JAYAPURA – The Papua Provincial Government has determined that the current availability of Other Use Areas (APL) is insufficient to meet development and investment needs. Out of a total of 611,124.01 hectares of Other Use Areas, approximately 261,345 hectares, or 42.76 percent, are already encumbered with location permits. 

Acting Head of the Papua Regional Development Planning, Research, and Innovation Agency, Jimmy Thesia, mentioned that this situation poses a challenge for real sector development, as most of the potential land is still categorized as production forest, conservation areas, or nature reserves.  To address this limitation, the Papua Provincial Government has proposed a change in the designation of forest areas covering 824,040.95 hectares. This proposal will be discussed across sectors with the Ministry of Forestry, the River Basin Agency, the National Land Agency, and entrepreneurs who already hold permits but have not been able to advance their investment activities. 

According to Jimmy, verification and clarification of real potential on the ground are crucial steps to ensure proper spatial utilization and to avoid overlapping authorities between the central and regional governments.  “If we don't map and reassign land functions, it will violate regulations. For example, in Koya, the area was originally designated for agriculture, but now it has become a residential zone. The irrigation system must also be reviewed—whether it remains under central or provincial authority,” he added.

The Papua Provincial Government hopes that the revision of the Regional Spatial Plan can legally and structurally accommodate development needs. This change is considered crucial to ensure that investment in Papua can proceed more optimally, without violating existing forestry and spatial planning regulations. ***