Changing land use patterns threaten the livelihood of female crab collectors in Merauke, Papua, Indonesi

Fitriana, Ria

Kurupat, Maria

Aquatic Commons

YemaYa  616
Yielding ground 
Changing land use patterns threaten the livelihood of female crab collectors in 
merauke, papua, indonesia
By Ria Fitriana (rfitriana@
gmail.com), Independent 
Consultant, Coastal 
and Marine Resource 
Management, Jakarta, 
Indonesia, and maria 
Kurupat (mariakurupat68@
gmail.com) Gender 
Empowerment Activist, 
Merauke, Papua, Indonesia
Over the years, crab collection in mangrove and wetland forests has been a major source of income for women of 
the indigenous Asmat and Mappi communities 
of the island of Papua in Indonesia. These 
women harvest crab along the coastal areas 
of the Maro River, the main river of Merauke 
District, which is located in the southern part 
of Papua in the land of the Marind peoples. 
The Marind form a majority group and hold 
traditional claim of ownership over the land in 
Merauke, including the banks of Maro River. 
Apart from the Marind, other ethnic groups 
such as Bovendigul, Mappi and Asmat also live 
in the area and have ha anim rights to access 
resources for subsistence living. Ha anim rights 
accrue from a collective agreement among 
certain indigenous communities, granting them 
entitlement over resources from mangrove 
and wetland forests along the river, allowing 
for hunting, gathering of food and medicinal 
plants, and the collection of fibres and other 
materials for crafts such as noken or traditional 
bag weaving. Outsiders and even other ethnic 
communities residing in the area, such as the 
fishers of Sulawesi descent or North Papuans 
living in Merauki, require explicit consent from 
the customary land owners, and, in addition, 
must pay a mutually agreed sum in order to 
utilise these resources. 
Mud crabs are harvested in a ten kilometre 
region along the mangrove forest and banks of 
the Maro river. The Asmat and Mappi people 
have their own territory for crab collection. 
There are several ways to reach the crab nesting 
zones. For the Asmat women, it takes two to three 
hours on foot to reach, while it is an even longer 
walk, up to four to five hours long, for the women 
from the Mappi community. Apart from walking, 
another option is to rent a pick up car or boat, at 
a cost of about USD 15.50 per trip. 
Although crab collection is a daytime activity, 
sometimes the collectors need to camp overnight 
in the forest, for example, during unfavourable 
tidal conditions. The crab collectors usually go 
to the forest and look for holes in muddy areas 
that typically indicate a crab’s nest. Once a hole 
is found, they stick an iron crowbar to catch and 
pull the crab out of the hole, using water from 
the river to clean the catch. The crab is then 
placed on banana tree sheaths and tied using 
ropes cut from trees. Though crabs are usually 
bigger in size and more in number during the 
rainy season and high tide, the nesting grounds 
are harder to access during such conditions. 
The cleaned and tied crabs are stored in a sack 
and brought to traders in Merauke city or sold 
directly to customers on the road. 
The price of the catch depends on a number 
of factors: the size of the crab, whether the 
claws are intact, and whether the crabs are alive 
or dead. The price of small and medium sized 
crabs is about USD1.2 per kg, while the big sized 
ones are priced at USD 2.30 to 3.80 per crab – 
those with claws intact fetching USD 3.80 apiece 
and broken ones fetching USD 2.30 apiece. The 
catch usually includes many crabs with broken 
claws, as well as small sized and dead ones. Crabs 
tied with banana leaf can be kept alive for up to 
three days outside water-important traditional 
knowledge, which the women use to increase 
the value of their catch. The average earnings 
per trip, for a trip of two to three days duration, 
were found to be around USD 23 to 30. 
The income from selling crabs is used 
to meet food and transportation costs. Rice, 
eggs, salt, sugar, coffee, fried oil, betel nuts and 
drinking water are commonly bought items. 
Food expenses alone may amount to USD 4 to 7 
per day. During periods of no income, the crab 
collectors borrow money from kiosks near their 
homes, which is paid back later. 
Unfortunately, changes in land use have 
alienated these communities from their main 
livelihood sources. The area available for crab 
collection has shrunk or moved further away, 
increasing overall costs. The area covered by 
primary mangrove and wetland forests in 
Merauke has steadily decreased in the decades 
from 1990 to 2000 and 2010. The rate of 
conversion of these lands for plantation and city 
development threatens the mangroves, which 
are changing from being net sinks to net sources 
of carbon. These land use changes generate 
problems for the global and local community. 
According to the female crab collectors, there 
was a time when the crab collection area was 
fairly close to their homes but now involves a 
long and circuitous walk with access routes often 
