Rapid Ecological Assessment - Indo-Pacific Images

Chapter 2 - Socio-Economic Conditions in the Raja Ampat Islands
The question of identifying the real indigenous people of Raja Ampat might not have been important in the
past, but has become increasingly sensitive due to ownership disputes over resources, particularly fisheries
and forestry. Silzer and Clouse (1991) charted the indigenous languages of Raja Ampat and their speakers. A
summary of this information is listed in Table 4.
Table 4. The indigenous languages of Raja Ampat and an estimation of the number of speakers.
Language Dialect Location Speakers
Matbat (Me, Biga) Misool and the surrounding smaller islands 550
Salawati (Maya) Maya, Kawit, Banlol,
Batanta Island
Salawati and Batanta islands 1,600
Kawe
Legenyem
Amber (Amberi,
Waigeo, Waigiu)
Kawe Island, western end of Waigeo and its
neighboring smaller islands
North-west of the main bay of Waigeo and on the
southern coast of Waigeo
North-center of Waigeo Island, and is scattered in
various other parts of Waigeo
300
100*
300
* This figure did not originate from Silzer and Clouse (1991), but was estimated based on advice that the
number of speakers of the Legenyem language was approximately one-third of the Kawe or Amber speakers.
Based on the estimated number of indigenous Raja Ampat language speakers, it can be estimated further
that, in 2002, the total number of indigenous people of Raja Ampat was about 3,250, or about 10% of the
32,800 extrapolated from the 2000 population total at an annual growth rate of 1.2% (Table 5).
2.6 Population Dynamics
Population statistics for Raja Ampat are presented in Table 5. The data indicates that in 2000, the total
population of Raja Ampat was approximately 32,000 people, or nearly 22% of the population of Sorong
Regency. The indigenous component of the population is 10%, a figure that is likely to decrease with the
onset of anticipated migration from other parts of Indonesia with the opening of the nickel mine at Gag and
other large-scale commercial ventures anticipated in the natural resources sector. This figure indicates that
indigenous people in Raja Ampat are underrepresented in political decision-making, including the
management of natural resources.
Table 5. Raja Ampat population figures, 2000.
Population Indicator
Raja Ampat Districts of Sorong Regency
Misool N. Waigeo S. Waigeo Samate Salawati*
Total population 8,716 5,760 8,161 7,370 2,017
Population density per km 2 3.90 5.52 3.64 9.49 n.a
Sex ratio 102.43 97.75 101.25 96.82 n.a
Household 2,415 1,649 2,484 2,934 n.a
Village 19 15 29 11 n.a
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