Legal Literacy - The ringing of church bells in Kampung Bariat breaks the morning silence in Tanah Papua. The sound travels slowly among the dense customary forests that remain from logging. A thin mist hangs low, clinging to the sago trunks that stand like old guards.

Inside the simple wooden church, the pastor stands at the altar with his Bible. This week, the pastor speaks about ecological repentance, a teaching about the confession of human errors, crimes, and cruelties against their natural environment. About humans who forget that land is not just an economic expanse, but the womb of life. About rivers that flow not only carrying water, but also the history and prayers of the ancestors.

“This land is not only an inheritance from our ancestors,” he said softly,

“but also a trust for our grandchildren later.”

Faintly, the congregation listens to the pastor's sermon, their voices responding softly to the roar of chainsaws that pierce the ears. In the distance, a flattened expanse of land stretches out in a pale brown color—the remains of heavy equipment that works almost non-stop.

Kampung Bariat, in Konda District, is one of many customary villages in South Sorong that steadfastly defend their rights to their customary forests. The people from the Afsya sub-tribe, there they see the forest as a living space that flows in tradition, food needs, and knowledge passed down…