In Pictures

In Pictures: Traditions under threat in Papua

Indonesian province of West Papua, rich in human and natural resources, is struggling against poverty and big business.

Village Chief Dominicus Mesas, whose main livelihood comes from hunting in the forest, says most of the forest has been lost to palm oil plantation.

12 Dec 2014

West Papua, Indonesia – With a population of four million people, 252 tribes and 307 languages, this easternmost province is rich in natural and human resources.

But it is also the most underdeveloped with the highest poverty level and the lowest education rate in the country. It is also the most politically sensitive place in Indonesia – a nation of 250 million people.

West Papua chose to be a part of Indonesia in a 1969 referendum on independence. But some Papuans refused to recognise the result of the referendum, which they say was the unanimous choice of elders handpicked by the Indonesian military. They have been rebelling against Indonesian rule ever since.

The story of West Papua, to this day, is heavily coloured in human rights violations committed by the Indonauesian armed forces.

West Papua contains some of the last great tracts of undisturbed rainforest in the Asia-Pacific region, an estimated 33 million hectares in 1997. But that number has dropped dramatically since then. The central government plans to massively expand palm oil plantations in West Papua. This means also converting community forests, which are the source of livelihood for many locals.

To improve the situation in Papua, the central government granted the province a special autonomy status in 2001. This authorises local administrations to manage their own areas with little intervention from the central government, and grants special autonomy funds, which some say rarely benefit people because of corruption.

Women in traditional markets complain that modern markets are killing their business.

A little girl in a village near Abepura takes care of her baby sister.

Many children in Papua do not have access to education. Papua has the lowest rate of literacy in all of Indonesia.

Palm oil plantation is spreading fast in Papua and threatening the undisturbed rainforests of the province.

The unemployment rate in Papua is high and many men in the villages find themselves without an occupation.

A poster of Indonesia(***)s new president can be seen hanging at the traditional market in Jayapura. President Joko Widodo is popular and gives some Papuans hope.

Students from Cendrawasih University said that police abused them when they were demonstrating in front of the campus. Many carry scars that bear witness to police brutality.

This elderly man lives in a village on a remote mountain and must walk kilometres into populated areas.

Catholicism is the main religion in West Papua province in the world(***)s most populous Muslim nation.

Jayapura is located on the shores of Yos Sudarso Bay.

Most of West Papua(***)s rainforest is owned by the indigenous population, but palm oil companies owned by powerful corporations are coercing communities into selling their land, sometimes for less than $1 a hectare.