Rainforest is an important ecosystem that we must preserve. It is home to thousands of species of plants and animals. Rainforest is also the source of food and firewood for villagers or indigenous people. All of us depend on the rainforest for its function in absorbing CO2 gases and releasing Oxygen. We can get fresher air and cleaner drinking water if our forests are in good condition.
I have been working on the preservation of tropical rainforest in West Papua through ecotourism since 2010. This ecotourism program is aiming at providing alternative jobs to the indigenous people in Manokwari. To reduce the hunting of birds of paradise, I hire hunters to work as hiking and birding guide. When birdwatchers come to Manokwari to see lesser birds of paradise, they will be guided by these hunters. Other eco-tourism activities that attractive to foreign tourists are hiking and snorkeling. These activities can be combined in a one week tour program in Manokwari regency.
Since the number of tourists who come to Manokwari town is still low, promotional articles like the ones in this blog will be useful to introduce this eco-tourism scheme to anybody who reads them. There are a lot of things that I must do to improve our services in supporting tourists while they go hiking and birding in the tropical rainforest of Manokwari. Some of them are providing basic English course and guiding etiquette.
I also hope that the local government will support this ecotourism innitiative by helping us build better accommodation for visitors and building better roads to all of the hiking and birding destinations.
Contact me by sending email to: peace4wp@gmail.com if you want to take a
rainforest tour in Manokwari.
