Multispecies marginality: Mangroves and migrant Papuans in the margins of urban colonisation

Abstract

West Papuans' dependency on mangroves is a consequence of Sorong's status as a frontier town. Originally developed to accommodate the oil industry, Sorong is an attraction for Indonesian settlers who have dominated and continue to dominate the town's geographical and economic spaces. By combining multispecies ethnographic studies with issues of power relations in urban areas related to settler colonialism and racial discrimination, this paper aims to reveal marginalised human species that are interconnected with their ecosystems. In addition to exploring the interdependence between humans and other species, and their common fate, a multispecies ethnographic approach also delves into the impact of urban development on marginalised human communities and their relationship with affected species. This enables a comprehensive understanding of how the well-being of these communities is inextricably linked to the health and survival of the entire ecosystem. Focusing on the Kokoda migrant community in Sorong, Indonesia, this article is based on research that has been conducted intermittently since 2019. A community that is accustomed to living within a mangrove ecosystem, Kokoda have the endurance to live in a degraded environment. By co-existing with the mangrove forest, they have created a commons in the swamp as their livelihood space. Paradoxically, the Kokoda also pragmatically participate in mangrove-planting programs instigated by both the government and private parties. However, despite the fact that urban housing development is the cause of massive mangrove deforestation, the Kokoda community is most responsible for mangrove deforestation.