Papua has forests with the highest levels of biodiversity in the world. The results of collaborative research by scientists from 19 countries published in early August 2020 in the journal Nature found that there were 13,634 plant species from 1742 genera and 264 families. This number positions Papua Island as the island with the richest plant diversity in the world. This data shows that Papua has more than Madagascar which is known as a center of biodiversity (16 percent), which has 11,488 species recorded.

From this data, the scientists found that 68 percent (9,301) were endemic plant species on the island of Papua. This means that more than two thirds of these plants are found nowhere else. Other data also states, there are 602 species of birds, 125 mammals and 223 reptiles. This forest is also a source of livelihood for many Papuan people.
In 2015, West Papua was declared to be the first conservation province in the world (later in its development, several years ago it was changed to a sustainable development province) and this commitment is still held by the current governor.
These steps seem to have paid off. In line with the political commitment of provincial leaders to forest preservation, the annual forest loss rate decreased in 2016 and 2017.
However, this does not mean that there are no risks to Papua's primary forests. There are still elements of the government that do not fully support conservation, for example with the national government infrastructure development agenda in West Papua and Papua Provinces which seems to still involve forest clearing.
We should be able to prevent major forest clearing if we can develop alternative sectors outside of current practices that rely on the use of natural resources to promote economic growth. For example, Papua is so beautiful that it has the potential for ecotourism. With integrated agroforestry, the production of non-timber forest goods such as sago, cocoa, coffee, honey, orchids and fruits can also be developed as an alternative source of livelihoods.
For this reason, Bentara Papua invited Papuan Youths to speak out through a one-minute video competition on Papua Forest Facts. The video contains direct and indirect messages supporting the protection of Papua's forests from the threat of large-scale investment. Because large-scale investment tends to benefit people outside of Papua. Meanwhile, the indigenous people of Papua will suffer greater consequences from the destruction of ecosystems and the loss of trees and other biodiversity.
Videos from the contestants will then be selected and then collaborated with other videos to become material for a forest protection campaign which will be broadcast on Bentara Papua's social media regularly.