Working with Communities in the Land of Papua to Secure Rights, Improve Livelihoods, and Conserve Forest and Biodiversity
Project site/ area of implementation
The Project will focus on three primary locations: the Domberai Indigenous Region, which includes Tambrauw, Maybrat and Sorong regencies in West Papua Province; Mamta Indigenous Region, with special focus on Jayapura Regency; and the Merauke area of Anim Ha Indigenous Region. These areas have been selected for various reasons, such as their high level of forest cover, the interconnectedness of their peoples, their strategic location as a political or economic hub, and their centrality to existing initiatives underway through the Samdhana Institute.
For example, Tambrauw and Maybrat are interconnected in terms of culture and people, with tribes and sub-tribes encompassing the administrative boundary of the two regencies. Similarly, the Mamta Indigenous Region is the main political and economic centre in the whole of Tanah Papua, where the Project will create a hub for community economies, products and services, complemented by livelihood improvements and the securing of tenurial rights. The Anim Ha Indigenous Region has been selected in response to threats posed to the IPLCs in the region by national mega projects. In Merauke, Samdhana has been building networks with communities that can serve as a basis for agriculture, livelihood and conservation strengthening.
Project period
Donor Partner
Latest Project Update
Project objectives
By 2023, at least 40 communities/local groups in the Mamta, Domberai and Anim Ha indigenous regions of Papua will have been connected in terms of their knowledge, economies and overall solidarity. Together, these communities will grow their own capacity and capability to secure their rights and livelihoods, and conserve forests and agrobiodiversity. This will ultimately benefit at least 900 families.
Under the core support grant, Samdhana will invest in human resources and basic operational capabilities to produce strong connector/facilitator teams at the community level, while also connecting, facilitating and empowering IPLCs in three indigenous regions. Outcomes of the Project will directly contribute to Samdhana’s strategic goals.
Project components/ target outputs
The Project seeks to develop strong teams, including a core team, two coordinators for Papua and West Papua provinces, and nine connectors/facilitators working directly with communities. This will be achieved mainly through Noken or Connecting Communities - our innovation in how we weave interconnectedness among communities and create a platform to share economy, knowledge, and solidarity. Work may also include the creation of business classes, setting up community markets, initiation of community enterprises, revitalisation of indigenous schools, improving and enriching agrobiodiversity and strengthening indigenous structures, leadership and governance.
These activities will result into the following outcomes and indicators:
- Capable human resources for facilitation and accompaniment of IPLCs, achieved by increasing the number and capability of local connectors/facilitators at the provincial level.
- Connected communities, with more groups and individuals taking part in knowledge exchange and Noken activities, and more new initiatives created by the communities themselves.
- Empowered communities with capacity and capability to secure rights, improve livelihood and conserve forest and biodiversity, indicated by the number of indigenous schools, cross-learning events and leadership institutions established, and by a reduction in the rate of deforestation in select communities.
Implementation Partners
The target populations that will benefit from this project are all Indigenous Peoples. They are IPLCs living in villages, rural areas or in and around forest. They are all considered to be farmers, as they each produce something from the land. These lands take the form of farm, garden, agroforest and forest.
Samdhana has been implementing projects supported by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation since 2017. Under those projects, Samdhana worked on illipe nut in Bengkayang, West Kalimantan; coconut in Tambrauw; nutmeg in Fak Fak, West Papua Province; eucalyptus oil in Biak; and coffee in Wamena, Papua Province. In parallel, Samdhana conducted studies on the role of communities in deforestation, biodiversity surveys and lifescape assessment, all of which have helped build a social, economic and ecological baseline and understanding. Integrated into those ALC (Agriculture, Livelihoods, and Conservation) projects are works on tenurial rights recognition and registration, networking with local governments and promotion of policies on community rights, development and conservation.
The target populations that will benefit from this project are all Indigenous Peoples. They are IPLCs living in villages, rural areas or in and around forest. They are all considered to be farmers, as they each produce something from the land. These lands take the form of farm, garden, agroforest and forest.
Samdhana has been implementing projects supported by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation since 2017. Under those projects, Samdhana worked on illipe nut in Bengkayang, West Kalimantan; coconut in Tambrauw; nutmeg in Fak Fak, West Papua Province; eucalyptus oil in Biak; and coffee in Wamena, Papua Province. In parallel, Samdhana conducted studies on the role of communities in deforestation, biodiversity surveys and lifescape assessment, all of which have helped build a social, economic and ecological baseline and understanding. Integrated into those ALC (Agriculture, Livelihoods, and Conservation) projects are works on tenurial rights recognition and registration, networking with local governments and promotion of policies on community rights, development and conservation.