West Papua, Manokwari (November 24, 2025) — Blue Abadi Fund (BAF) partners from West Papua and Southwest Papua gathered for the Cycle 5 Grant Partner Learning Workshop, a forum routinely held at the conclusion of every BAF grant period. The event was attended by partners from both the Primary category (5 partners) and the Innovation category (10 partners), serving as a crucial space for sharing experiences, achievements, field challenges, and best practices emerging during the implementation of conservation and community empowerment programs in the Bird’s Head Seascape (BHS). The workshop took place on November 24, 2025, at the Multimedia Hall, 3rd Floor, West Papua Governor's Office.
The implementation of this learning workshop is grounded in validated approaches to environmental grant management and community-based conservation. Furthermore, within the Papuan context, this approach aligns with collaborative management principles that position indigenous peoples and local communities as the core holders of knowledge in ecological protection.
The workshop featured five main discussion sessions reflecting the partners' scope of work in the Bird’s Head Seascape (BHS), beginning with a focus on Marine Protected Area (MPA) management, which included an examination of social and ecological monitoring methods and results. Subsequent sessions explored the roles of environmental education, community outreach, and capacity building as foundations for public awareness, as well as the conservation of rare, endangered, and protected species alongside the critical ecosystems that sustain marine life. The forum also deepened the understanding of indigenous communities' roles in conservation management—encompassing cultural values, tenure rights, and local wisdom—before concluding with a review of the interconnection between sustainable development, improved coastal livelihoods, and ecological balance in the BHS region.
Through this forum, partners had the opportunity to present field results and lessons learned, strengthen professional networks, and formulate relevant recommendations to improve program effectiveness in the upcoming cycle. The workshop is also a vital element in ensuring that conservation impact is not merely recorded as project data, but is translated into shared knowledge, enhanced local capacity, and the long-term sustainability of management in the BHS marine region.
One of the workshop participants, Cory Patty from Yayasan Orang Laut Papua—an organization focused on coral reef restoration—shared his views on the importance of this forum. "For us, a learning workshop like this is vital because it allows partners to understand each other's challenges and successes. Coral reef restoration is not just technical work; it involves the community, customs, local knowledge, and behavioral change. We have successfully planted over 12,000 coral fragments across more than 3,400 square meters of coastal area in the Raja Ampat region. By sharing experiences in this forum, we can learn more effective methods, strengthen networks, and ensure that our work makes a tangible impact on the ecosystem and coastal communities. Activities like this remind us that conservation in Papua is not just a project, but a shared journey," said Cory Patty.
On the same occasion, Gita Gemilang, Deputy Director of the KEHATI Foundation acting as the Blue Abadi Fund Administrator, emphasized that this learning workshop is not merely a closing to the grant cycle, but an integral part of the process to improve program quality and conservation governance in Papua. She stated that BAF is designed as a long-term funding model that ensures the sustainability of community-based conservation. "Forums like this are crucial because they allow us to see firsthand how programs run in the field, what works, what needs improvement, and how local knowledge can continue to be the center of marine area management. This shared learning helps us ensure that every effort and every activity truly provides meaningful impact for the ecosystem and communities in the Bird’s Head Seascape," Gita noted.
Meanwhile, West Papua Vice Governor Mohamad Lakotani, who attended and opened the event, expressed his support for the Cycle 5 Grant Partner Learning Workshop. He conveyed his appreciation for the Blue Abadi Fund's contribution to maintaining the sustainability of Papua's marine environment while simultaneously increasing the capacity of indigenous and local communities. "Our marine region is a precious heritage, not only for West Papua but also for Indonesia and the world. We hope the Blue Abadi Fund can continue to sustain itself and remain a strategic partner in guarding conservation areas and supporting communities that depend on coastal resources. The local government will continue to open spaces for collaboration so that the results of these programs become stronger and their benefits are increasingly felt by the community," stated Mohamad Lakotani.
The Cycle 5 Grant Partner Learning Workshop serves as important momentum to reaffirm that conservation success in Papua is determined not only by funding strength but also by collective knowledge, mutually reinforcing collaboration, and long-term commitment from stakeholders—ranging from local government, implementing partners, and indigenous communities to conservation organizations and technical support agencies. With shared learning spaces like this, partners are expected to be better prepared to face the next grant cycle and strengthen conservation impacts in one of the most biodiverse marine regions in the world.
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