Tuesday, March 17, 2015

1) Environmental documents delay Fakfak airport construction

2) Smelter Construction To Worsen Tribal Suffering
3) There Should Be Open Communication on Autonomy Plus Bill
4) Senior High Schools Urged to Support Papuan Students
5) Churches and Communities Still Manage 285 Airports in West Papua

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1) Environmental documents  delay Fakfak airport construction 
Alex Tethool, The Jakarta Post, Fakfak, West Papua | Archipelago | Tue, March 17 2015, 6:31 AM 

The planned construction of Jacob Pattipi Airport in Fakfak, West Papua, has been postponed for almost three years because of a lack of environmental analysis documents.

“The main reason for the delay is the selection of planning consultants, who are appointed to arrange Environmental Impact Analysis [Amdal] documents, a key requirement for projects to be approved by the central government,” West Papua Environmental Impact Management Agency (Bapedalda) head Jacob Manusawai told journalists recently.

Manusawai said that other regencies in West Papua also faced the same problem as some projects had been delayed for up to three years as a result of a lack of environmental documents.

West Papua Bapedalda data reveals the sluggish Amdal process arranged by government-appointed consultants, as time has been wasted since July 2012 to arrange one document after another, which takes up to six months. 

The Fakfak regency administration and West Papua Bapedalda also had to work hard to clarify a letter from the Transportation Ministry in April 2014, which stated that the location of the airport in Tanjung Faila, Siboru village, Fakfak district, was unfeasible.

Efforts by the local administration eventually bore fruit, as on Aug. 27, 2014, Forestry Ministerial Decree No. 719/2014 was issued regarding a change in the allocation of a 243,045-hectare forest in Tanjung Faila as an Alternative Purpose Location (APL).

The Fakfak regency council in early March held a meeting on the Amdal for the airport project. The meeting, led by Jacob Manusawai, was to hear the aspirations of customary landowners and to get input from local agencies, institutes of higher learning and non-governmental organizations. 

Fakfak regency administration secretary Husein Thofer said the new airport was a replacement for the old Torea Airport, which would be difficult to expand.

The Jacob Pattipi Airport project can only be carried out after it is approved by the Transportation Ministry by taking into account technical, operational, flight safety, environment as well as socioeconomic aspects.

Consequently, the Fakfak regency administration, through the Fakfak transportation and communication and information agencies, has facilitated state survey company PT Sucofindo to draw up the Amdal documents for the airport. “This way the government can maximize positive impacts and minimize negative impacts of the new airport,” said Thofer.

One negative impact of the project is the inevitable loss of the forest as a place to earn a living by indigenous landowners. The area where the new airport will be built is home to the Hombore, Tuturo, Us and Hegemur tribes, which inhabit three villages in the region, namely Siboru, Sipatnanam and Wartutin.

The Tanjung Faila forest also hosts thousands of nutmeg trees, grown by tribesmen. Nutmeg has long been the main commodity in Fakfak.

In the past, foreigners came here in the quest for spices. Besides nutmeg, durian, rambutan and mango trees are also found in the Tanjung Faila forest.

Customary leaders and landowners have approved the planned airport, but have demanded government compensation for their trees, particularly the nutmeg. 

Siboru village chief Beny Hombore has demanded that the government revise a local bylaw that sets compensation for one nutmeg tree at Rp 200,000 (US$15). “Each harvest, we can earn at least Rp 500,000 from each tree, so the Rp 200,000 compensation is not enough,” Beny pointed out. 

The planned airport is located more than 100 kilometers from Fakfak city. Its name was taken to honor the late Jacob Pattipi, former governor of Irian Jaya (former name of Papua), as his home village was in the region.

The airport will be equipped with a 2,100-meter runway. The project will be carried out in stages from 2015 until 2029. 

