Indonesia plans to clear forests about the size of Belgium to produce sugarcane-derived bioethanol, rice and other food crops, potentially displacing Indigenous groups who rely on the land to survive.
Hundreds of Indigenous people and civil society groups in Indonesia are demanding an end to government projects that have seized their lands, fueled violence, and stripped them of their rights.
Over 250 indigenous peoples, local communities and various civil society organizations from all over Indonesia announced the Merauke Declaration on March 11-14, 2025 in Merauke, South Papua, rejecting various National Strategic Projects (PSN) throughout Indonesia.
Suara penolakan dan perlawanan atas berbagai Proyek Strategis Nasional (PSN) bermasalah bergema dari Merauke, Papua Selatan, provinsi paling timur Indonesia yang tengah disasar proyek cetak sawah dan kebun tebu warisan pemerintahan Presiden Joko Widodo, dan kini dilanjutkan Presiden Prabowo Subianto.
For four days on 11-14 March 2025, more than 250 indigenous peoples and local communities affected by Indonesia National Strategic Projects, as well as various civil society organisations, gathered in Merauke, South Papua to challenge the mega projects for rice, sugarcane, oil palm as well as others that will grab million of hectares of community and indigenous territories across the country.
The Indonesian government took over management of palm oil plantations seized from a corporation facing a graft probe, under an initiative that may be extended to other troubled commodity-production sites.
An Indonesian archbishop has appointed a lawyer, threatening legal action against those criticizing his support for a food estate project in South Papua province, that indigenous people oppose fearing destruction of their forests.
How thousands of Indonesian soldiers are forcing through a vast agricultural project in indigenous lands and forests
Le gouvernement indonésien envisage d'utiliser 20 millions d'hectares de zones forestières pour produire du riz, des palmiers et de la canne à sucre, a récemment déclaré le ministre des Forêts Raja Juli Antoni.
The food estate in Merauke - spanning more than two million hectares - seems set to join the long list of such projects that have failed since the concept was first proposed in 2010, only to leave behind broad damage to the rights of indigenous peoples and the environment, including the loss of customary land belongs to 40,000 indigenous people.
An Indonesian government plan to clear forests spanning an area twice the size of South Korea for food and biofuel crops has sparked fears of massive greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity loss.
The Deputy Minister of Agriculture says his ministry has preliminarily identified 1.2 million hectares of land with corn-growing potential, with plans to conduct comprehensive follow-up studies and evaluations.
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