Wealth and diversity in Papua can never be discussed, there are many things you can know from this black pearl land.
One of them is the largest national park in Southeast Asia, namely Lorentz National Park. The area of this area reaches 2.4 million hectares. Because of its extent, this national park goes to 10 districts, including Asmat Regency. The park was designated a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1999.
In addition, WWF also designated Lorentz National Park as the largest and most complete conservation area in Asia Pacific. This national park holds a myriad of charms. The ecosystems that are there are complete, ranging from marine aquatic ecosystems, freshwater swamp forest ecosystems, and even perennial snow mountain ecosystems. The park is home to nine endemic bird species such as cassowaries and paradises.
This is the history of Lorentz National Park.
Did you know, it turns out that the history of this park began with the Dutch.
The history of this National Park dates back to Hendricus Albertus Lorentz, a Dutch explorer who visited the area in 1909. In the Dutch colonial period, for the sake of nationalism, the Dutch determined that the snowy mountainous regions of Papua should be conquered first by the Dutch and not by other Europeans.
So, the first expedition to the interior was carried out led by H. A. Lorentz. The mission was accompanied by a very formidable military detachment with the aim of protecting team members from possible attacks from Papuans.
They managed to visit the interior of Papua, precisely on the Lorentz river, but their goal was to conquer the snowy mountains, so this expedition was considered a failure.
In 1909, Lorentz again held an expedition to reach the snowy peak. On the way, this expedition team followed the same route as the route taken by the previous expedition team. And finally it worked, a pride of being able to conquer the snowy mountains for the first time.
and finally this mountain range was named Queen of the Netherlands, Wihelmina or better known as the peak of jaya wijaya.
Because of this, Lorentz and the team met many species of animals and plants that until now became protected species.
This national park was established by the Indonesian government in 1997. Lorentz National Park is strictly protected by the World Wildlife Federation and UNESCO.
UNESCO has designated it a World Heritage Site. This National Park is an unofficial wonder of the world that contains a lot of wonders in it.
Lorentz National Park contains several ecosystems, including grasslands, marshes, ocean beaches, rainforests, and alpine mountains topped by rare tropical glaciers. The most famous mountain, Puncak Jaya, is the highest peak in Southeast Asia.
Lorentz National Park is home to many animals, including tree kangaroos and tigers, and many rare bird species such as the Pesquet parrot. In addition, the National Park is also home to at least seven indigenous human ethnic groups, all living up to tradition from back thousands of years.
However, conservation areas with a wealth of natural resources are threatened with ecosystem disruption. Therefore, in the spatial policy of Papua Province, this area is also designated as a protected area as stated in the Regional Regulation (Perda) of Papua Province Number 23 of 2013 concerning the Spatial Plan of the Papua Province
Access to Lorentz National Park.
To be able to reach Lorentz National Park is still a bit difficult. One of the paths that can be taken is through Timika.
From there, you can use a perints plane to go to Panilia Regency which is in the northern part of Lorentz National Park.
After that, you have to travel by sea to the port of Sawa Erma and then walk to several locations.
From Wamena City, you can reach the southern part of the national park by car to Lake Habema then walk to Trikora Peak.
For those of you who want to travel to this area, make sure the physical condition is strong enough. Because the terrain of Lorentz National Park is still fairly pure and unpredictable.