Maybrat, Jubi – High school and vocational students (SMA/SMK) in North Ayamaru District, Maybrat Regency, Southwest Papua, have cleaned trash from local rivers in an effort to protect and sustain the region’s rainbow fish population.

The cleanup took place in the Yase and Johkam rivers on Tuesday (May 5, 2026), with students removing various types of waste, including plastic bottles, cans, and glass.

Roby Nauw, a student at SMK Negeri Ayamaru, said the action went beyond a routine cleanup, describing it as a form of resistance against worsening environmental degradation.

Meanwhile, Nus Susim of the Save Ayamaru Lakes (SAL) community said the rivers in the area flow directly into Lake Ayamaru, meaning pollution in the rivers inevitably contaminates the lake.

He warned that the lake’s ecosystem has reached an alarming stage, with the endemic rainbow fish becoming increasingly difficult to find in its natural habitat.

“The Ayamaru rainbow fish is now rarely seen in the lake—almost to the point of disappearing,” Susim said.

He explained that, in addition to habitat degradation, invasive species such as tilapia, mujair, and snakehead fish pose a major threat, as they prey on rainbow fish eggs.

“As a result, there is no regeneration. This is a serious threat. The Ayamaru rainbow fish can no longer survive in open waters and are forced to seek refuge in increasingly narrow and isolated areas, such as small spring-fed streams known as mos-mos. These have become their last safe habitats, as the lake is no longer secure,” he said.

Susim added that if these rivers—where the fish now take refuge from invasive species—are further damaged or polluted, the survival of the rainbow fish will be at risk.

“We may one day only be able to tell future generations that there was once the most beautiful fish in the world in Ayamaru, but it has since gone extinct,” he said.

He warned that allowing invasive species to spread, continued pollution, and unchecked development would only accelerate the destruction of the river and lake ecosystems.

He also stressed that environmental degradation in the area threatens the livelihoods of Indigenous communities, for whom the lake and rivers serve as vital sources of food, income, and cultural identity.

“It is time for the government to move beyond ceremonial rhetoric and take real action. Otherwise, history will record us as the generation that failed to protect a natural heritage that once drew the world’s admiration,” Susim said. (*)