Indigenous Forest Protection and Management by Traditional Communities in Papua, Indonesia

Adat is a custom or tradition that connotes discipline and has sanctions (Adat Law/Customary Law). Legal politics is meant a revival of custom, which is not tradition but traditionalism within the local context of Papuan Traditional Communities specific in Special Autonomy. It still exists Traditional Communities and its customary territory which includes indigenous forest, requires the Recognition, Protection and Management of Indigenous Forests by placing the Traditional Communities as its subject. The definition of indigenous forest is a state forest within the territory of traditional communities. Indigenous forest in the sense of state forest, does not negate the rights of traditional communities insofar as they still exist and are acknowledged to exist, so that traditional communities can conduct forest management and harvesting of forest products in accordance with local wisdom. However, in the management and utilization of indigenous forests, there are frequent conflicts, causing claims on the territory, either in groups, or individually. Conflict occurring in the forestry sector, in fact has become an obstacle indicator in the process of indigenous forest management, the conflict also resulted in legal uncertainty in business activities in the field of forestry and encourage indifference to the future of forest resources. Special autonomy of Papua in preamble states “The management and utilization of natural resources of Papua Province has not been used optimally to improve the living standard of indigenous people”. So that required protection and management of indigenous forest based on local wisdom, which ultimately can improve the welfare of traditional community of Papua. Keywords: Indigenous Forest, Legal Politic, Traditional Communit