restricted by the new titleholders of the land. 
inDonesiaasia
Ria Fitriana
Maria Kurupat
august  2020 7
Participative mapping revealed that over 
the years 20 ha of crab collection area have 
changed to private sea port and boat anchorage 
zones. Not only was the ‘new area’ restricted 
but the mangrove forests were destroyed 
for development, leading to livelihood loss. 
This form of development disregards food 
security and poverty among marginalised 
communities. In Papua, food security and 
nutrition are a major concern. Loss of food 
and nutrition will further weaken the ability of 
communities to deal with the issues they face. 
The situation becomes more difficult for female 
crab collectors because they access and use 
communal lands without the power to control 
the resources they need. 
Maria KurupaT
A woman catching crab in mangrove, Merauke,  Indonesia. Although crab collection is a daytime activity, sometimes the collectors need to camp 
overnight in the forest.
YemaYa  618
The food security of the Asmat and Mappi 
people depends on their livelihoods derived 
from a communal resource in a situation where 
no attention is given to protect such common 
resources as a means to secure the wellbeing of 
the people. There is no acknowledgement of use 
rights in land use changes and no involvement 
of women in discussions pertaining to resources. 
First, land use changes start as soon as land 
ownership is transferred. Land ownership 
transferred on customary land acknowledges 
traditional claim of ownership. This becomes 
problematic in the case of Papua because 
of varied rights over land, which is a mix of 
ownership and use rights. The owner of a piece 
of land might not allow the use of the land’s 
resources, even if the local ethnic groups have 
traditional use rights, since no attention is given 
to secure the livelihoods of those who with use 
rights over communal land. We suggest that 
various rights be taken into consideration in 
terms of compensation during land transfer. 
The acknowledgement of use right in land 
use changes is crucial to protect the source of 
livelihoods of those with access and use rights. 
This does not imply that transfer of ownership 
would necessarily become more complicated. 
Instead, we suggest that due compensation 
be given to women to make up for the loss of 
source of livelihood they face as a consequences 
The cleaned and tied crabs are stored in a sack and brought to traders in Merauke city or sold directly to 
customers on the road. The average earnings per trip, for a trip of two to three days duration, were found to be 
around USD 23 to 30
ria FiTriana of land use changes. The 
compensation shouldn’t be 
in the form of cash money. 
It could be in the form 
of capacity building and 
alternative livelihoods. The 
expansion of the range of 
activities available to female 
crab collectors is needed 
to diversify their income. 
The diversification could 
strengthen the resilience 
of female crab collectors 
in addressing uncertainty. 
Totally new activities could 
be introduced or value 
added to current practices 
such as fattening small crab. 
This is one way to ensure 
that the discussion on land 
ownership transfer will 
carefully consider impact on 
the daily lives of common 
people and on family-level 
food security.
Second, women 
are rarely involved in 
discussions regarding 
resources in Papua. In the 
Papuan tradition, the female 
is considered an outsider 
in a family, since she will follow her husband 
after marriage. Women usually access resources 
through inheritance from their families, similar 
to men. After marriage, the norms of their 
husband’s community determines their access 
to resources. Women’s roles are in domestic 
matters – taking care of the family, raising 
children, and being responsible for the family’s 
food security. Most of these activities take 
place on communal lands as among the Asmat 
and Mappi female in Merauke. The woman’s 
role in the domestic sphere is important for a 
family but not valued. When it comes to rights 
transfer and land access restriction, women 
are not involved in the discussion, especially 
in customary institutions. The representative 
in the customary board or the leader of a 
customary institution is male since men are the 
heads of families. The woman’s position may 
derive from her husband’s role - as the wife of 
the customary leader, supporting him domestic 
matters and providing inputs. Females have no 
formal place in a customary institution. 
There is a need to bring the voices of 
women into discussions and decision making 
processes related to resource use and access in 
all customary institutions.  
there is a need to 
bring the voices 
of women into 
discussions and 
decision making 
processes related 
to resource use and 
access in all customary 
institutions. 


Indonesia: yielding ground

http://aquaticcommons.org/27167/1/Yemaya_61_%20Yielding%20ground%20By%20Ria%20Fitriana.pdf

Indonesia: yielding ground

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