Qualla: Central Papua

Central Papua: Introduction

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Government of Indonesia, Public domain. The fight over where to put the capital nearly derailed the province before it was born. Timika, home to the Freeport copper-and-gold mine and the biggest economy in the region, wanted the honor. Six other regencies - Nabire, Dogiyai, Deiyai, Paniai, Intan Jaya, Puncak Jaya - wanted it in Nabire instead. Timika's supporters argued that the mine's revenues justified the claim. Nabire's supporters argued that being free of Freeport's influence was itself an advantage. When the national parliament settled the question in Nabire's favor on 30 June 2022, Timika residents took to the streets, threatening to shut down the Freeport mine by force. The province of Central Papua came into being anyway, on 25 July 2022, carrying the tension of its birth with it.

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Image: Government of Indonesia | Public domain

Central Papua: The Newest Province

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit RizkyJogja, CC BY-SA 4.0. Central Papua was carved from the western regencies of the former Papua province as part of a 2022 reorganization that also created three other new provinces: Highland Papua, South Papua, and Southwest Papua. It covers about 61,000 square kilometers and holds roughly 1.5 million ...

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Image: RizkyJogja | CC BY-SA 4.0

Central Papua: Puncak Jaya and the Equatorial Ice

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit original author:Vladimir Lysenko (I.), retouched by Envapid, CC BY-SA 4.0. The central part of the province rises into the Sudirman Range, part of the spine of New Guinea. Several peaks climb above 4,000 meters. The tallest is Puncak Jaya at more than 4,800 meters - the highest point in Indonesia and Oceania, and one of the Seven Summits on some lists. ...

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Image: original author:Vladimir Lysenko (I.), retouched by Envapid | CC BY-SA 4.0

Central Papua: The Lakes of the Mee

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Government of Puncak, Papua, Indonesia, Public domain. In 1938, a Dutch pilot named Frits Wissel flew over the central highlands and discovered three large lakes at altitude. The Dutch named them Wisselmeeren, after him. The Mee people who had been living on their shores for generations already knew them as Paniai, Tigi, and Tage. Af...

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Image: Government of Puncak, Papua, Indonesia | Public domain

Central Papua: The Grasberg Mine and Its Downstream Cost

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Jajang Pict's, CC BY-SA 4.0. In the northern hills of Mimika Regency, within the Jayawijaya Mountains, Freeport Indonesia operates the Grasberg mine - one of the largest gold and copper deposits ever found. It has its own company town called Tembagapura. The scale of the operation is hard to overstate: Grasb...

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Image: Jajang Pict's | CC BY-SA 4.0

Central Papua: Three Coasts, Three Worlds

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Rogistira, CC BY-SA 4.0. Central Papua's geography is really three worlds stacked vertically. The northern coast along Cenderawasih Bay is part of a national marine park famous for whale sharks that gather near floating fishing platforms called bagans. The fish eat the same plankton the sharks feed on, a...

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Image: Rogistira | CC BY-SA 4.0