WWF Commits To Develop The Tourism Sector In The Land Of Papua

Cenderawasih Bird Observations (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Indonesia's World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Papua Program hopes that there will be integration of ecotourism development programs with adequate infrastructure services and can expand the promotion of environmental-based tourist sites on Earth of Cenderawasih.

The Papua Program Manager for the WWF Indonesia Foundation Wika Rumbiak in Jayapura, Saturday, said that his party is committed to developing the tourism sector in Papua, especially in optimizing environmental service management as a sustainable leading sector through the development of tourism potential.

"This is evident from the tourism development cluster contained in the Regional Tourism Development Master Plan (RIPARDA) document," Wika said as quoted by Antara, Sunday.

According to Wika, the potential for natural beauty and special interests such as bird monitoring tourism, local food culinary tourism, adventure tourism, research and cultural tourism have been available in several areas in Papua.

"However, the challenge is the limited infrastructure, still not optimal promotion, integration between unconnected tourist sites, still low awareness of optimal management of tourist sites, and so on," he said again.

He explained that the WWF-Indonesia Program in Papua is in the context of developing existing ecotourism and can run well with the support of indigenous peoples, local governments and universities.

One of the principles that WWF-Indonesia applies is by having a conservation impact with incentives from environmental services in the ecotourism sector," he said again.

He added that hopefully the formation of awareness and high desire from all parties, both the government and society, who are proud of their potential, will be open to innovation and technology that is friendly in the development of environmental-based tourism.