Papua

province, Indonesia
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Alternate titles: Irian Barat, Irian Djaya, Irian Jaya, Netherlands New Guinea, West Irian, West New
Guinea

By Virginia Gorlinski Edit History

Summary

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Indonesia
Papua

Papua, formerly (1973–2001) Irian Jaya, or (until 1973) Irian

Barat, propinsi (or provinsi; province) of Indonesia, spanning roughly the eastern
three-fourths of the western half of the island of New Guinea as well as a number of
offshore islands—notably, Sorenarwa (Yapen), Yos Sudarso (Dolak), and
the Schouten Islands. Papua is bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the north, Papua
New Guinea to the east, the Arafura Sea to the south, and Cenderawasih Bay and the
Indonesian province of West Papua (Papua Barat) to the west. The provincial capital
is Jayapura. Area 122,418 square miles (317,062 square km). Pop. (2010) 2,833,381.
Geography
The Maoke Mountains, an extension of the cordillera composing the central
highlands of Papua New Guinea, stretch about 400 miles (640 km) east-west across
the central part of Papua and rise to an elevation of 16,024 feet (4,884 metres)
at Jaya Peak. The summits are heavily forested, except for the highest ones, which
consist of glaciated rock. To the north is the east-west valley of the Tariku and
Taritatu rivers, tributaries of the northwestward-flowing Mamberamo River. The
Van Rees and Gauttier ranges, the latter rising to some 7,450 feet (2,270 metres),
separate the east-west valley from the northern coastal lowlands. Extending south of
the Maoke Mountains is a wide swampy area drained primarily by the Digul, Pulau,
Brazza, Baliem, Lorentz, Momats, Cemara, and Mapi rivers. The high mountain
regions are broken by valleys covered with coarse grass, and tropical
rainforest vegetation is common. The low-lying areas north of the central mountain
range are clothed with dense rainforests. Among the many varieties of trees are
palms (sago, coconut, and nipa), sandalwood, ebony, rubber, casuarina, cedar,
breadfruit, and mangrove. Orchids and ferns thrive in the rainforests.
 READ MORE ON THIS TOPIC

World War II: Western New Guinea

Before they could push northward to the Philippines, the Allies had to subdue
Japanese-held western New Guinea. U.S. troops took Saidor,...

Papua lies within the Australian faunal region, which means that its animal life is
more similar to that of Australia and New Zealand than it is to that of western
Indonesia and the Southeast Asian mainland. Notable mammals include marsupials,
such as tree kangaroos and cuscuses; monotremes (egg-laying mammals), including
several types of echidnas; and a broad array of bats, terrestrial rats, and water rats.
Snakes, crocodiles, frilled lizards, and tortoises are among the common reptiles.
Typical birdlife includes cassowaries (a type of flightless bird), birds-of-
paradise, megapodes (mound builders), bowerbirds, plumed herons, green pigeons,
and lories (a type of parrot).
Papuan dancers

In the early 21st century, hundreds of indigenous—or Papuan—peoples together

accounted for nearly three-fourths of the province’s population. The remainder
consisted of immigrants, largely from Celebes (Sulawesi), Java, and the Moluccas.
The indigenous groups speak numerous Papuan languages, while Austronesian
languages are spoken by most others. The bulk of the population
is Christian (primarily Protestant); Muslims make up the largest religious minority.
Local religions are practiced by some of the Papuan communities. The areas
surrounding the cities of Jayapura and Nabire on the northern coast, Merauke and
Timika on the southern coast, and Wamena in central Papua are the most densely
populated, largely by immigrants from other parts of Indonesia. Otherwise, the
central mountains, the south-central coastal region, and the river basins of the
southeast are predominantly indigenous areas. The swampy flatlands of the north
are sparsely populated.

Most of the Papua’s people are engaged in agriculture (including forestry and
fishing). Rice is the chief food crop, although cassava, sweet potatoes, soybeans, corn
(maize), green beans, and peanuts (groundnuts) are also important. Other notable
farm products include palm oil, cocoa, and nutmeg. The forests yield timber and
copal (varnish resin), while assorted finfish, shrimp, oysters and other shellfish, sea
cucumbers, and seaweed are among the products of Papua’s fisheries. Agricultural
activities support a small manufacturing sector, the principal products of which
include processed foods, lumber, wooden furniture, and other wooden goods.

Although mining employs only a small portion of the population, it is by far the
largest contributor to Papua’s economy. One of the world’s biggest deposits
of copper and gold ore is located at Tembagapura, in the west-central part of the
province. Exploitation of those resources has been under way since the early 1970s,
despite disruptions caused by long-term guerrilla fighting in the region. Petroleum is
also extracted in the area. Internal transport is supported by a growing number of
secondary coastal roads, riverboats, and airways that link the major cities in Papua
with those in West Papua and other parts of Indonesia.

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For administrative purposes, Papua is divided into more than two

dozen kabupaten (regencies) as well as the municipality of Jayapura. Those units are
further parceled into distrik (districts), which in turn contain tens to hundreds
of kampung (villages) at the lowest administrative level. The chief executive of Papua
is the governor.