The Sausapor Declaration: Challenges in promoting good governance to protect customary communities and natural resources in Tambrauw district, West Papua

Abstract

The Sausapor Declaration has served as a stepping stone towards convening and balancing the dynamics of governmental politics, conservation efforts, the protection of customary communities’ rights, and the sustainable management of natural resources in Tambrauw District. The Declaration supported the establishment of Tambrauw as a Conservation District, while also acknowledging the rights of customary communities in shaping political priorities of the local government, which include: a) stewardship of extensive remaining tropical forests (91.9% forest cover); b) management of protected areas, which represent 77-80% of the total area of the District; c) acknowledging the cultural traditions of five major indigenous groups; and, d) securing the active support of formal institutions for these goals. Two stages have shaped the effort to establish the Conservation District. The first stage involved the period prior to the formal declaration, while the second ecompasses development and implementation of related policies. Establishing local regulations and protecting local communities required extensive lobbying with the provincial and national government, as well as advocacy in various seminars, including both national and international conferences that provided strategic opportunities for securing support for the Conservation District. These steps have been instrumental in gaining legitimacy and public support for relevant conservation policies and for protecting the rights of customary communities. As one example, the review of Tambrauw spatial planning documents (RTRW) led to prioritizing eco-tourism as a leading sector for economic development, along with the creation of an overall agropolitan and renewable energy strategy.

The Bird's Head Seascape Marine Protected Area network—Preventing biodiversity and ecosystem service loss amidst rapid change in Papua, Indonesia

“…This has evolved to a more strategic and integrated management approach (Atmodjo, Lamers, & Mol, 2019), although it must continue to adapt with policy changes and the influx of tourism. Despite tourism's inherent challenges, it remains more sustainable and socially acceptable than the industrial mining, forestry, and fisheries plans for Papua widely espoused by the government two decades ago (Fatem et al, 2020; Mangubhai et al, 2012).…”

Conservation Policy, Indigeneity, and Changing Traditional Hunting Practices in West Papua

“…Theories of environmental foster for a more complete understanding of socio-economic and cultural dimensions for evaluating the implications of environmental policies (Hoang et al, 2019;Schlosberg & Carruthers, 2010;Sikor & Stahl, 2012). The idea of Fatem et al (2023) justice is a key element to understanding claims of access to resources, which usually becomes the trigger and source of conflicts in conservation and protected area management (Dawson et al, 2018). Frameworks on environmental justice generally cover three inter-related dimensions, namely, distribution, procedure, and recognition (Martin et al, 2016).…”

“…In 2015, West Papua Province leadership designated its territory as a conservation province, while also foregrounding the importance of local Indigenous values in conservation management (Cámara-Leret et al, 2019), a policy initiative that was subsequently followed by the Tambrauw District (Fatem et al, 2020). Hunting activities by Indigenous communities throughout the western part of New Guinea are conducted for food security, but recent years have seen an uptick in trapping and killing for commercial purposes, especially around the sale of exotic species (Pangau-Adam et al, 2012;Pattiselanno & Lubis, 2014).…”

“…Game markets vary in some villages and districts and take place in areas that are accessible by road. Usually, the sale price of hunted items depends on contact between Fatem et al (2023) sellers and purchasers. Hunting animals, such as 2-4 horned deer hunted by the group will fetch between Rp.…”

“…To meet this goal, Tambrauw had to reassign some of its forested areas outside of those previously assigned as protected areas. The new protected areas were described as "The crown Fatem et al (2023) jewel of Tanah [the land of] Papua". One of the points of contention is that not all regencies were willing to hand over land to achieve targets, unconvinced that compensation would take place through ecological fiscal transfers distributed to each regency in the province.…”