The indigenous Papuan people survive by utilizing the wealth of natural resources they have. The relationship between humans and nature can be said to be a mutualistic symbiosis that benefits each other. Customary rules that bind people to maintain their behavior towards nature make the process of preserving nature an obligation in everyday life. However, global warming and an unpredictable climate are factors that threaten the sustainability of nature and include threatening the sustainability of indigenous Papuans who depend on nature for their livelihood. An example is the flood that occurred in Yotoro Hill, Kwadeware Village, Waibu District, Jayapura Regency. The flood eroded the plants on the hill so that the land became bare and potentially dangerous for the people living around the hill. Therefore, a tree planting movement is needed to prevent further dangers.
The condition of the people living around Yotoro Hill has received attention from the Samdhana Institute. Quoted from the Samdhana Institute website, they are a Non-Government Organization or community of activists and practitioners who work with indigenous peoples and local communities, collaborate with civil society movements, inspire, maintain, and grow resilient communities, for social and environmental justice in South East Asia. Samdhana Institute collaborates with local communities in Papua, namely the Noken Mamberamo Tabi Community, to work together to address potential environmental problems around Bukit Yotoro.
The activity initiated by the Samdhana Institute was to plant 100 moringa trees. The reason why they carried out this activity was because they had conducted research beforehand regarding what activities were considered most appropriate to address environmental problems in Bukit Yotoro so they decided to improve the plant ecosystem by planting moringa trees. The reason why they chose the moringa trees to be planted was because the trees did not require special care so that by simply planting them, they would grow by themselves and could have an impact on re-greening the Bukit Yotoro area which had been eroded due to flooding.
The people who live in Bukit Yotoro initially felt pessimistic because they considered the destruction of nature as a result of the anger of their ancestors. However, there does need to be a real movement that is able to convince the local community to solve the problem together. The condition of the soil mixed with rocks makes Yotoro Hill quite difficult to plant plants. The moringa trees that were planted turned out to be suitable for the existing natural conditions so that the local community assisted by the Mamberamo Tabi Noken Community were enthusiastic again to plant moringa trees to preserve nature.
The hope of the nature conservation activities carried out in Yotoro Hill is that the community can learn about the potential of nature that exists and also the various risks as well as learn how to overcome risks and handle existing natural problems. Samdhana Institute and the Mamberamo Tabi Noken Community embrace the community in Yotoro Hill to get to know the natural conditions around them better and invite the community to work together to preserve nature in accordance with the prevailing customary values.
