The PAPEDA Summit 2026 is putting a fundamental question at the center of Papua’s development debate: how can economic progress move forward while protecting nature and ensuring that Indigenous communities have a meaningful role in shaping their future?
That question has taken center stage in Sorong, where the three-day Papua Action for Development, Economy, and Sustainable Nature Summit is bringing together government officials, Indigenous representatives, academics, civil society groups, businesses, researchers, and international development partners.
Held from September 2 to 4, the summit is built around the theme “Celebrating Papua Action for People, Environment, and Sustainable Development.” Around 1,030 participants are attending, according to the organizing committee and reports from ANTARA and local media.
Rather than treating environmental protection and economic development as competing goals, PAPEDA seeks to connect them through a model that places people, nature, and culture at the foundation of development.
A Different Conversation About Papua’s Future
For decades, development in remote regions has often been measured through conventional indicators such as infrastructure, investment, and economic growth. PAPEDA Summit is attempting to broaden that definition.
The official summit framework describes Tanah Papua as an area with about 34.2 million hectares of primary forest and 1.6 million hectares of mangrove, while its position in the Coral Triangle gives the region exceptional ecological importance. It is also home to more than six million people and hundreds of Indigenous communities speaking more than 300 languages.
Those figures help explain why the discussion in Sorong has attracted attention beyond Papua itself.
The central argument emerging from the summit is relatively straightforward: development should create economic opportunities without undermining the ecological systems and communities that sustain them.
The summit’s organizers have therefore placed five broad priorities on the agenda: alignment between national and regional development policies, recognition and protection of Indigenous rights, development of a New Nature Economy, food and energy sovereignty, and integration of scientific knowledge with Indigenous knowledge through a “ridge-to-reef” approach.
That approach connects mountains, forests, rivers, coastal areas, and the sea rather than treating them as separate development zones.
For Papua, where communities frequently depend directly on forests, fisheries, agriculture, and other natural resources, the distinction matters.
Government: Development Must Benefit Indigenous Communities
One of the strongest messages came from Coordinating Minister for Food Zulkifli Hasan, who opened PAPEDA Summit 2026 in Sorong.
Zulkifli said that development and the distribution of its benefits must involve Indigenous communities and ensure that they receive tangible benefits.
“If development does not provide benefits to the community, then that development needs to be questioned,” he said, according to ANTARA.
He also called for greater trust in Papuans to participate in determining and implementing the direction of development.
“I believe Papua should be given full trust,” Zulkifli said.
The remarks are significant because they place community participation within the broader framework of national development rather than presenting environmental protection as separate from government policy.
For Indonesia, the challenge is not simply to expand infrastructure or investment in Papua. It is also to ensure that economic activity produces measurable improvements in people’s lives.
That includes employment, local businesses, food security, education, health services, and opportunities for Indigenous entrepreneurs.
The summit consequently provides a platform where government policy and local aspirations can meet, with the possibility of translating broad development commitments into more practical regional programs.
Elisa Kambu Calls for Stronger Forest Protection
Governor of Papua Barat Daya (Southwest Papua) Elisa Kambu has pushed the environmental dimension of the discussion further.
Speaking at the summit’s opening, Kambu argued that Papua’s development should not be assessed solely by the size of investment, infrastructure construction, or economic growth.
Instead, he said, the more meaningful questions are whether communities are becoming more prosperous, whether Papuan children have better opportunities, whether Indigenous communities are becoming stronger in protecting their territories, and whether forests, rivers, seas, and islands can be passed on to future generations.
Kambu also called for faster recognition and determination of customary forests and stronger protection of Indigenous territorial rights.
The provincial government, he said, is prepared to support the mapping of customary territories and lands.
This is an important practical issue.
Recognition of customary territory is not merely a cultural question. Clear mapping and legal recognition can provide greater certainty for communities, governments, and investors when development projects are planned.
In that sense, the debate at PAPEDA is increasingly moving from broad principles toward questions of governance, legal certainty, and implementation.
Indigenous Leadership Becomes a Central Theme
The second day of the PAPEDA Summit placed Indigenous leadership at the heart of the discussion.
During Plenary Session 3 on Indigenous leadership, speakers discussed the role of customary communities as rights holders, natural resource stewards, and participants in social, economic, cultural, and political decision-making.
Among the speakers was Stella Theresia Uce Misiro, a member of the Central Papua legislature representing the Indigenous appointment pathway under Indonesia’s Special Autonomy framework.
Misiro argued that special autonomy should translate into participation, rights protection, economic empowerment, and stronger customary institutions.
She also highlighted the importance of involving Indigenous women and younger generations in policymaking.
Her presentation also offered a concrete example of how policy can move beyond political statements.
Misiro presented 13 regional regulations produced by the Central Papua legislature in 2026. They cover areas including protection of women and children, local food, social oversight, forest management, people’s mining, empowerment of Indigenous Papuan entrepreneurs, population administration, education, lake management, the authority of the Papuan People’s Assembly, local languages, nutrition, and a special regulation concerning Indigenous Papuans.
The significance of those regulations, however, will ultimately depend on implementation.
Misiro herself emphasized that regulations need implementing rules, adequate budgets, measurable indicators, and monitoring mechanisms. In other words, legislation can establish a framework, but its value will be determined by what happens in villages and communities.
That distinction is particularly important for Special Autonomy, which is intended to strengthen development and protection for Indigenous Papuans.
From Customary Forests to a New Nature Economy
Environmental protection was another major thread running through the summit.
A dedicated session on social forestry and customary forests brought together government representatives, Indigenous communities, and civil society organizations to discuss access to forest management and protection of customary rights.
