My Ideas and Stories About PAPUA

Making the rich and beautiful resources in Papua become the social economic strength for Papuan has become the long home works. Many people believe that the early start to find the answer is by understanding how Papua looks like, their communities and their special strength. And it can be realize by directly in touch with them. This blogs provides you chance to touch and gets insight ideas, trends and stories about Papua.

  • Stories About Beautiful Papua

    Every Single Place In Papua Have Its Stories To Be Shared To Build Other People Understanding About This Island

  • The Last Frotier Primary Forests

    With 42 Million ha of forests, Papua play crucial rules in Indonensia forests development targets.

  • Women and Natural Resources

    Forests or land right are not only about Man. So understanding the roles women and the impact of forests changes to women are also crucial

  • Our Traditional Value

    Papuan Community Have Been Living for Centuries with Their Knowledge and Wisdom in Managing Natural Resources and Practice Best Conservation

  • For Papuan Generation

    Every Works We Do Now Must Be Dedicated To The Future Papuan Generation

  • Dependency to Forests Resources

    Practicing Good Forests Governance in Papus About Understing the Right of Indigenous People and Their Dependency to Natural Resources

  • All Are Wonderful

    You Will Get Good Scene That You May Not Able Somewhere Else - Only In PAPUA

  • Bitter Nut Is Papuan Favorit Gums

    Bitter Nut or In Papua We Call 'Pinang' Is The Local Gum You Can See In Every Corner of the Cities. Papuan People Love To Chewing It. Sometime People Consider It As Contact Material When You Travel to The Village

  • Papuan Traditional Conservation Practices

    For Centuries, Papuan Has Practicing Local Wisdom to Sustainaible Use of Natural Resources. They Have Traditional Education System to Teaching Them How To Interact With Human, Spiritual Power and Understanding The Words Of Nature

Kamis, 26 Februari 2015

Why Customary Boundary Map Is Important for the Community in Moi – Sorong, West Papua Province of Indonesia?

By  at 17.29  ,  No comments
It has been 4 months after Moi Kelim people declared their territories maps publicly. I went back to Sorong and met with Mr. Silas Ongge Kalami, the chief of Malamoi to gets his insight thinking about the Moi lands and its important to get legal recognition. This shorts quote was a quick summary of interview we did :

Mr. Silas Ongge Kalami. The Chief of the Malamoi Customary Community Organization. (LMA Malamoi). Photo: Agustinus Kalalu


Can you tell us the result you and your People has produced with territories mapping last year?

Since 2013, the Malamoi Customary Organization (LMA Malamoi) worked on their customary boundary mapping with supported by Samdhana Institute, Participatory Mapping Works (JKPP) and National Indigenous People Alliance (AMAN). They have produced 430,000 ha of customary map covers 372 clans in about 10 Sub-Districts in Sorong Regency.

What are the dynamic problems in your community groups regarding to rights of resources and the management of the natural resources?

There are three basics problems in current situation that be faced by the customary community:
1.     No recognition and protection to our customary land and resources rights. The common cases are often appears in the uses of land, forests and other natural resources.
2.     This condition are getting worse because the community organizing is also weak.
3.     Until now there is no regulation at district level that legally recognize, respect, protects and safe the rights of customary community.

What are the strategic steps that you and your community taken to deal with the above problems?

We starting with community organizing program through customary boundary mapping. For Malamoi we have just started from the 1 sub-groups names Moi-Kelim. This was our 1st experiences so we were got supported from Samdhana Institute, National Indigenous People Alliance and the Government in Sorong Districts. This collaborative worked has produces one map for Moi Kelim. This map will be our guiding books to facilitate the rests sub groups of Moi (red: 12 sub-groups).
As the 1st experience the Mapping of Kelim areas was design as a training/filed practices chance. We are beginning to learn how to produce a customary boundary map. The learning process is happened in multilevel from district until a customary council (dewan adat) at villages level includes “Gelet” or family groups/clans. They start to learn how to use customary boundary mapping as a tools to re-govern their rights.

The map we produced for Moi Kelim is for a big sub-groups, so we do expect to see each “Gelet” could then start to facilitate the detail boundary maps based on their rights, and make an agreement among one and another.

What supports, do you think the government must provide to helps community helps the above problems?

We do expect to encourage the Government in Sorong, South Sorong and Raja Ampat those areas are inside Moi to actively engage in the community organizing program and customary boundary mapping. The engagement should cover technical and materials support to LMA Malamoi on their working programs. The support is also can be realized by realizing the local regulation that respect, recognize and protects the rights of customary community and also protection to cultural livelihood of the community. These are crucial because the community having a strong rights over the land, natural resources, cultural heritages even right over the development. So we are love to see the synergy programs between government and the community. 

What is the keys message do you want to share for other customary communities in Papua?
I would like to emphasize my message to other customary communities but specifically to Moi people “we can’t struggle alone, we need a strong organization in which this will make our works easily”. We works to struggle for our rights on land, natural resources, cultural heritage and development. Looking at the changes in Moi land and community as the consequences of integration new change from outside the quick preventive steps is needed. Because if the changes is rapidly happened then the Moi people with their culture with lose gradually. So now, there is only one words “strong organization to struggle for the rights of customary communities”. It is the time now for us to reflect, regulate our self and build in collaboration spirits. 

To the other customary communities except of Moi, either Papuan or Non-Papua, who live in Moi land I would like to say ‘when you steps on the land you should respects the sky’. Because for us in Moi, those people who come to our land and keep respects to local rights and tradition we call them as ‘nesafan’ but those who come to out land but not respect the customary rights we call them as ‘neitobo’. This message is also be addressed to my Moi people who live in other part out of Moi, you must respect to other people rights. This will lead as to a universal community. Because most of the conflict between nations is appear because there is a disobeying and un-respects to someone rights.
We also want to get a freedom and become a leader in our own land or in Moi we call it with “Neulik”