Nearly four thousand Indigenous peoples from the Knasaimos tribe have received legal recognition of their rights over their ancestral lands
Located in the South Sorong Regency of West Papua
these lands cover the districts of Saifi and Seremuk
spanning an area of 97,411 hectares – roughly the size of Hong Kong
issued by the South Sorong regional government
is the fruit of decades of effort from the Knasaimos peoples
and numerous non-governmental organisations such as Bentara Papua and Greenpeace
they have engaged in participatory mapping to safeguard the forests against oil palm and pulp plantation expansions
the nation opens its eyes to an indisputable fact that this land has always belonged to our ancestors
We alone have the legal right to determine our future and manage our land,” said Fredrik Sagisolo
The path to legal recognition was one fraught with challenges
Despite a constitutional court decision in 2012
which required the Indonesian government to recognise the pre-existing rights of Indigenous Papuans
policymaking at both the regional and national level had marginalised these rights
a significant portion of land in the Saifi district was classified by the Ministry of Forestry and Environment as convertible production forest (Hutan Produksi yang dapat di Konversi
or HPK) – forests that can be changed or designated into non-forest status by the release of forestry land or through a ministerial decree
Without consultation with the Knasaimos peoples
the central and local governments offered loggers and plantation companies concessions to clear forests and convert land to industrial uses
Land was also designated for a transmigration settlement scheme
which aimed to relocate landless individuals from densely populated regions of Indonesia to less populous areas
the Knasaimos peoples rely on nature for their livelihoods
and sacred grounds for religious and spiritual practices
A Papuan woman preparing sago, which is a traditional stape food for the Knasaimos peoples, derived from the stem of tropical palms. Image: Greenpeace
sago – a traditional staple food made of starch extracted from the stems of tropical palms – served as an important alternative to rice
The sago harvested and produced by the Knasaimos peoples also helped to feed other local communities
with the government facilitating the purchase and distribution
The Knasaimos peoples’ intimate relationship with nature has translated into the sustainable management of their forest and its resources – rather than intensifying production for profits
we demonstrate to both our local community and to the central government that commitments to protecting the environment and ensuring dignity and prosperity for Indigenous communities go hand in hand,” said Dance Nauw
who formally presented the decree acknowledging the Knasaimos territory
The awarding of land rights is a significant milestone
but the area remains vulnerable to incursions
Speaking at the presentation ceremony in Teminabuan
the global head of Greenpeace Indonesia’s forest campaign highlighted that legal recognition for indigenous communities is not only the responsibility of the local government in South Sorong; it is also that of the central government in Jakarta
“We need Indonesia’s House of Representatives to pass the draft law on Indigenous peoples
and we won’t rest until we see full legal protection and recognition for Indigenous forests and real solutions to end deforestation in Papua,” he added
Indigenous Knasaimos women in their traditional dress, making their way to the customary forest. The forest was inherited from their ancestors and the only source of livelihood for the Sira village. Image: Greenpeace
a draft Indigenous rights bill has been placed every year on the list of national priority legislation
the bill is expected to streamline recognition of customary territories and to further secure Indigenous rights
Activists have mounted pressure on Joko Widodo’s administration to take legislative action before his term ends in October this year
but it is unlikely that the bill will be passed in time by the outgoing parliament
With the legal acknowledgment of land rights
no further permits should be granted to external parties without seeking and obtaining consent from the Knasaimos community
Initial threats come from forest conversion for palm oil
as a result of the government’s prior designation of land areas within the Knasaimos territory as convertible production forest
The central government will need to redesignate the area to reflect the new Indigenous land status
Timber barons also continue to eye the valuable merbau wood in the region
Indigenous Knasaimos peoples standing in front of a huge merbau tree in their forest. Over 80 per cent of Indonesia’s merbau timber exports come from Papua. Image: Greenpeace
processed timber from Papua was shipped to 20 countries including South Korea and China
Found across regions of Madagascar and Southeast Asia
merbau has seen its status decline from “not threatened” in 1997 to “near threatened” in 2020
under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List
The greatest decline is seen in the island of New Guinea
“The Knasaimos Indigenous peoples are today enjoying the fruit of their long struggle
but we must remember that there are many other Indigenous communities in Tanah Papua [the local name for West Papua]
and biodiversity after concessions were handed to company interests,” said Sumbung
Indonesia – Four thousand Indigenous Papuans have finally received legal recognition of customary rights over tropical rainforest spanning an area almost the size of Hong Kong in South Sorong Regency
The newly recognised Indigenous lands of the Knasaimos Peoples
lie in Indonesia’s Southwest Papua province
local Indigenous clans hold their territory under collective traditional title with each family or individual having rights over their own sago groves
while outsiders may only rent land within the customary area
this pre-existing Indigenous law regarding land ownership was effectively ignored by the modern Indonesian legal system
under which central and local governments offered loggers and plantation companies concessions to clear forest and convert land to industrial uses
Chair of the Knasaimos Indigenous Peoples Fellowship Council
the nation opens its eyes to an indisputable fact
true since time immemorial: that this land has always belonged to our ancestors
That we alone have the legal right to determine our future and manage our land
and the many-coloured diversity of plants and animals that call it home.”
