Economic Development Based On Adat In Indonesia’S Most Eastern Province Of Papua

Development should improve all aspects of human living for local community including economic, social, and cultural aspects. In the context of development in Papua, under the centralization system, the Province remained poorly developed compared to other regions in Indonesia. Papua received special autonomy in 2001, and under this status, the local government has implemented development based on adat spliting the region into five clusters of development, namely Mee Pago, La Pago, Mamta, Saireri, and Anim Ha. The main reason for this type of development is due to the local government’s perspective that the development in Papua has a little success which has caused Papuans’ beliefs that the Papuans’ cultural aspects are never considered and sensitized in initiating the development. By using secondary data published by the Development Planning Agency (Bappeda) of Papua Province, this research explores the implication of economic development and social indicators in five clusters of development in Mee Pago, La Pago, Mamta, Saireri and Anim Ha regions based on economic growth, income per capita, poverty rate, and Gini ratio. The results show that the development based on adat perspectives possesses huge challenges, one of which is when initiating the development in conflict zones. Despite economic potentials in some regions being tried to increase its growth, some are not consistently developed while some others are no longer operated; even if operated, safety issues require more practical steps towards a better solution. Thus, empowering local economy by pursuing peace among the community should become a priority program to improve the welfare of Papuans.