Villagers Suffer as Forest Area Dwindles
We met some residents. Among them was Yohan Ramar, 40, who had been ill at ease lately because, as he said, trapping in the area had been getting more difficult.
Yulianus Awujani (56) in the Manawari Sago Forest, Sima Village, Yaur District, Nabire Regency, Monday (26/4/2021).
The sun was scorching as we drove along the Trans-Papua highway. After about an hour and half of driving from the administrative seat of Nabire regency, we took a turn and rode along a dusty clay road toward the coast.
Moments later, a row of wooden houses built quite far apart from each other became visible. There was an elementary school.
We pulled over. We had arrived at Sima village, an outlying settlement in Yaur district, Nabire. A throng of children ran out of the dilapidated school building. Seeing us, they gave broad smiles.
It was April of last year and the Covid-19 cases in Indonesia had yet to abate. But not a single resident was seen wearing a mask. Some even looked suspiciously at people wearing masks and insisted that there was no Covid-19 in their village.
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We met some residents. Among them was Yohan Ramar, 40, who had been ill at ease lately because, as he said, trapping in the area had been getting more difficult.
Yohan complained that not a single animal had been ensnared in his trap for the last three months. “Because the forest is gone. They have run away," he said in late April.
They would usually walk about a kilometer from the village to set up a trap in the forest.
Just like Yohan, the majority of the villagers made a living by trapping forest animals, such as wild pigs or deer. They would usually walk about a kilometer from the village to set up a trap in the forest.
It is a tradition passed on from generation to generation by the Yerisiam tribe, who inhabit Sima village.
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Residents are chopping sago in the Manawari sago forest, Sima Village, Nabire Regency, Papua Province, Monday (26/4/2021).
The villagers were usually able to snare up to nine pigs or deer each month before the current situation. Now, one animal in a month is regarded as a lucky result. Even so, they have to walk four times further into the forest than usual.
The grim condition set in as the customary forest of the Yerisiam people dwindled in the face of the development of palm oil plantations.
The forest area of 17,000 hectares is now decreasing fast, and the community’s livelihood has been impacted greatly.
Yohan introduced us to village head Yulianus Awujani. He looked to be savoring leisure time with others when we met him.
He said residents had lost their source of income after palm oil company PT Nabire Baru had taken over the customary forest. The 17,000 hectare forest in Yaur district had now turned largely into palm oil plantations.
Beyond losing their livelihoods, the residents were also exposed to increased flooding as much of the water catchment area had disappeared. Since 2017, they have experienced severe flooding every year.
They said the floodwaters could exceed 1 meter in height and would subside after two days. "There was flooding before in the 90s, but not like after the forest was cleared," Yulianus said.
On our way back to Nabire from Kampung Sima, we saw shady trees lining both sides of the Trans-Papua highway.
They were left untouched so that the palm plantations would not be visible from the road.
However, seen from within or from the air, the brimming trees are revealed to be a buffer for the oil palm plantations behind them. They were left untouched so that the palm plantations would not be visible from the road.
The sad story of the Sima villagers took us to Robertino Hanebora, one of the Yerisiam tribe’s customary leaders.
He was a tribal elder and was knowledgeable about how the customary forest was taken over before its conversion into palm oil plantations. He said that the development of the oil palm plantations had not been in accordance with legal procedure.
Flora Maniburi in Manawari Sago Forest, Sima Village, Yaur District, Nabire Regency, Monday (26/4/2021).
It began when PT Sariwana Unggul Mandiri first opened the forest in 2008 as part of its business expansion in merbau timber. However, the residents were shocked to see that the forest area had been turned into an oil palm plantation as of 2011. It happened after Good Hope, through its subsidiary PT Nabire Baru, took over the concession rights.
Failed lawsuit
Representatives of the Yerisiam tribal community filed a lawsuit with the state administrative court in Jayapura against PT Nabire Baru's concession license at the end of 2014. The panel of judges rejected their demands in March 2015.
Two years later, PT Nabire Baru made an approach to the village community. They promised to compensate them through a corporate social responsibility (CSR) program. Among the promised compensation was that the concessionaire was prepared to cover the costs of
children's education, provide health and education facilities and help economically empower the community.
Only educational services were said to have been realized by the company. The infrastructure, economic empowerment and health facilities had yet to materialize.
In an interview with Kompas, Joko Rudigdo, the spokesperson of PT Nabire Baru in charge of the CSR program, said that the concession license for the 17,000 hectare forest had been obtained in accordance with procedures and had received the community’s consent.
Regarding CSR, he said, the company had fulfilled its promises on education and health services for the community. "About the flood, we will build a shield to prevent it," Joko said.
Residents of Sima Village, Yaur District, Nabire Regency, Tuesday (27/4/2021).
We were allowed to enter and inspect the company’s palm oil plantation.
Based on data from the regency’s Animal Husbandry and Plantation Office, as of March 2021, of the 17,000 hectares of PT Nabire Baru's total concession area, 9,903.2 hectares had been turned into palm oil plantations.
The massive forest conversion has left Sima villagers with crumbs, as they are now being deprived of their livelihoods. (ILO)
(This article was translated by Musthofid)
