Returning the Traditional Territory of Negeri Paperu and Negeri Wotay in Bumi Pala

The Wotay and Paperu Indigenous Communities are located in Central Maluku Regency. Paperu is located on Seram Island, Teon Nila Serua District, while Wotay is located on Saparua Island, Saparua District. Despite the distance, the indigenous peoples' movement in Maluku, especially in Central Maluku, remains organized through PW AMAN Maluku, which is home to many indigenous communities in the Maluku region.

In Maluku, the term “negeri” is used as a substitute for village or sub-district. Negeri Paperu, also known as Tounusa Amalatu, has a customary government system led by a King. Meanwhile, Negeri Wotay is currently led by Patu Leta or Patu Leu (the customary term for the Village Leader). For indigenous people, land is their navel where the source of life, ancestral heritage, and tradition are centered here. However, unfortunately, they have to continuously face alternating customary territory claims from other parties. Negeri Wotay was not spared, its customary territory was designated as a Protected Forest.

Unbeknownst to them, since 2014 their customary territory has been designated as a protected forest by the government. They only found out about this information in mid-2024, they were shocked because they felt they had never been involved in the designation process. This protected forest status limits the rights of the Wotay indigenous people to manage and utilize natural resources in the customary forest that they have guarded for generations.

This situation prompted the Wotay community to take immediate steps to protect their customary territory by mapping the customary territory. Mapping is the basis for fighting for official recognition and protection from the government, as well as being the first step to revoke the protected forest status in their customary territory.

Participatory Mapping in the Traditional Territory of Negeri Paperu

With the support of the Nusantara Fund Direct Funding, the Paperu Indigenous Community together with PW AMAN Maluku held participatory mapping of customary areas. Mapping of the customary area of ​​Negeri Paperu was carried out using a participatory method. This method emphasizes the active involvement of local customary communities in pouring knowledge about living space into a flat area.

Before the mapping, the Paperu indigenous community held a meeting with the surrounding community to agree on the boundaries. The boundary agreement became the basis for submitting the Decree on the Recognition and Protection of Indigenous Peoples (SK PPMA) to the Central Maluku Regency Government.

The area of ​​Customary Area successfully mapped in the area that has been designated as a protected forest is 1.289,11 hectares. In addition, the PPMA Decree requirement documents have been submitted to the Head of the Legal Section of the Central Maluku Regency Government as an initial step towards official recognition. A total of 791 Wotay indigenous people have also felt the benefits of this process.

Rehabilitation of Critical Land in the Wotay Customary Territory

Meanwhile in Negeri Wotay, the issue of critical land has become a problem. It started with the encroachment of the customary territory of Negeri Wotay by outsiders to be used as a resort. The encroachment resulted in the forest rejuvenation that is usually carried out periodically by the Indigenous Community being delayed for a long time.

After Covid, the resort was no longer operating and had been abandoned. Now is the right time to revive the customary forest protection efforts that they often do. With the support of the Nusantara Fund Direct Funding, during the rainy season, the Paperu Indigenous community rehabilitated critical land by planting nutmeg and rambutan. The trees that are still standing provide shade for newly planted seedlings. Initially, the community experienced obstacles due to unpredictable weather. However, they tried to plant nutmeg and rambutan seedlings at the beginning of the rainy season so that they did not need to be watered because they already had enough water.

Despite weather constraints, they managed to plant 500 nutmeg seedlings and 100 rambutan seedlings through mutual cooperation on a 10-hectare plot of land. At least 1.473 Paperu indigenous people will benefit from the harvest in the future.

Nutmeg, a typical Maluku agricultural product, has high economic value, in demand in both domestic and international markets. Nutmeg trees only bear fruit after seven years, while rambutan can be harvested in two to three years. In addition to supporting the community's economy, these two types of trees also play an important role in maintaining the ecosystem of indigenous forests. Their long lifespan and strong roots help maintain water and soil quality and prevent erosion.