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The land of bird paradise better known as West Papua is a region hiding a lot of treasure. Sitting along the equator line, the Indonesian’s territory home to dozens of marsupial species and endemic fowls owns not only mind-blowing tourist attractions but also significant industries contributing the country’s economic growth. Don’t you know that West Papua has much economic potential?

Simply learn more about the region’s vital industries; few of them are nicely put in plain words below.

One of the World’s Largest Mining Industries

Besides South Africa, the world’s key mining industry is laid in West Papua. The concessions for mining in the area are, by and large, concentrated in the Baliem Valley, the mountains of Erstberg and Grasberg, the border spot of Papua New Guinew, Fak Fak, Manokwari, and the region of Paniai and Wissel Lakes. Mt Grasberg mine, for instance, is the biggest gold mining in the world – it also boasts the world’s second-largest copper mining. The mining production and exploration activities are daily run. What a surprising fact, folks!

Taken over by Freeport Company, the mining operations of Mt Grasberg mine is divided into three sections – the Deep Ore Zone underground, the open pit, and the Big Gossan underground mine. The gold deposit of which value is about 40 billion USD proves that the diggings are superbly wealthy. In addition to the golden nest egg, the place stocks up nearly one billion tons of ore. The valuable mineral is estimated to exist up to 30 years into the future. Unfortunately, the outsiders, as well as land owners, have no access to enter the site.

The Indonesia’s Primary Palm Oil Producer

Filled with an abundance of natural resources, West Papua produces a vast number of nature-related products which one of them is the palm oil. Strategically located in the center of the world, the jade mass land in the most eastern part of Indonesia has temperate climate all the year round making the palm trees thrive tremendously. It is no wonder; the New Guinea’s tropical paradise is the leading palm manufacturer in the entire nation, even the world.

According to a report in 2016, Indonesia incredibly yielded 34.5 million tons of palm oil and had successfully exported the product. As many as 25.1 million tons of the oil are sent to the western hemisphere and Asia. Out of the national production, West Papua’s average outturn reaches around 126.5 thousand per year. The interesting fact is that most out of palm oil industry are handed by the big-scale private smallholders and the same is true with the influential enterprises. Meantime, the self-effacing role is played by the local government.

The Magnificent Agricultural Sector

In comparison to other Indonesian provinces such as Java and Sumatra typically featuring farming industries, West Papua’s agricultural segment might be less unknown. Conversely, the local government – all the way through the most modern innovation – has exploited four agricultural commodities including cocoa, Wamena’s coffee, yam, and seaweed. The eminent farming products are in fact managed by the indigenous people in almost all districts in the mainland. Those potentially exported obviously add the locals’ earnings.

Cacao plantations have been well-developed in the prominent areas such as the regency of Keerom, Jayapura, and Sarmi—29 cacao gardens in a piloting project are productively expanded. The feature of local cacao is the fruit size which looks larger than the rest. It turns out that the Papuan cacaos are extremely favored by Malaysian and Singaporean due to the distinctive taste acquired. In 2014, the productivity of yields reached 660 kg/ha.

Meanwhile, the Arabica-type coffee from Wamena has recently gained popularity among Indonesian coffee aficionados in the entire world. The lovers totally favor the honey-like, caramel, and chocolaty aroma. The coffee production takes place in the regency of Jayawijaya. Tons of coffee beans have been pulled out not only to other Indonesian provinces but the United States is no exception.

The Developed Fishing Industry

Surrounded by assorted waters from the Arafura Sea to the Pacific Ocean, West Papua has a backbone industry in fishing. According to the government of Sorong, the significant rising number of traditional anglers in recent years is truly good news. Based on the graph made by the government of Sorong, nearly 2,500 locals in Sorong caught fishes in 2016. While in 2015, only half of them were interested in the fishing sector. The fishery progress in two provinces is by means of the Indonesia’s ministry of fisheries.

The major catches mostly obtained by the locals include tunas, anchovies, mackerels, skipjack tunas, and Layang fishes. The plenty of fishing products have been sent to other Indonesian cities such as Tual, Makassar, and Kendari. For the optimization, the fishing harbors are established in Biak, Mimika, and Merauke.

From mining to fishing, industries in West Papua eventually strengthen the region’s economy as well as opening new job opportunities for locals.