Do Not Lose the Merauke Rainforest

Do Not Lose the Merauke Rainforest

Many scientists have claimed that Papua Island is one of the most biologically diverse places on the earth (Sekhran & Miller, 1996). The biological diversity is valuable both culturally and economically in Papua and is valuable for the future of the world. The native people have always depended on their natural environment to survive. In West Papua, people are having to choose whether to maintain their natural way of life or accept the invasion of corporate mono culture. Preserving the natural environment is a brilliant option for all people, animals, and land. However, these are all dependent on the West Papuan people, so native people should think carefully about their future. Even though some people argue that increasing palm oil plantations in Merauke rainforest would improve the economy, the local government should protect the Maurake rain-forest because of its cultural importance and biological diversity, which will attract ecotourism to expand the economy.
The Papuan government should protect the natural ecosystem in Merauke Papua rainforest because the land is at the core of the indigenous people's lives. Most people of West Papua depend on the natural environment to survive, and therefore they believe their land is their wealth. This region has unique kinds of food such as sago, cassava, and sweet potatoes. The land always gives local people food (Crowder, 2015). The rainforest also provides building material for their houses, in which native people use woods, grasses, and ropes from the forest. In addition, native people have vast knowledge about native plants they use to medicate themselves whenever they get sick. In this case, these people do not need to go to the doctor and pay for the medicine. People get traditional medicine from tropical forests which are mostly native plants’ leaves (The Wild Plants, 2012). For instance, there is a special native plant called Ponum used to cure malaria and muscle pain. That shows indigenous people rely on traditional healers instead of modern medicine and going a long distance to reach hospitals. More importantly, traditional medicines do not require money, so people do not have to spend their money to pay the doctor. Therefore, the rain forest in the Merauke region should be preserved because it provides everything for local people. If the forest is destroyed, native people would lose their source of food, shelter materials, and traditional medicines.
Second, Papuan people must preserve wildlife habitat in the Merauke rainforest to sustain diversity. The Merauke region has approximately 1,500,000 species and 250,000 plants (Sekhran, 1996). That makes the Merauke forest so special to visit. Therefore, local government should prohibit forest disturbance that destroys the ecosystem. For example, palm oil plantations are causing forest destruction right now in Papua, especially in the Merauke areas. Also, these specific activities displace native plants in a dramatic way. When Mongabay news reporters asked indigenous people about what the negative factors of palm oil production were, local people usually responded that the oil company wiped out their native forest, including the trees, sources of local food for people (e.g sago) and animals (Mongabay, 2019). Furthermore, monoculture not only destroys habitat for human life and wildlife but also destroys the natural ecosystem of the soil. Without the normal variety of plants, the natural sources of nutrients in the soil are lost. This causes too many chemicals to be used on the crops and that pollutes the environment, particularly the water sources for people and animals. If the local officers do not save the natural forest, beautiful creatures such as the bird of paradise, tree kangaroos, crocodiles, and other wild animals that live there will be gone. Wild animals must be protected because they are unique.
Some local people and the government argue that the development of palm oil plantations in Merauke would improve the local economy. That is right in some cases, but it will not sustain the environment for the people and all the wildlife species who live there. Human lives and a healthy environment are more crucial than developing the economy. People and other creatures can survive through living a simple lifestyle, such as living in town, getting natural food, and having convenient places to live. On the other hand, if people destroy the natural habitat, human and animal lives are at risk. As an example, orangutans are becoming endangered because palm oil production destroys their vast amount of habitat (Indonesia’s Rainforests, 2014). When people damage huge areas of the forest to plant palm oil trees, orangutans are seriously disturbed or can even be driven to the endangered species list. Moreover, people living in the natural environment can have a great life while breathing fresh air and drinking clean water, compared to living in developed cities and having a good income. Living in the natural environment with a low-income community, people can have a lot of advantages over living in high-level societies (Nuwer, 2018). That means people who live close to natural landscapes enjoy life more so compared to people who have a lot of money. Therefore, wealth does not matter. The more significant aspects of humans’ lives and other creatures' well-being are part of living in a natural environment.
There are more examples of preserving the natural environment that can help the economy such as through tourist attractions, which will be more sustainable than developing farm plantations. Some visitors like to explore the natural areas in the Merauke rainforest to see interesting landscapes and beautiful wildlife. While visiting, tourists surely spend money locally to book hotels and buy food the local markets. They would also pay for guides and transportation. Therefore, local people could be employed by maintaining the natural environment in Merauke Papua. Many researchers have claimed that nations with protected natural areas provide more jobs for people, have higher income, and generally are a great place to live (Wuerthner, 2018). Accordingly, instead of focusing on improving the economy through palm oil plantations that could cause long-term damage, Papuan leaders should keep the Merauke rainforest intact for ecotourism because it could help the economy in a sustainable way.
In conclusion, although many people claim that the land of Merauke Papua should have palm oil companies to help the economy, local leaders should take care of the natural environment in order to save traditional ways of life and sustain the ecosystem which attracts tourists to improve the economy. The palm oil plantations destroy the wildlife habitat and drive species to extinction while destroying the soil and polluting the water. Thus, palm oil plantations cannot help the economy for the long term. Hopefully, all indigenous people and local governments will agree with these simple ideas to protect the environment of the Merauke rainforest. The officers should protect the Merauke natural environment, particularly the rainforest.
By E.K OneWa Lani, Papua Aworak.