Integrating Customary Law into Environmental Governance for Indigenous Rights and Social Protection in Papua

I Nyoman Parwata (Faculty of Defense Management, Indonesia Defense University)
Syamsul Maarif (Faculty of Defense Management, Indonesia Defense University)
Pujo Widodo (Faculty of Defense Management, Indonesia Defense University)
Helda Risman (Faculty of Defense Management, Indonesia Defense University)
Faonaso Harefa (Faculty of Defense Health, Indonesia Defense University)

Khazanah Hukum
Vol. 8 No. 3 (2026): Khazanah Hukum

Environmental governance in Papua is still influenced by differing perceptions among state law, customary law, and the lived realities of indigenous communities whose livelihoods depend on forests, rivers, coastal areas, and customary land. This article focuses on the integration of customary law into environmental governance as a legal mechanism for protecting indigenous peoples’ rights and social protection. In this study, social protection is understood as legal and institutional guarantees aimed at protecting customary territories, livelihoods, cultural sustainability, environmental security, participation rights, and access to remedies for indigenous communities affected by environmental development carried out by the government or private sector. Using a qualitative socio-legal approach that combines normative juridical analysis and field interviews, this study examines constitutional provisions, environmental law, forestry law, agrarian law, Papua’s special autonomy law, human rights law, and international standards, particularly free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC). The empirical component is derived from interviews with key informants representing indigenous communities, local government, and law enforcement or environmental governance actors in Papua, which were analyzed with the assistance of NVivo 12 software. The findings show that the main problem does not lie in the absence of normative recognition, but rather in the weak operational integration of customary law into environmental planning, licensing, monitoring, law enforcement, and dispute resolution in Papua. This study offers an integrative legal governance model that positions customary law within five stages of governance, namely the recognition of customary territories, FPIC-based licensing, the involvement of customary institutions, joint monitoring and enforcement, and hybrid dispute resolution. Such rights-based integration can strengthen legal certainty, environmental sustainability, social protection, and public trust in Papua, Indonesia.