Alex Waisimon received the Kalpataru award, which is bestowed to individuals or groups for their services in preserving the environment in Indonesia in 2017, but he is not ready to rest on his laurels just yet.
“I want sustainability,” he told ANTARA at the customary forest that he manages, “Isyo Hills Bird Watching” in Rhepang Muaid, Nimbokrang, Jayapura district.
Waisimon asserted that he expects those who come to Isyo Hills Bird Watching to truly love nature and care about the forest, especially the cenderawasih (the birds-of-paradise).
Through the birdwatching area, he said he wants to show people that if they genuinely love birds, they should only see them in their habitat and not lock them up in cages.
Moreover, he said he wants to save animals in the forest from capture and from habitat destruction, caused by practices such as illegal logging, which is still rampant despite the enforcement of several laws and regulations.
Born on September 19, 1968 in Nimbokrang (3 hours from Jayapura city), Waisimon is a true adventurer. After graduating from high school, he moved to Java and enrolled at the Satwacana University, Semarang.
“I studied there only for two years. Around the 1980s,” he recalled as he guided the ANTARA team to see birds-of-paradise on October 7, 2021.
He did not stop in Semarang long and ended up shifting base to Jakarta, Surabaya, and finally Bali, where he met the love of his life and with whom he has raised four children.
From 2009 to 2014, Waisimon worked for ILO (International Labour Organization). He said his work took him abroad and that gave him more opportunities to gain knowledge, which eventually led to his becoming the person he is today.
Source: Antara News