Road to Anxiety (ongoing)
This visual investigation seeks to address the most urgent problems of our time.
Paniai, Papua, Indonesia. 2015. Trans Papua access road project made by the government to open isolated access. The access road emptied the villages, leaving only seniors and children. The productive man go to nearby cities to be involved in modernization. Although only a few of them go to school, mostly unemployed and involved in criminal acts.
The project will explore the impacts of Trans Papua Road project along 4330 kilometres which divide the Papua, Indonesia, areas up to the borderline of Papua New Guinea. Half areas of Papua Island are Indonesia areas which has wide old forest with mangrove and peat swamp areas, and has more plants species compares to other tropical islands. It is certainly the home for various indigenous culture of Papuan.
Based on David Gaveau and Douglas Sheil research published on Biological Conservation (7 September 2021), 83% areas in Papua, Indonesia are forest areas in 2019. Those areas represent 42% of Indonesian’s forest and the biggest intact areas of old forest in Asia Pacific.
The study predicts 4,5 million hectares (Mha) or about 13% from total 34,29 Mha forest areas can be lost in 2036 as the impact of Trans Papua Road project. This situation will trigger climate change seriously as well.
In the last two decades, Trans Papua Road has benefited land-based industry like plantation, logging forest and mining. Giving impacts to deforestation which destroys indigenous Papuan livelihood, cultural heritage, and social rules. According to Wahana Lingkungan Hidup (WALHI) research, the construction of the Trans Papua Road in the period 2001-2019 resulted in the loss of natural forest cover area of 22,009 ha wide.
This ongoing project started in 2016 is an effort to collect indigenous Papuan community’s live stories which is sacrificed for the world considered developed and modern. It drives to a priority to exploitation of natural resources and the forest, as well as neglecting the lives of indigenous Papuans.
The Trans Papua mega-project route divides Papua from the west to the PNG border, along 4300 km. Source: Nusantara-atlas.org
Jayawijaya, Papua, Indonesia, 2019. Nduga refugees receive food aid. They are still displaced to this day. They have difficulty accessing food, clean water and health.
Mimika, Papua, Indonesia. 2018. Imakulata Emakeparo died because she was shot by state security forces assigned to secure the company mining area. Imakulata was shot when she was about to fetch clean water from the company's facilities, because there was no clean water in her settlement. Security officers accused him of assisting the theft of gold.
Mimika, Papua, Indonesia. 2021. Boi, 32, looking for fish in the tailings disposal area in Otomona River. The depreciation of forest volume due tailing disposal stream and the increase in the number of community members, make the fish habitat narrower, and creates competition and jealousy between community members.
Mimika, Papua, Indonesia. 2021. Lia holds Anis, her third child with a disability and who is undergoing treatment fo tuberculosis. Lia gave birth to five children, two of which died when they were under one-year-old. There are many deaths of the children under the age of three occur in Lia's community.
Dogiyai, Papua, Indonesia. 2017. Indigenous Papuan women do not have the right to vote on decisions within the community/clan, including in land and forest matters. The Trans Papua Road project triggered the sale of land and forests belonging to the clan. The impact is serious for women's domestic roles who depend on land and forests.
Nabire, Papua, Indonesia. 2018. In a number of areas, the Trans Papua route uses roads that were previously made by logging companies.
Jayawijaya, Papua, Indonesia, 2019. The Nduga refugees have to stay in the house of their relatives. Since the armed violence incident by the TPNPB/OPM led by Ekianus Kogoya that killed 16 PT Istaka Karya workers, December 2, 2018, the military operation carried out by the Joko Widodo administration has pushed thousands of Nduga residents to flee to Jayawijaya.