Yarona Village in Kaimana and Their Customary Territories

Yarona is lies in the reef of the big Buruway river that extent hundred kilometer in eastern of Kaimana, West Papua Province. Total population are 354 people that mix of three indigenous tribes Madewana, Asenara and Sabakor with other groups such as Buton (south east sulawesi), Java, Maybrat (Sorong), Batak (North Sumatera) and Key (South East Maluku). Its position on the delta in which sea water and rivers are meet has be a blessing for the richest of fishes and shrimps. Same as the other local village in Papua, the people in this village are living with strong customary rights claim and high dependency to natural resources mainly fishing, gardening and forests products uses. Rights over land resources are recognized under each customary clan and its influence all the norm of resources management on it. But with its open access the village has also occupied by non Papuan people and create a harmony acculturation of social values and relation in community daily live.

Yarona Village - Photo: Yunus Yumte

Since 2015 responded to request from community to maps their territories, WEER (Local NGO based in Kaimana) in a partnership with Samdhana Institute have worked with community leader of Yarona villages to maps the customary right territory. Through a long process that took about a year the customary boundary map of Yarona village are finalized and approved covering almost 21,000 ha. They also recorded 9 clans that have a customary right claim over this village with Urina clan is recognized as the owner of the land where the settlement of the village. While the other clans include: Kawada, Sepbuana, Kawena Bada, and Geabi are spread in all over the village boundaries. Geographically this villages is bordering with Esania village in the North East, Hia and Tairi villages in the north, Edor is down in the west and Kaimana Sea in the east.

For the community customary boundary map is the tools to secure their resources. They aware that their land rights will be threaten  by current development plan and the increasing of land uses and forestry demand in Kaimana. And learning from the the community in Esania whose under supported by Samdhana and PERDU has initiated village forests, Yarona community are feel that having a customary boundary maps should be one vital capital in the early stages on fighting for their right protection. Forests function has strongly support what the community are worrying about because it clearly classified all the customary territories of Yarona community into majority Production Forests and Convertible forests while few parts in the bank of the rivers and the beaches are determined as Protection forests. Mangrove forests are also another treasure of this villages with its potency. But legally the village has been occupying by the logging concession PT. Hanurata Unit III. 

Fery Hutapea, the field facilitator and also a member of the community in Yarona village expressed that the community in Yarona is welcoming the maps and hope they can do something better with their land through this maps. The social study WEER conducted found that about 80% of community income are generated from extraction of natural resources with marine products are dominating the contribution with almost 70% while forests products only contribute 10% of total income. The community mostly harvesting non timber forest product such as nutmeg, rattan and massohi (tree for aromatic oil). WEER is noted that the maps and its basic social data are useful foundation for the village to stepping forwards with clear legal natural resources management. 

Customary territory map of Yarona Village - Credit: Weer - Kaimana