The International Conference on Biodiversity, Ecotourism and Creative Economy (ICBE) 2018 was officially closed by reading the Manokwari Declaration agreed upon by the Provinces of Papua and West Papua. The declaration was a follow-up to the Memorandum of Understanding that was previously signed by the two Provinces at the opening of the event, Sunday (7 October 2018).
The Manokwari Declaration has a shared vision of Tanah Papua namely yaitu Papua Land is Peaceful, Sustainable, Sustainable and Dignified. From this vision, it was specified to be 14 points, which was the result of the 2018 ICBE conference.
West Papua Governor Drs Dominggus Mandacan who closed the 2018 ICBE said the Conference would be the start of a great work in the Land of Papua.
“Such as the completion of the Perdasus (Special Regional Regulation) of sustainable development in West Papua Province and the Perdasus recognition of the Rights of the Customary Law Community, the completion of the revised RTRW (Spatial and Regional Spatial Planning), the completion of the revision process for granting land conversion licensing, and if deemed necessary to compile a Perdasus for regulation granting land conversion licenses involving community landowners, “he explained.
He said the Manokwari Declaration was the basis and main direction in sustainable development activities in the Land of Papua. For this reason, he asked all those involved in the ICBE Conference to cooperate in implementing the declaration.
“If we work well together, then we can do any difficult work,” said Dominggus encouragingly.
One of the points in the conclusion is to establish the Museum of Natural History and the Botanical Gardens in the Land of Papua in order to support conservation efforts and collection, research and increase understanding and appreciation of Papua’s biodiversity and natural and cultural diversity. this is specifically stated in the sixth point of the declaration.
The construction of the Museum was also encouraged in the session that took place on the last day of ICBE 2018. The establishment of the educational building was believed to be one of the instruments supporting the Sustainable Development intentions echoed by the two Provinces.
Chair 2 of the ICBE 2018 Working Team Keliopas Krey stated that the Museum can become a data bank and educational facility for research results in the Land of Papua. So that each policy can refer to existing scientific studies.
“So that the data that has been difficult to access and spread everywhere can be collected in this museum. So that all students from Kindergarten to Higher Education can come to access information on specimen collection and our culture in this museum, “he said.
He said that the existence of a museum could also strengthen the culture of research in the Land of Papua. Thus, the wealth of the Land of Papua which was still lacking in previous exploration could be revealed and made into one container. The construction of the museum is also important, the article, Papua itself contains 50 percent of biodiversity in Indonesia.
“But we hope that there are also regulations that will regulate research funding in Papua. Because of this research, it is often difficult to fund as well, “explained Keliopas.
The Head of Zoology of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, Hari Sutrisno, in one of the sessions encouraged the establishment of a museum in Papua. According to him, quite a lot of studies in Papua from local academics to foreign researchers can be accommodated in one place.
“There is a lot of research in Papua and can be used as a museum collection. we hope that later they will become the satellites in Bogor, so they are one with us but they are the satellites, “Hari said.
He suggested that the Museum also be accompanied by the construction of the Botanical Gardens as contained in the declaration. It was for the sake of targeting many visitors.
“That’s what happened in Bogor, all museum visitors must also be visitors to the Botanical Gardens, so they get two benefits when they come to visit,” he said.
