Across the highlands and coastal lowlands of Papua, land is far more than a physical space. It embodies memory, ancestry, spirituality, and collective identity. For Indigenous Papuans, tanah ulayat—ancestral land inherited through generations—holds sacred significance. Yet for many years, these territories have been burdened by legal uncertainty, administrative inattention, and mounting pressure from development projects, migration, and commercial expansion. Today, however, the Indonesian government is signaling a meaningful shift. A series of new policies and administrative initiatives seeks to formally recognize, register, and safeguard the customary land rights of Papua’s Indigenous peoples—an effort widely viewed as a historic stride toward justice and long-awaited recognition. This article examines Indonesia’s strengthened commitment to protecting ulayat rights in Papua, drawing on recent government actions, ministerial statements, provincial programs, and certification efforts that illustrate the evolving landscape of land governance and Indigenous empowerment in the region.
A Turning Point in Recognition: Government Prioritizes Ulayat Land Protection
Momentum for protecting Papua’s customary lands has surged since 2024–2025, when the Ministry of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/National Land Agency (ATR/BPN) explicitly placed ulayat land certification in Papua among its top national priorities. The initiative is framed not only as an administrative modernization project but also as a moral and political responsibility to uphold Indigenous identity.
At the center of this push is Minister Nusron Wahid, who on November 20, 2025 visited Jayapura and surrounding areas to lead a series of symbolic and substantive events. One of the most striking took place in Skouw Yambe, where he personally witnessed the installation of customary boundary markers as part of the Gerakan Masyarakat Pemasangan Tanda Batas (Gemapatas). The simple act of hammering boundary posts into the reddish Papuan soil, Nusron said, serves as a physical declaration that the land belongs to Indigenous custodians—and that the state stands behind that recognition.
During a large public gathering in Jayapura, Nusron reinforced this message: “Tanah ulayat is not just a legal category. It is identity, dignity, and history. When we certify it, we protect what has existed long before the Republic itself.”
Harmonizing Indigenous Law and State Law
A key priority of the ATR/BPN is to synchronize customary (adat) law and national land law, creating a framework that respects Indigenous traditions while ensuring legal certainty. Nusron emphasized that ulayat certification does not replace or override the authority of tribal institutions. Instead, it gives them legal standing in the eyes of the state. Without formal documentation, lands that have been stewarded for centuries risk competing claims from external investors, government projects, or competing groups.
Preliminary surveys conducted together with Cenderawasih University identified 427 ulayat land areas across Papua with strong potential for certification—an enormous number that reflects both the richness of Papuan customary systems and the scale of unregistered Indigenous territories in the province.
Local leaders have expressed optimism that harmonization will reduce long-standing conflicts between communities and government agencies. Legal certainty, they argue, will prevent disputes caused by overlapping claims and unrecorded boundaries.
The Role of Gemapatas: Marking the Land to Protect It
The Gemapatas program is a critical foundation for ulayat land certification. Before a customary territory can be registered, its physical boundaries must be clearly identified through participatory mapping involving adat leaders, land custodians, and government surveyors.
At Skouw Yambe, Nusron Wahid reiterated that marking boundaries is an essential safeguard:
“If a land is not recorded, one day it may be taken by others. When boundaries are set and recognized, the state stands with the Indigenous community.”
This boundary-setting process is not merely technical—it is political and cultural. Indigenous communities are invited to determine the edges of their territory based on oral history, traditional markers, genealogies, and sacred sites. Government surveyors then translate these narratives into official maps and files. This dual methodology respects the past while preparing for future land governance.
Provincial Government: Ulayat Protection Supports Papua’s Special Autonomy
The certification of ulayat land has also received strong political support from the Papua Provincial Government. Deputy Governor Aryoko Alberto Ferdinand Rumaropen stated that the effort is deeply aligned with the goals of Papua’s Special Autonomy, which emphasizes the protection of Indigenous institutions, culture, and identity.
Provincial authorities stress that ulayat protection is not only about resolving land conflicts—it is also about affirming that Indigenous people are the rightful stewards of Papua’s natural resources. They insist that every certification process must be tied to ethical land governance, where Indigenous communities decide how their territories are used and developed.
