is not far from the forest and Papua's biodiversity icon, the bird of paradise."

Another item on the agenda is a bird of paradise conservation campaign by the Papua Provincial Government. The Governor of Papua will give a statement for the prohibition of hunting and the use of native birds of paradise as accessories and souvenirs by the Governor of Papua. The Papua Provincial Government is currently drafting the official regulation.

To reduce the number of hunting of birds of paradise and the use of native birds of paradise for accessories and souvenirs, solutions that are pro-conservation while providing economic benefits to the community are needed. "Developing bird of paradise monitoring ecotourism and making bird of paradise imitation accessories and souvenirs are solutions that can be carried out by the community. Both certainly support conservation efforts and are also a form of creative economic endeavor that provides economic benefits," added Roki.

As a form of mutual hope, by introducing bird of paradise conservation through bird monitoring ecotourism, the community can interact and gain direct experience seeing the shape and hearing the sound of birds of paradise. The community will gain an understanding that birds of paradise are icons of Papuan biodiversity. No less important is the understanding of the important value of forest existence. If the forest remains and is managed sustainably, the birds of paradise will also remain.

In short, let's protect the forest and cenderawasih for Papua's natural wealth!

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For more information please contact:

Piter Roki Aloisius - Northern New Guinea Leader, WWF Indonesia - Papua Program

(HP: 0812-4841-8590, E-mail: raloisius@wwf.id )