As with many Indigenous communities across Tanah Papua (the western half of New Guinea
the Knasaimos Peoples have been fighting for decades to protect their customary lands from exploitation by external interests
Loggers have intruded to fell valuable Merbau trees
and palm oil companies have repeatedly attempted to establish themselves within Knasaimos territory.[1] For the Knasaimos Peoples that fight ended today with a decree that finally provided legal recognition of their rights
a Forest Campaigner at Greenpeace Indonesia
we are seeing legal recognition that Papua is not an empty land
The Knasaimos Indigenous Peoples are today enjoying the fruit of their long struggle
but we must remember that there are many other Indigenous communities in Tanah Papua
and biodiversity after concessions were handed to company interests.”
Traditional forests are a part of the Knasaimos identity and provide a source of food
and medicinal plants to feed and heal their families but also to provide income to ensure their children can go to school
we hope that the Indigenous community can continue to employ their local wisdom to manage their customary territory
and enjoy the benefits without being forced to give up their land.”
In formally presenting the decree acknowledging the Knasaimos territory
South Sorong Regional Secretary Dance Nauw said: “Today’s legal recognition of Knasaimos customary territory is a historical milestone for South Sorong
In issuing this decree the regency government provides real proof that it cares about its constituents
What’s more we demonstrate to both our local community and to the central government that commitments to protecting the environment and ensuring dignity and prosperity for Indigenous communities go hand in hand.”
Also speaking at the presentation ceremony in Teminabuan
Global Head of Greenpeace Indonesia’s Forest Campaign added: “Legal recognition for Indigenous communities is the responsibility not only of local governments such as in South Sorong
but also of the central government in Jakarta
We need Indonesia’s House of Representatives to pass the Draft Law on Indigenous Peoples
and we won’t rest until we see full legal protection and recognition for Indigenous Forests and real solutions to end deforestation in Papua.”
the Knasaimos Peoples faced the problem that Indonesia’s forest management regime considers all forest areas
to be under public ownership and government control
enabling officials to issue permits to plantation companies
Although this was technically overturned by Indonesia’s Constitutional Court in 2012
legal recognition of Indigenous title still requires a difficult and lengthy process to be undertaken
[2] Photos and videos of the decree presentation ceremony and footage of villages
forests and rivers within Knasaimos territory are available in the Greenpeace Media Library
[3] Knasaimos Customary Area location and territory maps
Igor O’Neill, Greenpeace Indonesia Forests Campaign: [email protected] +61 414-288-424
Infak Mayor, Bentara Papua, +62-822-4906-3836Greenpeace International Press Desk: [email protected], +31(0)207-18 2470 (available 24 hours). Follow @greenpeacepress for our latest international press releases
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I’m from the Knasaimos-Tehit tribe in South Sorong Regency
For decades my tribe has been fighting to protect our forests from outsiders who want to log it or clear it for palm oil
the forest is our mother and our best friend
Everything we need to survive comes from the forest: food
and there are many sacred sites in the forest
We have been taught for generations about how to maintain a good relationship with the forest
it will be the same as cutting down our lives
This has been critical for us during this Covid pandemic because
we have been relying on our traditional staple food
And we have gone further by harvesting it to provide food for the surrounding area
The first threat to our forest was in 1988-89 when I was young
The government wanted to make a transmigration scheme settlement in our area but our elders rejected it because we were worried a lot of new people would harm the forest
Then in the early 2000s companies came wanting to log the valuable trees in our forest
we saw them off in 2005 but only after they did some damage to our forest
We heard news reports in 2012 there was an oil palm company going into a neighboring village
We had heard about thousands of hectares being cleared for oil palm plantations in Merauke and Sorong Districts
We thought that if oil palm is planted in a neighboring village
it is certain that the forests around our villages
But we stood firm on protecting our forest for our children and grandchildren
customary and cultural lives depend heavily on the forest
After our earlier fight with the illegal loggers
we decided in 2006 that we wanted to gain recognition for our customary forests
What has interested me most was getting the rights of the people to manage their forest
We worked with our Non-Government Organisation friends
to do participatory mapping of our own village lands and mark the boundary of all 81,446 hectares of our tribal lands
It is our custom to pass down from generation to generation where the boundaries of our forests are
or is inherited collectively through the clans; it comes from our ancestors
In 2008 we made a declaration to reject logging and palm oil
We invited the Regent and local Parliament to tell them that our area is small
