West Papua Provincial Government Proposes National Technical Coordination Meeting to Accelerate Mining Legalisation

Manokwari, West Papua - The West Papua Provincial Government has proposed the organisation of a national technical coordination meeting (rakorteknas) to accelerate the organisation and legalisation of metallic mineral mining. The proposal was conveyed by West Papua Governor Dominggus Mandacan during a meeting with Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto in Jakarta on Friday. In his statement received in Manokwari, West Papua, Dominggus said the rakorteknas represents the government’s response to the rampant unlicensed mining that disadvantages the state, damages the environment, and has the potential to trigger social conflicts. Mining plays a strategic role in driving regional and national economic growth, creating jobs, and improving community welfare. “However, mining management still faces various challenges, so government action is needed,” said Dominggus. Those challenges, he said, include the suboptimal implementation of mining area designations (WP), mining business licence areas (WIUP), and people’s mining areas (WPR). Additionally, there is limited access for communities, particularly indigenous peoples, to the legality of mine management, resulting in the increasing development of illegal activities in West Papua. “This situation creates legal uncertainty and opens the door to illegal mining practices,” he stated. According to Dominggus, past efforts to address illegal mining activities, which have focused on law enforcement, have not been able to resolve the problems comprehensively. Therefore, a more comprehensive approach is required through legalisation, mining area organisation, indigenous community empowerment, and strengthened supervision. “Law enforcement efforts have been ongoing, but illegal mining activities persist,” said Dominggus. He hopes the rakorteknas will serve as a strategic forum to align perceptions, harmonise cross-sectoral regulations, and formulate concrete steps to accelerate mining governance reform. He also views inter-ministerial/institutional coordination as key, given that the mining sector is closely linked to forestry, spatial planning, and environmental policies. “So that mineral resource management runs more orderly, legally, sustainably, and provides optimal contributions to the economy,” Dominggus said. The meeting was also attended by West Papua Police Chief Inspector General Alfred Papare, West Papua DPR Chairman Orgenes Wonggor, and Regional Secretary Ali Baham Temongmere.