The summit’s concept of a New Nature Economy takes a more advanced approach.
Instead of seeing forests, biodiversity, marine resources, and environmental services simply as assets to be extracted, the model seeks to generate economic value while maintaining the ecological systems that produce that value.
The official PAPEDA program includes sessions on green and blue carbon, biodiversity economics, blended finance, and green-blue investment. One proposed outcome is a community-based carbon market scheme, while another focuses on developing a biodiversity economic valuation model for Papua.
This could become increasingly relevant as international climate finance and nature-based investment expand.
However, the success of such approaches will depend on transparency, credible environmental safeguards, and meaningful participation by communities whose territories generate the environmental value.
The question is not simply how much money can be generated from carbon or biodiversity. It is also how benefits are distributed, who makes decisions, and whether communities retain meaningful control over their customary territories.
Rp22 Trillion Environmental Fund and Papua
The financing discussion gained an additional dimension when Zulkifli Hasan called for faster utilization of environmental funds managed by Indonesia’s Environmental Fund Management Agency, or BPDLH.
ANTARA reported that BPDLH manages around Rp22 trillion in environmental funds and that the government is working to improve the regulatory framework so the money can be used more effectively for environmental protection and communities living around conservation and forest areas.
Zulkifli directly linked the financing issue to Papua during his remarks at PAPEDA.
Three Papuan provinces, Papua, Papua Pegunungan, and Papua Selatan, were among 10 provinces receiving part of Rp253.1 billion in results-based payments under a REDD+ program supported by the Green Climate Fund in August 2026. ANTARA reported that more than Rp500 billion had been distributed under the relevant project from August 2023 through July 2026.
For Papua, the significance lies in creating a potential bridge between conservation and local economic interests.
Forest protection can become more than just a regulatory obligation if environmental finance is transparently delivered to communities and promotes sustainable livelihoods. It can become part of a local economic strategy.
Local Products Show What Nature-Based Development Can Look Like
The PAPEDA Expo also provides a more tangible picture of what the summit is trying to promote.
Participants from Papua Pegunungan, for example, brought Indigenous handicrafts, noken bags, bracelets, accessories, and locally produced honey to the exhibition. Some of the products were developed through customary schools that combine cultural education with community-based economic activity.
The customary school initiative in Jayawijaya is particularly notable because it connects culture and human capital.
According to Radar Sorong, six customary schools have been established in several districts, teaching young children about traditional knowledge, community roles, gardening, handicrafts, and other elements of Papuan culture.
Such initiatives demonstrate that nature-based development does not necessarily have to begin with large projects.
It can also start with a village enterprise, a customary school, sustainable fisheries, agricultural products, ecotourism, or a traditional craft that reaches a wider market.
The Test Comes After the Summit
The scale of the PAPEDA Summit is significant, but its real test will begin after delegates leave Sorong.
The organizers have designed the summit around policy recommendations, collaboration, and potential follow-up initiatives. The official program also envisions a Sorong Declaration focused on nature protection, Indigenous rights, community welfare, and cross-sector cooperation.
That creates a clear opportunity for the central government, provincial administrations, and Indigenous institutions to turn the discussion into measurable programs.
There are several areas where progress could be assessed: the mapping and recognition of customary territories, implementation of Indigenous-related regulations, access to environmental financing, growth of local enterprises, protection of forests and coastal ecosystems, and improvements in basic services.
The emphasis on implementation is especially important because Papua’s development challenges differ significantly from one region to another.
A policy designed for a coastal community in Papua Barat Daya may not work in the highlands of Papua Pegunungan. An economic model based on fisheries cannot be directly applied to an inland agricultural community.
The summit’s ridge-to-reef approach therefore offers a useful principle: development planning should reflect the ecological and social realities of each territory.
A Broader Message for Indonesia’s Development
The PAPEDA Summit also carries a message beyond Papua.
Indonesia is seeking to accelerate economic growth while pursuing environmental commitments and a transition toward a more sustainable economy. Papua presents both a major challenge and a significant opportunity within that national agenda.
Its forests, biodiversity, fisheries, and Indigenous knowledge represent valuable national and global assets. But their long-term value depends on maintaining the ecological systems and social institutions that protect them.
For the Indonesian government, this means development policy must increasingly balance infrastructure and investment with participation, environmental safeguards, and local economic empowerment.
The statements made in Sorong suggest that this balance is becoming part of the mainstream development conversation.
Conclusion
The PAPEDA Summit 2026 has placed Papua’s development at an important crossroads. The central issue is no longer simply how quickly development can be delivered, but how it can produce lasting prosperity while protecting the environment and strengthening the role of Indigenous communities.
Government officials, including Coordinating Minister for Food Zulkifli Hasan, have explicitly emphasized that development must provide tangible benefits to Indigenous communities. Governor Elisa Kambu has called for stronger forest protection and faster recognition of customary territories, while representatives such as Stella Misiro have emphasized the need to turn Special Autonomy regulations into measurable outcomes.
The direction is therefore becoming clearer: Papua’s natural wealth must remain intertwined with the welfare of its inhabitants.
The more difficult task is implementation.
If the commitments discussed in Sorong lead to stronger legal recognition, better governance, sustainable investment, local business growth, environmental financing, and meaningful Indigenous participation, PAPEDA could become more than an annual policy gathering. It could contribute to a development model in which economic progress, cultural identity, and environmental protection reinforce one another.
For Papua and for Indonesia, that would be a significant step toward making development not only faster but also more durable and more inclusive.
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