Complementing this view, the Papua Ministry of Home Affairs Office has repeatedly highlighted that certification is a form of restorative justice. For too long, they argue, Indigenous land has been left vulnerable to appropriation due to bureaucratic loopholes and the absence of formal registration. With certification, the government attempts to correct historical oversight.
Legal Foundations: Ministerial Regulation No. 14/2024
The renewed push for ulayat protection is supported by Ministerial Regulation No. 14 of 2024, which outlines procedures for recognizing, identifying, mapping, and registering customary land. Under this regulation, ulayat rights remain valid as long as they continue to exist according to customary norms, processes, and decisions made by adat authorities.
The regulation is widely seen as a bridge between customary institutions and state administration, offering a clearer pathway for Indigenous communities to gain formal acknowledgment. It also mandates that governments document customary communities, their territories, and their governing structures before issuing certificates.
Legal experts say this long-awaited regulation provides the most concrete framework yet for protecting indigenous land rights in Papua.
Beyond Customary Land: Certifying Houses of Worship
During his working visit to Papua, Minister Nusron Wahid also handed over land certificates for houses of worship, particularly Christian churches. He stated that every religious site—whether Christian, Muslim, or otherwise—requires legal protection to prevent future disputes.
In Jayapura, Nusron delivered six certificates for state land and four for privately held land, symbolizing the government’s commitment to protecting not just ancestral land but also spiritual spaces that hold deep meaning for local communities.
This move has been welcomed by local religious leaders, who say formal documentation ensures that places of worship are legally protected and can continue to serve their communities without fear of eviction or external claims.
The Meaning of Ulayat Land: Identity, Memory, and Collective Rights
For Indigenous Papuans, ulayat land ownership is communal—not individual. Land is transmitted through clans, tribes, and generations, with boundaries often tied to rivers, mountain ridges, sacred trees, and burial grounds. These territories shape social organization, rituals, knowledge systems, and relationships with nature.
Empowering Indigenous communities through certification strengthens these identity systems. Ulayat land administration officials have emphasized that the process of mapping, identifying, and registering land is symbolic as much as it is technical. It signals that the state acknowledges the cultural and historical weight of Indigenous stewardship.
Economic Empowerment: From Spectators to Stakeholders
One of the most transformative implications of ulayat certification is its potential to give Indigenous communities greater economic leverage. Nusron Wahid has repeatedly stressed that Papuans must not become “spectators” in regional development. With certified land, customary groups can enter business partnerships, negotiate fair compensation, or participate in community-driven development.
Certification provides legal certainty, which is essential for protecting Indigenous interests in mining, forestry, plantations, tourism, and infrastructure projects. It reduces the risk of dispossession and helps communities exercise sovereignty over their territories.
Challenges Ahead: Administrative, Social, and Legal Obstacles
Despite progress, significant challenges remain. Mapping ulayat territories is complex and requires deep engagement with local genealogies, histories, and oral traditions. Disputes between clans or villages occasionally complicate the process. Logging concessions, old permits, and overlapping claims further limit the speed of certification.
Civil society organizations also warn that the government must ensure transparency and avoid treating certification as a mere symbolic gesture. They argue that recognition must be accompanied by genuine community participation, environmental protection, and respect for traditional governance systems.
Still, the overall direction of land governance in Papua appears to be shifting toward greater respect for Indigenous ownership.
Conclusion
Indonesia’s renewed effort to certify ulayat land in Papua marks a significant milestone in the nation’s relationship with its Indigenous communities. Through boundary marking, legal recognition, ministerial regulation, and direct engagement with adat leaders, the government aims to correct historical gaps and ensure that Indigenous land remains under Indigenous stewardship.
More importantly, certification is not simply a bureaucratic outcome—it is a moral acknowledgment of the richness, heritage, and identity of Papuans whose connection to the land predates modern boundaries. If implemented with integrity and genuine participation, it may signal a transformative era where development in Papua occurs with Indigenous communities, not at their expense.