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Papua Indonesia - West Papua
Papua is one of Indonesia province
comprising a majority part of the western half of New Guinea Island and
nearby. The province originally covered the entire western half of New
Guinea, but in 2003, the western portion of the province, on the Bird's
Head Peninsula, was declared in Jakarta as separate province named West
Irian Jaya. The legality of this separation has been disputed, as it
appears to conflict with the conditions of the Special Autonomy status
awarded to Papua in the year 2000. The status of West Irian Jaya province
is not yet resolved as of early 2006.
Papua is the official Indonesian and internationally recognized name for
the province. During the colonial era the region was known as Dutch New
Guinea. The province was known as West Irian or Irian Barat from 1969 to
1973, and then renamed Irian Jaya ("Victorious Irian") by Soeharto. This
was the official name until Papua was adopted in 2002. Today, natives of
this province prefer to call themselves Papuans rather than Irianese. This
may be due to etymology (variously identified as a real etymology or a
folk etymology) the name of Irian, which stems from the acronym Ikut
Republik Indonesia, Anti Nederland (join/follow with the Republic of
Indonesia, rejecting The Netherlands). The name West Papua is used among
Papuan separatists and usually refers to the whole of the Indonesian
portion of New Guinea.
The capital of Papua province is Jayapura. Most of the population depends
on subsistence farming, especially the cultivation of rice and maize. The
main industries include copper (with the largest concentration of copper
in the world at Tembagapura), palm oil, copra, maize, groundnuts, pepper,
tuna, gold, oil, coal, and phosphates. It is mostly a mountainous and
forested region, with the Maoke Mountain range rising to 5,029-m/16,499 ft
at Jaya Peak. The population comprises Melanesians (original settlers of
Western New Guinea), Papuans, Negritos, and Europeans. Indigenous animism
prevails. The province declared independence from Indonesia, as West
Papua, in June 2000. However, the president of Indonesia stated that the
declaration was unrepresentative of true feeling in the province.
Wide Area
The wide area of Papua is 420,000 sq km/162,000 sq mi.
Population
Papua population based on 2000 est. is 2,220,900. It has some 240
different tribal peoples, each with its own language and culture.
Indigenous Papuans in West Papua and Papua New Guinea speak some 15% of
the world's known languages. West Papua together with the rest of the
island of New Guinea, are the lungs of the Asia-Pacific, containing the
last great surviving virgin rainforest after the Amazon.
Geographically
A central East-West mountain range dominates the geography of New Guinea,
over 1600 km in total length. The western section is around 600 km long
and 100 km across. Steep mountains 3000 to 4000 m and up to 5000 m high
along the range ensure a steady supply of rain from the tropical
atmosphere. The tree line is around 4000 m elevation and the tallest peaks
are snowbound year round.
Both North and West of the central ranges the land remains mountainous
mostly 1000 to 2000 m high covered by thick rain forest and a warm humid
year round climate. The third major habitat feature is the southeast
lowlands with extensive wetlands stretching for hundreds of kilometers.
Mamberamo River sometimes referred to the "Amazon of Papua" is the
province's largest river, which winds through the northern part of the
province. The result is a large area of lakes and rivers known as the
Lakes Plains region. The famous Baliem Valley, home of the Dani people is
a tableland 1600 m above sea level in the midst of the central mountain
range; Jaya Peak, sometimes known by its former Dutch name Carstensz
Pyramid, is a mist covered limestone mountain peak 5030 m above sea level.
Demographics
The population of Papua province and the neighboring West Irian Jaya, both
of which are still under a united administration, totaled 2,646,489 in
2005. Since the early 1990s, Papua has had the highest population growth
rate of all Indonesian provinces at over 3% annually. This is partly a
result of high birth rates, but also from immigration from other regions
in Indonesia.
According to the 2000 census, 78% of the Papuan population identified
themselves as Christian with 54% being Protestant and 24% being Catholic.
21% of the population was Muslim and less than 1% were Buddhist or Hindu.
There is also substantial practice of animism by Papuans, which is not
recorded by the Indonesian government in line with the policy of Pancasila.
Ecology
A vital tropical rainforest with the tallest tropical trees and vast
biodiversity, Papua's known forest fauna includes marsupials (including
possums, wallabies, tree-kangaroos, cuscuses), other mammals (including
the endangered Long-beaked Echidna), many bird species (including birds of
paradise, cassowaries, parrots, cockatoos), the world's longest lizards
(Papua monitor) and the world's largest butterflies. The island has an
estimated 16,000 species of plant, 124 genera of which are endemic.
The extensive waterways and wetlands of Papua are also home to salt and
freshwater crocodile, tree monitor, flying foxes, osprey, bats and other
animals; while the equatorial glacier fields remain largely unexplored.
In February 2006, a team of scientists exploring the Foja Mountains, Sarmi,
discovered numerous new species of birds, butterflies, amphibians, and
plants, including a species of rhododendron, which may have the largest
bloom of the genus. Ecological threats include logging-induced
deforestation, forest conversion for plantation agriculture (especially
oil palm), small holder agricultural conversion, the introduction and
potential spread of non-native alien species such as the Crab-eating
Macaque, which preys on and competes with indigenous species, the illegal
species trade, and water pollution from oil and mining operations.
Regions
Indonesia structures regions contains of regencies and sub districts
within those. Though names and areas of control of these regional
structures can vary over time in accord with changing political and other
requirements, in 2005 Papua province consisted of 19 regencies. The
regencies are: Timika, Yapen - Waropen, Biak - Numfor, Nabire, Puncak Jaya,
Paniai, Jayawijaya, Merauke, Sarmi, Keerom, Waropen, Tolikara, Yahukimo,
Bintang Mountain, Boven Digoel, Mappi, Asmat, Supiori, and Jayapura. In
addition to these, Jayapura city also has the status of regency.
Government
Papua province has governed by a directly elected governor (currently
Barnabas Suebu) and a regional legislature, DPRP (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat
Papua). A unique government organization that only exists in Papua is the
MRP (Majelis Rakyat Papua / Papuan People's Council) that was formed by
the Indonesian Government in 2005 as a coalition of Papuan tribal chiefs,
tasked with arbitration and speaking on behalf of Papuan tribal customs.
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