JP/18/WASUR

JP/18/WASUR

Indigenous people marginalized at Wasur

R. Kristiawan
Contributor/Merauke, South Papua

Wasur National Park is essential for the well-being of Merauke,
South Papua.

Located 13 kilometers from the city, Rawa Biru, the 10,400
(checking units) area of open water in the center of the park is
also a water source of the city's people. The national park is
very rich in terms of biodiversity.

Melaleuca eucalyptus, savanna, mangrove and lowland forest can
be seen. In the park, 390 animal species, including 80 mammal
species, are to be found. Tribes numbering some 2,550 people live
in 14 villages. They have existed for hundreds of years in the
park, surviving on simple planting and hunting.

Demographic changes in Merauke have endangered their
livelihoods, as modern hunting and illegal logging pose a threat
to Papua's richest park in term of biodiversity.

The park is very beautiful indeed. After turning left from the
Merauke road, a very rich lowland forest can be seen. Eucalyptus
trees stand tall everywhere. Many bird species, like cockatoos
and parrots screech loudly.

Between the bushes, white ants build their mounds from soil.
Unlike Javanese white ants, which live underground, the white
ants of Wasur build their nests like towers. They can reach four
meters in height. You can find the same thing in Australia.

There are many animal species in the park, including birds,
deer, kangaroos, wild pigs and reptiles. Lying east of the Wallace
Line, Papua has no tigers. The main predators in the ecosystem
are eagles, crocodiles, snakes and humans.

The tribes usually hunt deer, kangaroos and wild boars to
satisfy their protein needs. Present-day economic realities mean
they also now sell the animals since they are the only products
with a high value that they have to trade.

The local tribes hunt using sustainable methods. At certain
times, people are forbidden from hunting in specified areas.
Poles, to which coconut leaves are tied, signify forbidden areas.

The system, known as sasi, is aimed at providing an
opportunity for animals to breed. The system has proved itself
capable of saving animals from extinction.

The demographic situation in the area has changed rapidly. The
New Order government's transmigration policy has created a new
demographic structure, in which Papuans are in the minority in
Merauke now.

Javanese are in the majority (40 percent), followed by
Makassarese (20 percent), and the Manadonese, Maduranese,
Acehnese and Chinese (10 percent). The indigenous peoples of
Merauke account for only 30 percent of the population. The total
population of Merauke is around 100,000 people.

There are no significant ethnic conflicts in Merauke. But the
influx has had serious consequences for the sustainability of the
Wasur National Park. Non-indigenous people have adopted new
hunting methods. They employ modern weaponry, not just bows and
arrows as the indigenous people used.

According to many sources, modern hunters obtain their weapons
and ammunition illegally, sometimes even from the police. They
usually ignore the sasi system. They also ignore hunting quotas.

As a result, there has been a significant decrease in the
animal population.

Kristianus Dimar, 70, a leader of the Kanume tribe, said that
it was now very difficult to obtain kangaroo, deer or wild boar.
"It was once very easy for a group of hunters to get five
animals; now it is difficult even to get one," he said.

The tribes usually consume the meat or sell it in the market.
They make Rp 10,000 for a kilogram of kangaroo meat, and Rp
15,000 for a kilo of deer meat.

They use the money to buy rice, sugar, coffee and soap. They
need Rp 400.000 to cover the monthly cost of living of a family.
When there were no modern hunters, they could live easily. But
now it is hard for them to make money. They also have to eat more
rubber than meat, since meat is very hard to get.

For their carbohydrate intake, they consume rubber (checking)
and sago flour. But the damage caused to the forest has left sago
difficult to find. "I feel full when I eat sago. I don't feel
that way when I eat rice," said Kristianus.

He and the members of his tribe are unable to do much to stop
the illegal modern hunting methods as they have only bows and
arrows while the hunters have automatic weapons. For large
predators, modern hunting has also resulted in a lack of prey.

Besides ecological damage, modern hunting also threatens the
lives of the indigenous people. Simple agriculture and hunting
are the only skills they have. Such skills have sustained them
for hundreds of years without modern intervention.

The modern economic system has marginalized them since the
things they have to sell have a low value. The animals they hunt
have, thus far, been the most expensive products they have to
sell. Besides hunting, they also make money by selling forest
products like papaya, oranges and candlenuts.

Most local adults are elementary school graduates. Their
relative lack of education leaves them unable to join the modern
bureaucracy.

They are smart and their grammatical skills in Bahasa
Indonesia are very good, much better than those of many Javanese
villagers. But so-called modernization in many aspects of their
lives leaves them marginalized.

From being hunter-gatherers, they have been forced to leave
their homes and try to find their way within the world of trade
and industry.

This is gross injustice, as Mgr. Nicolaus Adi Seputra MSC, the
Archbishop of Merauke, notes. Modernization represents a point of
no return, and this has greatly prejudiced the Wasur people.

Protection and appreciation for the local culture and ecology
would be an appropriate way of liberating the Wasur people in
their own homeland.

The writer is a researcher with the SET Foundation and lecturer
at Atma Jaya Catholic University, Jakarta