WALHI underlines the critical role of students in protecting nature and the environment against threats and harms of investment in Papua.
The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (WALHI) Papua invites students in Papua to protect the environment from degradation and climate crisis impacts as investment does not always bring blessings to the people.
Maikel Primus Peuki, the executive director of WALHI Papua said that environmental damage in Papua will contribute to the impacts of the climate crisis which is being felt by many regions in the country.
“There is no other planet we can inhabit besides Earth, and Earth is our mother. For this reason, students must protect the environment, especially from investments that have affected the forests and nature in Papua,” said Peuki in a statement published on its website.
Peuki adds that Earth is Mother Nature and provides us with life and sustenance, especially food and water.
“Because environmental damage is very real because human activity causes such damage, students must learn from the past to protect the environment’s future. Many of Papua’s forests and nature have been damaged and seized by companies by deceiving indigenous peoples. Today, it is the duty of students to guard and protect them,” said Peuki.
There is no other planet we can inhabit besides Earth, and Earth is our mother.
Maikel Peuki, Executive Director, WALHI Papua
Peuki continued that many coastal communities have lost their livelihoods and been uprooted from their ancestral homes due to failing coastal and marine ecosystems, and climate crisis impacts.
“In the past, coastal communities didn’t have to go far out into the sea to sustain their lives, but now they have to sail farther out. Again, students must run campaigns to support these communities,” he said.
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