Protection of the Natives of Dutch New Guinea

Abstract

MEN of science in Holland have been by no means blind to the havoc which is being caused, especially among fauna and flora, by Western exploitation of natural resources in the remoter parts of the world. They also appreciate to the full the deleterious effects of the impact of Western civilization on primitive peoples. This latter problem is one which has been brought home to them with peculiar force and urgency, not only on behalf of the native populations under Dutch administration in Indonesia, but also owing to the prospective rapid development of the natural resources of Dutch New Guinea in the near future, where the use of aeroplanes by the great oil interests and also prospecting for minerals are bringing about the speedy opening up of the hitherto inaccessible interior.