Where will we find wood to build our house
If forests in these two villages are cut down
So then we began the process of getting the recognition for our customary forests so that it will not be continually disturbed by logging licenses or permits for oil palm plantations
we had success with Village Forest permits for 3,545 hectares of customary forests of the two villages Mangroholo and Sira
We celebrated securing permits from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry as part of the government’s social forestry program
We now have the legal rights to face the threat of illegal deforestation
oil palm planting that damages the environment
A good example of how different it is now with the Village Forest permit
One day when we were patrolling in our forest we found merbau or ironwood trees (Intsia bijuga) had been illegally cut
Merbau is one of the main trees targeted by the illegal loggers
We caught the people doing this and issued them with a customary fine of Rp40 million ($2,700)
since we obtained the status of Village Forest and we manage the forest ourselves
we are more organized in using Non Timber Forest Products (NTFP) such as damar (tree resin)
from a big palm that grows in our swamp forests
But our people have always made use of forests sustainably by taking forest products as needed
Especially with sago we have done a lot of work to turn it into a small enterprise that makes a good income for the village so we can pay things like school fees
received new processing machines to speed up production
and help with local marketing to sell what we make
We have been providing food for the local region during Covid as the local government was buying our sago and giving it to the people
We are proud to make some money from our protected forest using our customary management without harming it
But we still have a long way to go. We are now fighting for the recognition of the whole Knasaimos tribal area of 81,446 hectares as Customary Forest. We were very happy in 2018 when the Governor of West Papua Dominggus Mandacan made his commitment to make 70% of West Papua Province protected areas
For us it means the Governor is fighting alongside us
For the future we hope that the regent of our District
Mr Samsudin will soon issue a regional regulation that recognizes Knasaimos rights and forest
and that the Ministry of Environment and Forestry will support our application for a Customary Forest permit through the government Social Forestry Scheme so we can be on the frontline in supporting the government to protect Papua’s forests
I hope that every village in the Knasaimos customary area can experience the customary forest program to protect the future of our mother
and the rights to life of communities in Papua
Getting rights to forests in one’s own area is the key to protecting the forest and community-based forest management
Arkilaus is a member of the Knasaimos Indigenous Peoples Council and a key tribal leader in gaining the rights to their customary lands
The “fortress conservation” model is under pressure in East Africa
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and global efforts to halt biodiversity loss
Mongabay’s Special Issue goes beyond the region’s world-renowned safaris to examine how rural communities and governments are reckoning with conservation’s colonial origins
and trying to forge a path forward […]
A mysterious colourful crayfish discovered in Indonesia has been confirmed as a new species
The striking blue and pink crayfish has been named Cherax pulcher – pulcher meaning beautiful in Latin
The species was identified by German scientist Christian Lukhaup, who described the creature in the journal ZooKeys
close to the village of Teminabuan in West Papua
and although it has been sold commercially since the early 2000s
no one knew what it was or where it came from
there has been an increasing number of colourful crayfish sold in the ornamental fish trade in Europe
and Asia under the names Cherax 'Hoa Creek'
and 'Irian Jaya' presumed to represent a further undescribed species from New Guinea," the author wrote
The most common and popular colour forms are a white
Cherax pulcher differs from all other crayfish of this subgenus in the shape of its chelae
shape of body and also in its colouration," Lukhaup wrote
He said there are now 19 known species of Cherax in Indonesia
The latest grows up to 12cm in length and has a wider areola and body shape compared to its closest relative morphologically
Its wider body means it is better adapted to fast flowing water with higher dissolved oxygen levels
which also accounts for its smaller size – lake crayfish tend to get bigger than those living in creeks or rivers
Lukhaup also said the new species is under threat
with it being collected in large numbers for the global aquarium trade and as food for the local population: "According to local collectors in the area and the city of Sorong
the populations of the species have been decreasing in the last few years
the continued collection of these crayfish for the trade is not a sustainable practice
and if the popularity of the species continues
a conservation management plan will have to be developed
Zen Faulkes, from the University of Texas-Pan American, also told New Scientist he is concerned about the threats facing Cherax pulcher: "We have got this beautiful species that people are harvesting for the pet trade
and it could be wiped out before we know anything about them."