Reza Saputra: Berpacu Melawan Kepunahan untuk Melestarikan Anggrek di Hutan Papua Barat

Australia Awards scholar Reza Saputra is racing against extinction to discover new species of orchids, and to conserve those already documented.

As a Forest Ecosystem Officer at the West Papua Natural Resources Conservation Agency, Reza works in the Bird’s Head Peninsula, located in the northwest part of the island of New Guinea, comprising Indonesia’s Southwest Papua and West Papua provinces.

It’s known as a plant diversity “dark spot”—an area teeming with species yet still poorly studied—suggesting that many orchids and other plants remain undiscovered. Recent research indicates that three out of four undescribed plant species are already at risk of extinction due to habitat loss and illegal trade.

Reza’s work to locate, identify, and classify orchid species, whether new or rediscovered, often requires traversing difficult terrains. But he finds the risk well worth it, referring to his deep admiration for the Orchidaceae plant family as “orchid fever”.

“Orchids don’t just have beautiful, stunning flowers, they are also abundant in research materials,” Reza explained. “The rich diversity of orchids have held my interest.”

This year Reza is embarking on an academic quest, beginning his Masters of Science in Tropical Biology and Conservation at James Cook University in Cairns, under the Australian Government-funded Australia Awards Scholarship.

“I’m only two months into my studies, but it has been a tremendous experience,” he said. “What I find fascinating is the use of pre-recorded lectures. It enables students to replay sections they found difficult, and is an efficient use of the professor’s time.”

Reza believes that Indonesian orchid conservation efforts could benefit greatly from building a collaborative research network with Australian experts.

“Such a network could boost research programs and biodiversity conservation in West Papua. Cairns in Far North Queensland especially shares a very similar ecoregion and biodiversity to New Guinea Island,” he noted.

Together with his professor and colleagues in Australia, Reza is currently writing a paper on two new orchid species found in Raja Ampat. Prior to his studies he had found several new species, both as lead researcher and team member.

Reza is also involved as a volunteer for a native Australian plant conservation status assessment project, and plans to volunteer at an Australian tropical herbarium, noting the important role they play in DNA analysis, conservation, and taxonomy studies.

More Than a Decorative Plant

The Orchidaceae family is among the most endangered groups of flowering plants, with many species listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.

Given these threats, the identification, documentation, and conservation of orchids are not only scientific imperatives but also critical steps toward preserving the region’s unparalleled biodiversity.

Reza views taxonomy, the science of classification, as one of the foundational aspects of conservation.

“If we can strengthen taxonomy in Indonesia, we can better determine which species to prioritise for conservation, especially as orchids are among the plants most vulnerable to extinction, in part due to black market demand,” said Reza.

Besides their beauty, orchids are fascinating to Reza because of their biodiversity. He explained how orchids can also serve as bioindicators, helping to determine the health of a forest’s ecosystem.

Some orchids have medicinal and cultural uses, too. A traditional Papuan bag woven from tree fibres, noken, can increase in value up to tenfold when decorated with orchid pseudobulbs.

The provincial government of West Papua recently designated a large part of the province as a strategic biodiversity and culture zone where only sustainable development is permitted. Named the Crown Jewel of Tanah Papua, the area covers the Wondiwoi, the Arfak, and the Tambrauw mountain ranges.

Reza feels strongly that conservation is key for West Papua to develop sustainably. Among the many conservation efforts, he is involved in the Orchids of Bird’s Head Peninsula Project. Headed by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London, in partnership with the West Papua Province Regional Research and Innovation Agency and Universitas Papua, Manokwari, the project aims to publish a comprehensive book on orchid diversity in the Bird’s Head Peninsula, providing valuable scientific and conservation insights. The project aligns with another that Reza supports, the Tropical Important Plant Areas (TIPAs) in Indonesian New Guinea. This project’s mission is to identify and protect socio-economically essential plant species.

Within these projects, Reza is assisting with the conservation status assessment of orchids in West Papua, to be published in the IUCN Red List. Being able to identify critically endangered species in each TIPA based on the IUCN Red List criteria presents a stronger case for conservation for policymakers.

Reza is also an active contributor to the Digital Flora of Indonesia database, a continuously updated list of Indonesian plants maintained and supervised by the Tumbuhan Asli Nusantara Foundation (Native Nusantara Plants Foundation). He is also a member of the Orchid Specialist Groups, Species Survival Commission, IUCN.

Dedicated to Conservation and Culture

Reza’s dedication to conservation has been recognised with several awards, including the Nature Conservation Award 2024 from the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry, the Elodie Sandford Explorer Award 2023 from the Scientific Exploration Society, and the Tony Whitten Conservation Award 2021 from the Cambridge Conservation Initiative, UK.

Reza is hopeful for the future of Indonesian conservation efforts and how they could benefit local communities. Some examples are forest agriculture groups that are cultivating orchids to sell instead of foraging them from nature and the orchid garden ecotourism of Sorong Nature Recreation Park.

What best encapsulates Reza’s hope for the future of Indonesian biodiversity is how he chooses to recognise local tribes when naming new orchid species. One of the new species he helped discover, Bulbophyllum abuniorum, is named after the Abun tribe, who protect the North Tambrauw Mountains Nature Reserve.

“Acknowledging the local community and the work that they do instils a sense of pride for the incredible biodiversity of their land,” Reza explained. “In turn, this encourages the next generation to pursue conservation, leading to a prosperous and sustainable development.”