Leatherback Turtle in West Papua

A leatherback turtle heads out to sea after laying eggs on Jamursba Medi beach, Tambrau District, West Papua. Leatherback turtles are the largest marine turtle species and are considered living dinosaurs as the species have been virtually unchanged for the last 100 million years. The species is critically endangered and may face extinction within the next three decades. Jamursba Medi beach, a remote beach with no villages or towns and one of the last remaining leatherback nesting sites in the western Pacific, is pegged as a site for the development of the Trans -Papua Highway. The construction of the road will threaten the turtle nesting area as well as important habitats for Papua’s birds of paradise and other protected species. Greenpeace is in Indonesia to document one of the world’s most biodiverse – and threatened – environments and to call for urgent action to ensure that the country's oceans and forests are protected.