BRIN and Yapen Islands Regency Synergise to Save Wabo Language from Extinction

The National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) together with the Yapen Islands Regency Government (Pemkab) in Papua have officially joined forces to save the Wabo language from the threat of extinction. The regional language is now reported to be at a critical level due to the increasingly limited number of speakers and its discontinued use in daily communication. This preservation synergy was discussed during an audience between researchers from BRIN’s Language and Literature Preservation Research Centre and Yapen Islands Regent Benyamin Arisoy, along with local government officials in Serui, Papua. BRIN researcher Satwiko Budiono explained that the research team has been documenting the Wabo language for several years. Progress includes the collection of linguistic data, archiving in national and international repositories, and the compilation of a descriptive grammar. “The Wabo language is part of the cultural wealth of the Yapen Islands Regency that must be protected together. Collaboration like this is the key to successfully protecting endangered and critically threatened regional languages,” said Satwiko in a statement on Saturday (20/6/2026). Satwiko added that the successful protection of the Wabo language will later be used as a model or pilot for documenting other regional languages in the Yapen Islands area that also require serious attention. Yapen Islands Regent Benyamin Arisoy welcomed the BRIN team’s presence and expressed the local government’s full commitment to supporting the programme’s sustainability through regional policies. “The regional government fully supports efforts to protect the Wabo language because language is the identity and cultural heritage of the community that must not be lost. What BRIN is doing today is an investment in language and culture for the future of the younger generation,” said Benyamin. Echoing the regent, Head of Bapperida for Yapen Islands Regency, Saskar Paiderouw, acknowledged that his region has limited competent human resources in the field of specific language documentation. Therefore, scientific assistance from BRIN is crucial. Saskar confirmed that the Yapen Islands Regency Government is open to allocating funding support through the applicable regional budget (APBD) mechanism, while BRIN will oversee the technical aspects and research methodology. The audience resulted in an initial agreement on the future direction of cooperation. One of the main agendas following the completion of the descriptive grammar is the production of a Wabo Language Dictionary. This dictionary compilation programme will later be delegated jointly to Bapperida and the Tourism and Culture Office of the Yapen Islands Regency to be incorporated into the regional cultural protection programme. BRIN hopes that the dictionary will not merely remain as a scientific literature product in libraries but can be mass-produced as local teaching material. The dictionary is targeted to become the primary learning medium for the younger generation who wish to relearn their ancestral language, ensuring the existence of the Wabo language is maintained in the land of Papua.