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2) Smelter Construction To Worsen Tribal Suffering

Jayapura, Jubi – There has been opposition to the plan to build a smelter in Mimika, Papua, which allegedly is not involving indigenous customary owners, the Kamoro.
A member of Papua Legislative Council Laurenzus Kadepa said if the Kamoro people are not involved, the smelter should not be built.
He said, Freeport is one of entities that have made Kamoro, and other tribes in Mimika suffer.
“During this time indigenous peoples in Mimika, especially Kamoro is suffering from Freeport waste. If the Kamoro, as customary owner is not involved, I am worried they will be suffering, ” Laurenzus Kadepa said to Jubi this week.
According to him, for what purpose the smelter is built, if it does not benefit the society. Do not force the development just for the benefit of the government and Freeport. He said indigenous peoples in Mimika especially Kamoro is tortured by Freport tailing. Rivers and the sea as their livelihoods are now polluted. Their survival is threatened.
” Are there Kamoro people finished his/ her doctorate because of Freeport? Every day they bath with waste or toxins produced by PT. Freeport, “he said.
He also hoped, tribal agency Kamoro (Lemakso) to seriously protect all citizens. Do not let them only speak on behalf of the community.
“Their rich natural resources have fed thousands of people, unfortunately, they are actually suffering on its own natural wealth. Is that what we called “ peace”? “he stated.
Continued, the dark history when Freeport entered Mimika should not happen again. At that time the central government made a unilateral successor agreement with the American mining, without involving indigenous peoples.
Earlier, another member of DPRP, Wilhelmus Pigai assessed that LEMASKO rejection was reasonable because the government went to Mimika secretly and did not involve the local indigenous peoples in determining the location of the construction of the smelter. (Arjuna Pademme/ Tina)
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3) There Should Be Open Communication on Autonomy Plus Bill

Jayapura, Jubi – The deputy chairman of the House of Representatives (DPR), Fahri Hamzah said the special autonomy plus bill would be recommended to be included in the National Legislation Program (Prolegnas) next yeae, but there should be open communication.
“We will suggest to have an open communication and discussion and I am ready to facilitate, so the process will be going well, ” Fahri said during a working visit to Papua government last week.
For that, he said all members of the House of Representatives should understand the existing issues in Papua before coming with the decision. “Frankly I would like to invite more of the members to think for a definite solution,” he added.
Previously, governor of Papua, Lukas Enembe said its delay brought a sense of disappointment. “We’ve been struggling for a month in Jakarta with the hope that the bill would be included in the 2015 Prolegnas but it is postponed till next year.(Alexander Loen/ Tina)
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4) Senior High Schools Urged to Support Papuan Students

Jayapura, Jubi – The Department of Education and Culture of Papua urged senior high schools in the province provide quotas for native youths.
If there is no specific quota for native Papuans, they will not be accepted at the top schools in Jayapura city, education chief Elias Wonda said.
“Therefore, we hoped that there is a quota for Papuan students, ” Wonda told journalists in Jayapura, Papua last week.
He then suggested that the school establish an admission policy of 60-40 or 80-20 as the Government of Papua did in the distribution of autonomy funds. “The allocation of 40 or 20 percent for native Papuans should be clear, otherwise Papua’s human development index will decrease drastically,” he said.
Therefore, it has sent a letter to the Ministry of Education to give an exceptions to Papua, because all areas in Papua have no adequate computer equipment.
“So, online registration can be done in nine regencies / city, while other regencies are not ready because of lacking computers and devices, “he said.
However, he hoped that the implementation of the new online system for admission can be run transparently.
Separately, Jayapura city resident Lorensius hoped the enrollment process would be more honest and monitored seriously. (Alexander Loen/ Tina)
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5) Churches and Communities Still Manage 285 Airports in West Papua

Jayapura, Jubi/Antara – At least 285 airports in Papua are still managed by missionary churches and the local communities, Nasiaput Itlay, the head of air transportation, the transportation office of Papua province, stated here on Monday (16/3/2015).
“This is because the airports were constructed by the local communities and the missionary churches,” he pointed out.
Generally, the facilities at the airports are still minimum and limited.
Most of the airports located in remote areas have dirt, gravel, or grass runways and can only serve small-body aircraft such as Cessna, Itlay noted.
Currently, 35 airports are managed by the office’s technical support staff. Of the airports, only Sentani (Jayapura), Merauke, Biak, and Timika can serve wide-body aircraft, for instance Boeing.
The other airports located in Wamena, Dekai, Nabire, Oksibil, and Tanah Merah are only able to serve ATR 72 or ATR 42 aircraft, Itlay added. (*)
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