By: Hadi Ferdinandus (Technical Leatherback Conservation Management Coordinator WWF-Indonesia Papua Program)

Jeen Womom Coastal Park is the largest leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriecea) nesting beach and its presence determines the leatherback turtle population in the Pacific. In addition to leatherback turtles, there are also Olive ridley turtles, green turtles, and hawksbill turtles. All of these sea turtle species are protected and based on WWF data, their populations tend to decline. This is why sea turtle protection activities on the north coast of Tambrauw need special attention.

WWF-Indonesia Papua Program in Tambrauw Regency has existed since 1993 until now. The existence of WWF in Tambrauw Regency related to leatherback turtle monitoring began when the WWF site office was still located in a location under the authority of Sorong Regency. Since 2013 until now, WWF's site office has been located in Sausapor District, which is the temporary capital of Tambrauw Regency.

Currently, in addition to monitoring leatherback turtles on the nesting beaches, WWF also continues to provide assistance to the process of determining the status of the area and strengthening the coastal park institutions. Cooperation and coordination between the Tambrauw Regency Government and WWF-Indonesia includes activities related to conservation and the environment.

On Friday (11/08) at the Tambrauw Regent's Office, WWF-Indonesia through the Director of WWF Papua Program, Benja Mambai and the Regent of Tambrauw Regency, Gabriel Asem, have agreed through a memorandum of understanding to realize the integration and synergy between the parties in order to optimize and increase the capacity of the role of managers in the Jeen Womom Coastal Park. The Regent of Tambrauw in his statement explained that it is also very important to empower the community around the area so that they feel the impact of conservation activities.

The signing ceremony was also attended by the Head of the Tambrauw Fisheries Service, the Regent's expert staff for natural resources, and the head of the Jeen Womom Coastal Park UPTD. On this occasion, WWF-Indonesia's Papua Program Director gave souvenirs in the form of four campaign posters about leatherback turtles in Abun. The follow-up of this activity is that WWF-Indonesia will collaborate with the UPTD Taman Pesisir, among others, by providing assistance to the UPTD, both to increase staff capacity and programs in managing the leatherback turtle nesting beach area.