Culture
Comprising the western half of the island of New Guinea, the world's largest and highest tropical island, Papua is incredibly diverse and different from the rest of Indonesia or, for that matter, anywhere else in the world. Despite of a population of under three million, Papua is home to over 250 languages and retains many traditional cultures that were until very recently "still in the Stone Age". Cannibalism and headhunting were practiced in some areas until the 1970s or later.
Terrain and ecology
A vital tropical rainforest with the tallest tropical trees and vast biodiversity, Papua's known forest fauna includes marsupials including possums, wallabies, tree-kangaroos, cuscuses, other mammals including the endangered Long-beaked Echidna, many bird species including birds of paradise, cassowaries, parrots, cockatoos, the world's longest lizards Papua monitor and the world's largest butterflies. The island has an estimated 16,000 species of plant, 124 genera of which are endemic.
The extensive waterways and wetlands of Papua are also home to salt and freshwater crocodile
Large parts of the equatorial glacier fields in the highlands remain largely unexplored. Protected areas within Papua province include the Lorentz National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the Wasur National Park, a RAMSAR wetland of international importance.
History
Originally a Dutch colony like the rest of Indonesia, West Papua held elections in 1959 and the elected council took office in 1961, in preparation for full independence. However, the Dutch handed the area over to a UN temporary administration, who in turned gave it over to Indonesia in 1963. The controversial plebiscite known as the Act of Free Choice , held in 1969, resulted in an improbable 100% vote in favor of joining Indonesia. The region, renamed first as Irian Barat West Irian and then Irian Jaya Glorious Irian has been under heavy Indonesian military control ever since, with the outgunned Free Papua Movement Operasi Papua Merdeka or OPM fighting for independence.
The name Papua was restored in 2000 in a sop to the nationalists. The province was split into two in 2003 in a highly controversial move, with the Bird's Head Peninsula and surrounding islands becoming West Papua Papua Barat. A further split, to create a third Central Papua province, was abandoned due to fierce opposition.