The Punan Batu, the Last Hunters and Gatherers in Kalimantan, Finally Recognized as Indigenous Peoples

The hunter-gatherer tribes who still live nomadically in Bulungan Regency, North Kalimantan, are finally being recognized as customary law communities.

The following article was translated using both Microsoft Azure Open AI and Google Translation AI.

KOMPAS/AHMAD ARIF

Regent of Bulungan, Syarwani (second from left) engaged in a dialogue with Punan Batu residents in the Banau-Sajau Forest, Bulungan, North Kalimantan, on Friday (June 2, 2023).

BULUNGAN, KOMPAS - Punan Batu residing in the Benau Sajau forest, Bulungan Regency, North Kalimantan, have finally been recognized as customary law communities. This recognition from the Bulungan Regency government will serve as a foundation for protecting the living space and culture of the last active hunter-gatherer community in Kalimantan.

Regent of Bulungan Decision Number 188.45 / 319 of 2023 states about Recognition and Protection of Punan Batu Benau Sajau Customary Law Community (MHA). Regent of Bulungan Syarwani directly delivered the signed decision letter on April 3, 2023 to the representatives of Punan Batu community residing around Goa Benau Sajau, on Friday (2/6/2023).

"The regional regulation (Peraturan Daerah) to recognize the existence of customary law communities has been initiated by us when I was still the chairman of DPRD (Bulungan). The MHA decree for Punan Batu is the first one we have executed and the process was the fastest because the data was the most complete. This determination is to protect the forest and culture of Punan Batu which are indeed threatened," he said.

We need to think of a more appropriate way so as not to disturb the Punan Batu culture.

Asut, an elder of the Punan Batu community hopes that their designation as MHA (Customary Forest) can protect the forest that serves as their living space. Currently, the forest is shrinking due to logging and pressure from other communities that encroach on the forest for palm plantations.

AHMAD ARIF

The Punan Batu community is currently eating curled tubers that they obtained from the Benau Sajau forest, which serves as their living space, on Friday (2/6/2023).

"This situation has caused Punan Batu residents, who depend on the availability of food in the forest, to have difficulty fulfilling their food needs. "Game is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain. Forest yams are also decreasing," he said."

Customary forest

Senior Manager of the Provincial Government of Yayasan Konservasi Alam Nusantara (YKAN), Niel Makinuddin, stated that "This recognition is the basis for the legality of protecting the community and forests."

The proposal for MHA for Punan Batu was initiated by Datuk Abdul Karim, a community figure in Bulungan who has traditionally established socio-economic relations with the Punan Batu community. YKAN supports the technical process of proposing the MHA.

Also read: Punan Batu, Kalimantan's last hunter who is increasingly desperate

"We will continue to accompany the Punan Batu people to ensure that their living space in the forest around Goa Benau, which covers an area of approximately 18,497 hectares, can be recognized as customary forest," said Niel.

In addition to the customary forest proposal, according to Niel, his party will also push for the establishment of an earth park (geopark) considering that this area is a karst landscape and has many caves and underground rivers. "Essentially, we will encourage the protection of forests and the environment which are the living space for Punan Batu," he said.

AHMAD ARIF

A. The location of Punan Batu's residence is in the remote forests of Kalimantan. B. Punan Batu moves around to collect food inside the forest.

Currently, the forest area inhabited by the Punan Batu community is part of the Inhutani forest concession. "We have coordinated with Inhutani Kaltim and they have stated that they do not have a business plan for logging in the area we propose for the protection of Punan Batu for at least the next 10 years," he said.

Niel stated that the proposal regarding the area of the forest to support the livelihood of the Punan Batu is supported by scientific evidence related to genetics, anthropology, and the movement to gather food carried out by Pradiptajati Kusuma and his team.

Science data support

Pradiptajati is a population genetics researcher from the Mochtar Riady Institute for Nanotechnology (MRIN) who conducted a series of research related to Punan Batu since 2018 while working for the Eijkman Molecular Biology Institute. "Punan Batu has different genetics compared to the Dayak ethnic group in Kalimantan. They also have different cultural aspects. Dayak people have a culture of farming, while Punan Batu are hunters and gatherers of forest products," he said.

The Pradiptajati team has mapped Punan Batu's movements to gather food in the forest. One of his studies with an international team was written in the February 2022 issue of the journal Evolutionary Human Science-Cambridge University Press.

Mapping was carried out by providing portable GPS devices to 27 Punan Batu individuals to understand their patterns and movements in the forest. In total, he managed to collect 713 days of movement data during October 2018 and March-June 2019.

As a result, the Punan Batu people typically move their dwellings every 8-9 days to hunt for animals, gather food, honey, and various other forest products. Some movements are individual short-term movements, while others involve the entire family. When they move, they travel approximately 5 kilometers between camps.

Also read: The Stone Age Diet of the Punan Batu

Taufik Hidayat, the Community Engagement and Protected Area Manager of YKAN, stated that in addition to the recognition of living space, the Punan Batu also have the right to receive basic needs, especially in terms of the health and education of their children.

However, health and education services cannot be equated with other settled populations. "We need to consider a more appropriate way to not disrupt Punan Batu culture, for example by bringing education and health services into the forest, instead of forcing them out of the forest," he said.

The active population of Punan Batu who still engage in hunting and gathering activities around Banau Forest is approximately 35 families or 103 individuals. It is suspected that there are still some living separately from this group in other forest areas around Bulungan, but as yet this has not been documented. Some others have already started to settle and live in Wonomulyo Village, a transmigration village.