Sira and Manggroholo Villages Received Forests Management Licenses

Mr. Nicolas U Tike, West Papua Governor Adviser for Economic Development awarding forests management licenses to the elders of Sira and Manggroholo communities. Photo: Antaranews.

Official Awarding by the Provincial Government 

Historical moment just happened in Teminabuan the capital of South Sorong District when the West Papua Province Secretary Assistant Mr. Nicolas Uttung Tike officially awarded the forests management licenses/right to the elders of Sira and Manggroholo. Standing on the bench, Alfred Kladit, Yoel Sremere and Markus Kladit representing big groups of community in the village received the Governor Decree. Traditional dancing such as Tihor, Sayo and Salawa were performed by the community to welcome the news path of responsibilities in protection and properly manage the resources in their territories. As shared by phone, Arkilaus Kladit who is the focal point and key facilitator of this groups shows his happiness of this momentum and said "we are now in good track to make sure we can manage our own resources. Because we worry and don't want oil palm expansion coming and destructing our forests". Adding to him Fredrik Sagisolo the Chief of Knasoimos Customary Community Council (Dewan Perwakilan Masyarakat Adat Knasoimos) raised his grateful by emphasizing, "this a new victory of customary community here in South Sorong. And we hope this inspiring other community to build their spirit to secure and manage their own forest resources".

Officially this is the 1st forests management license awarded to customary community in West Papua. The decree is the next legal steps the community need to be able to manage their forests products after Ministry Of Forestry approved and granted village forests concession in 2014. Total areas of the concession in both village are 3,545 ha and dominated by swamp, dry land and mangrove forests. Resin and sago are the chosen products that the community facilitated by Bentara Papua, Green Peace and Samdhana Institute has identifying will be the potential products to be managed by this villages forests. As confirmed by the Mr. Herman Remetwa, the head of community development division in Forestry Department of West Papua province that these Governor Decree No 181 and 182 of 2016 are part of provincial active supports to the initiative emerging in the areas since social forestry is putting as one of the key strategic issues in forests development agenda of the province in the 5 years.

Social forestry with its 12,7 million ha target are an opportunities for community those who living inside and around forests areas to gets an access to manage their resources. This is part of the current president Mr. Jokowi's regime priority program to provide more clarity and legal security for people to be able to step out from poverty by managing the resources in their territories. As reported by Mr. Sahala Simanjuntak, the head of Maluku Papua Social Forestry Unit (technical unit of Forestry and Environmental ministry) indicatively there are 254,581 ha areal that potentially facilitated as social forestry sites in West Papua Province. Beside South Sorong, there was also a concession granted to customary community in Esania - Kaimana for about 11,005 ha but it has expired last year since there is no facilitation to apply for management licenses two years after awarded.

Next Step: Packaging the detail Management Plan

Overall outcomes or dream we catches from communities in these two villages are "securing their land rights and increasing of welfare by self managing forests resources". Village forests licenses is the tools and scheme they used to meets this targeted changes by trying applying legal and sustainable forests product management at community based level. Since 2014 resin gathered from Agathis and Fatica trees been introducing by Greepeace and Bentara Papua as one of the priority product of these two village forests and its been mainstreaming as one of the core forest product to expand the business that village forests management body will manage eventhough there is no clear record or specific assessment that confirming about the potency of resin.

Sahala Simanjuntak, The Head of Maluku Papua Social Forestry Unit officially granted the sago process and production machine to the village forests management body of Sira and Manggroholo

Sago is another product emerging as priority. It is one of the cash and non cash income for the community. It growing robustly in around villages and has gradually harvesting by the community with the traditional technique the adapting for generations. Papua State University of their 2015 assessment report mentioned that there are about 40 ha of sago plots that spread in Sira and Manggroholo, of which 8 trunk per ha can be harvested and produce up to 350 kg of wet starch. At the same event of lincese Awarding, the sago production and procession machine was granted to the two communities by the social forestry units. Sahala Simanjuntak said "this is the way how ministry of forestry and environment is commitment to help community whose initiating social forestry in their region". Looking at the facts that Sago is the best option this grant has be another positive momentum for community to be more equipped with technical requirement on managing the resources.

Creating a proper management plans with accurate data potency and markets assessment are needed after the license is secured to help community in Sira and Manggrholo taking an advance steps on small scale enterprises. To effectively implement the new awarded governor license, the management body must have a solid and valid management plans for 20 - 35 years and break down detail of annual plans with simple detail business calculation of benefit costs and marketing plan that become reference for community to gets in to the real production of their forests products. On the other sides these documents are also required by the government to make sure the management licenses are applied according to the norms, procedure and standard been regulating by the law. Both Markus Kladit and Alfred Kladit as the head of village forests  management body aware that the robust requirement of forests products production and marketing should be well understood by them to secure their management practices after the governor decree received. Both keep emphasizing the needs of continue facilitation by the NGOs whose has working with them to provisioning concrete benefits and changes they can gets from this village forests.