Residents Are Angry That The Sacred Place Of The Kuri Indigenous Peoples Was Destroyed By PT WS

Aerial portrait of a logging road belonging to a logging company owned by PT WS on the side of the historic sacred lake of the Kuri indigenous people in Teluk Wondama Regency, West Papua Province

MANOKWARI - The opening of a road for logging and logging by PT WS in the Dusner forest area, Kuri Wamesa District, Teluk Wondama Regency, West Papua Province is suspected of damaging one of the historic sacred sites of local indigenous people.

In a press release from the Kuri indigenous people of Teluk Wondama Regency, Tuesday, May 17, it was explained that one of the historical sites of the Kuri people, called the 'kabung fefrase' or lake cloud, had been destroyed, allegedly due to the activities of a logging company operating in the area.

"PT WS is a timber company operating in our customary area, we are opening logging roads and carrying out logging activities on May 14, 2022 around the sacred area," said Sander Werbete, a Kuri traditional youth leader.

Kabung fephrase or lake cloud by the Kuri indigenous people, is believed to be a sacred and historic place where there is a clump of sago in the middle of this lake. Therefore, the lake has the value of local wisdom which is still maintained today," said Sander.

Responding to the damage to the sacred area, on May 16, 2022, the Kuri indigenous community took action to block the logging road belonging to PT WS to this sacred place of the indigenous people.

"We blocked the logging path, and asked the company (PT.WS) to be responsible, because this company had violated the initial agreement regarding the protection of High Conservation Value (HCV) areas," he said.

The Kuri indigenous community also urges the West Papua Provincial Forestry Service to be responsible for evaluating the performance of PT WS which has violated its commitment to protect the HCV area.

"As a rule, there are indigenous peoples' rights that are suspected of being embezzled by the Forestry Service together with PT WS, so this issue must be resolved immediately by bringing the parties together with us, the Kuri indigenous people," said Sander as quoted by Antara.

In addition to destroying the HCV area, forest mining activities by PT WS also threaten the hydrological function and the ecosystem around the logged area.

This was revealed by Magdalena Riensawa, a representative of Kuri women from Kampung Wagen (the logging area of PT. WS).

"We are having a hard time getting clean water for our daily needs, because the river water that used to be clear has now turned brown. Even for fishing in the river, we have never gotten any results since this company started its activities," said Magdalena.

Furthermore, the Head of the West Papua Province Forestry Service, Hendrik Runaweri, who was confirmed on Tuesday, said that until now his office had not received any reports of complaints about damage to HCV areas from the public.

Runaweri explained that if the company holding the logging permit violates the agreement previously agreed with the community, then the community can file an objection to the company concerned.

"According to the current regulations, it is the responsibility of the company. So the public is welcome to file an objection to the company. If it cannot be resolved, both parties can submit it to the Office for mediation," said Hendrik Runaweri, Head of the West Papua Province Forestry Service.

It is known that PT WS (SWS Group) is a company unit in the forestry sector in Dusner, Teluk Wondama Regency, West Papua.

PT WS pocketed the IUPHHK with a decree. HPH No. SK.33/Menhut-II/2013 dated January 15, 2013 with a concession area of 130,755 Ha. The company operates in the former HPH concession site of PT. Wapoga Mutiara Timber Unit-I Teluk Wondama.