Written by: Muhammad Khalid
In the midst of the onslaught and challenges, young Papuans continue to fight for the remaining forests. They are not only safeguarding their territory and wealth, but also safeguarding the forests that are undeniably a common source of life.
Rule of Class
Papua has the largest natural forest potential in all of Indonesia. Based on data released by Yayasan Bentala Rakyat (2021), there are 33,847,928 hectares of natural forests left in Papua. However, at the same time, deforestation or loss of natural forest cover in Papua recorded 765.71 hectares in January – February 2024. South Sorong and Sorong Regency are the two regions with the largest forest cover in Southwest Papua Province, but also face serious deforestation threats.
10 – 14 September 2024, Kaoem Telapak held a basic level training as an effort to monitor forests for Indigenous Youth. Taking place in Sorong city, the training aimed to strengthen commitment, collaboration, and improve skills related to documentation, navigation, and basic advocacy needed to save forests at the local level. 16 Indigenous Youth from 8 Indigenous communities attended this training.
Classroom
“Around where we live, there is a forest that is a source of livelihood, with a variety of birds and plants that we can see every day. However, the presence of investors has threatened this sustainability,” said Yosa (not his real name – ed), one of the training participants.
“On the first day of the training, participants received material related to the urgency and initial introduction to forest monitoring. This session was delivered through various forms of activities, ranging from material exposure, discussion per group, to games aimed at helping understanding the material.
“The second day began with the basics of documentation for monitoring and basic navigation using the Avenza application. Participants were introduced to the tool and its features that can support monitoring work in the field.
“On the third and fourth days, participants were asked to directly practice the skills they had learnt previously, ranging from photos, videos, and navigation with the correct techniques. Trainers from Kaoem Telapak also accompanied and gave feedback.
“On the last day of the training, participants were invited to review the entire material and received a session related to advocacy as a follow-up to monitoring.
“ “The new knowledgeI got is the basics of monitoring with 5W+1H. I can also do documentation and navigation using Avenza, so that it supports efforts to monitor indigenous territories and forests,” said Fred (not his real name – ed), a training participant.
“The training has ended, but the long road to forest conservation has just begun. Abu Meridian, Campaign Leader of Kaoem Telapak, revealed that efforts to save the forest do not stop at training activities, but need intense collaborative work, “Forest monitoring efforts are work that cannot be done in just a short time, but requires consistency and collaboration of all parties. Especially friends of Indigenous Youth who live directly on the site, friends who are at the forefront of saving forests in our country.”
