Merauke, February 9, 2023 - The South Papua Provincial Government and WWF Indonesia Foundation signed a joint agreement to enhance collaborative cooperation in environmental protection, conservation, and the achievement of sustainable development goals on Wednesday, February 9, 2023. The signing was carried out by the Acting Governor of South Papua, Dr. Ir. Apolo Safanpo ST. MT and CEO of WWF Indonesia Foundation, Aditya Bayunanda.

In his speech, Apolo Safanpo said, "As a new province, South Papua Province requires a lot of technical support and thoughts from the parties, especially the WWF Indonesia Foundation in formulating development planning designs that pay more attention to the environment and the principles of sustainable development. Ecological considerations for the development of South Papua Province are not only important for regional economic interests but also closely related to the socio-cultural existence of local communities, where the relationship between humans and nature is very strong. This is reflected in the distribution of areas that are considered important to the community which also have high biodiversity values. Of course for South Papua Province, the above considerations must be the basis for deciding on policy choices, plans and programs."

Aditya Bayunanda, CEO of WWF Indonesia said, "The WWF Indonesia Foundation fully supports and is committed to working with the South Papua Provincial Government in planning its regional development, namely development that maintains the improvement of the economic welfare of the community on an ongoing basis, the sustainability of people's social lives, maintaining environmental quality and protecting biodiversity in accordance with the Presidential Instruction No.1 of 2023 concerning "Mainstreaming Biodiversity Conservation in Sustainable Development" and also realizing development that ensures justice and the implementation of governance that is able to maintain the improvement of the quality of life from one generation to the next generation". Aditya continued, "This plan from South Papua Province should be an example for other regions." 

This joint agreement will last for one year from 2023 to 2024. Cooperation will be carried out within the scope of work agreed in the Joint Agreement, namely optimizing sustainable regional development planning and others. True development does not only look at the economic aspect, but also the happiness and welfare of the people in it. This can be realized by collaborating and contributing from various parties to make it happen in the South Papua Province region.