A Papuan economist and high-ranking officials from the United Nations had a conversation about the future of Papua in a quiet meeting room in Jakarta in early March 2026. It wasn’t just about numbers or policy frameworks in the conversation. It was about people, communities, and a region whose future continues to be of interest to both policymakers and people from other countries.
Billy Mambrasar, an economist and a member of the Executive Committee for the Acceleration of Special Autonomy Development in Papua, sat at the same table as David McLachlan Karr, the United Nation’s Regional Director for Asia Pacific, and Gita Sabharwal, the United Nation’s Resident Coordinator in Indonesia. People were able to talk about their worries about inequality, development, and long-term stability in Papua at the meeting.
Mambrasar took the chance to talk about what he thinks is one of the most important problems facing Papua right now. He said that economic inequality still affects the region’s social landscape. He said that it would be hard to make peace and stability last without dealing with this problem.
Sustainable development is a way for him to move forward.
A Personal Story Behind the Ideas
Mambrasar’s views on development are strongly shaped by his own life experiences. He spent his childhood in Serui, a small town on the Yapen Islands in Papua. His childhood was shaped by the problems that many families in the area had to deal with.
His mother sold traditional cakes at the market, and his father was a contract teacher. Life was simple, but education was always seen as the best way to make things better.
After years of hard work and study, Mambrasar was able to go to the Bandung Institute of Technology, one of Indonesia’s best universities. He later went to graduate school for public policy and international relations.
These experiences made him aware of global conversations about economic policy, inequality, and development. But even as his career took him beyond Papua, he kept his focus on the problems facing his home region, especially things like environmental degradation, lack of access to education, and being left out of the economy.
He is now well-known as one of the Papuan voices calling for development policies that include everyone and put local communities first.
Explaining Papua’s Challenges to the United Nations
Mambrasar told United Nations leaders that Papua is a place with both opportunities and problems.
Papua has a lot of natural resources. There are huge forests, rich mineral deposits, and some of the most diverse ecosystems in the world on the island. At the same time, many native communities still have trouble getting to schools, doctors, and jobs.
Mambrasar said that this difference between the wealth of natural resources and the prosperity of the people has made many Papuans feel like the economy is unfair.
He said that making sure that everyone has equal access to resources should be a top priority for development plans in the area.
He says that development can’t work if people in the area don’t feel like they’re part of the economic growth.
Mambrasar said during the discussion, “When people think that development only helps a few groups and leaves others behind, frustration will grow.”
He thinks that economic inclusion should be a top priority for that reason.
Sustainable Development as a Long-Term Solution
Mambrasar didn’t just want to rely on large-scale resource extraction. Instead, he pushed for a development model that focuses on sustainability and community involvement.
He talked about how important it is to help local businesses that can grow without harming Papua’s natural environment.
Agroforestry was one example he gave. This way of farming combines farming with protecting forests. Farmers grow crops while keeping trees and other plants alive.
Agroforestry systems can help rural communities make money while also protecting ecosystems that are important to Papua’s environment.
Mambrasar said that development programs that focus on community-based agriculture, small businesses, and local entrepreneurship could help the region’s economy grow in new ways.
These kinds of programs could help people depend less on industries that are far away from their villages, like mining or large-scale farming, which can hurt local economies and ecosystems.
The Role of Data in Policy Making
Another thing that came up at the meeting was how important it is to have accurate data.
Mambrasar said that good development planning needs accurate information about social and economic conditions.
It can be hard to get this kind of information in Papua. A lot of communities are in hard-to-reach places like mountains or remote coastal areas.
Because of these logistical problems, policymakers don’t always have all the information they need about how people and businesses are doing in their area.
Better data collection could help governments make programs that better meet the needs of their communities.
For instance, better demographic data could help with education programs, healthcare planning, and job creation programs that are specific to each district.
Young People and the Future of Papua
The talk also talked about how young people can help shape the future of Papua.
Mambrasar said that a lot of young people in Papua want to help with development by starting their own businesses, using technology, and getting involved in social projects.
He did, however, say that younger generations sometimes have trouble getting into formal political structures.
It can be very expensive to run for office in Indonesia, which makes it hard for young candidates who don’t have money to run for office.
Because of this, a lot of young Papuans put their time and energy into school, starting businesses, and helping their communities.
Mambrasar thinks that helping young people start their own businesses could be one of the best ways to make the economy more open to everyone.
He said that young entrepreneurs often bring new ideas and energy to fields like agriculture, tourism, and digital services.
Why the United Nations Matters
The fact that leaders from the United Nations were there showed how important it is for countries to work together.
David McLachlan-Karr is in charge of development programs in the Asia Pacific region, and Gita Sabharwal is in charge of the United Nation’s work in Indonesia.
Their involvement shows how the United Nation helps sustainable development projects all over the world.
People often talk about Papua’s problems in terms of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. These global goals are all about lowering poverty, making education better, protecting the environment, and making society more equal.
Policymakers in Indonesia can share ideas and learn from how other countries have developed by working with international organizations.
Mambrasar thinks that working together like this can help people see things in a new way when they talk about Papua, especially when it comes to its unique problems and how to use its resources for long-term growth.
A Region With Enormous Potential
Mambrasar said that Papua is still a place full of opportunities, even though he talked about the problems it faces.
The forests, rivers, and marine ecosystems in this area are some of the most valuable natural environments in the world. The area also has a lot of young people who are becoming more connected to global networks of technology and education.
Some industries that could help Papua’s economy become more diverse in the future are tourism, agriculture, fishing, and renewable energy.
But Mambrasar stressed that these chances must be taken advantage of in ways that help the people who live there, making sure that their voices are heard and that the economic benefits are fairly shared among the people.
When development is open and includes everyone, it can help communities and institutions trust each other.
A Conversation That Reflects Larger Questions
There are still many conversations going on about Papua’s future, and the meeting in Jakarta was just one of them.
But it showed a bigger change in how policymakers and development experts talk about the area.
More and more people are looking at economic inclusion and sustainable development as long-term solutions instead of just security or political debates.
Mambrasar’s message to the leaders of the United Nation was short but important.
Papua can move toward a future where economic growth supports social harmony if development policies put fairness, protecting the environment, and getting people involved in the community first.
Looking Ahead
At the end of the meeting, the people who were there talked about the last things they thought about how Indonesian institutions and international organizations could work together.
For Mambrasar, the talk was another chance to tell global development leaders about the problems Papua is facing.
He thinks that the region’s future will depend on policies that take into account both its unique culture and its economic potential.
The talk in that quiet meeting room wasn’t just about Papua in the end.
It was about how development can help communities that have long wanted more say in shaping their future find stability, opportunity, and dignity.