Indonesia

Indonesia has great natural wealth but many of its citizens live in extreme poverty. Democratic progress has been made since the resigation of former president Suharto in 1998, but many civil society organisations feel that far too little progress has been made towards sustainable management of the country's resources, and ensuring that Indonesia's diverse communities have a real say in decisions which affect their future.

Indonesia’s Indigenous Peoples continue the struggle for recognition

DTE 91-92, May 2012

The Fourth Congress of the Indigenous Peoples of the Archipelago (KMAN IV) celebrated the achievements of the past five years. But there is still much more to be done to secure indigenous communities’ rights to lands and resources.

Traditional knowledge – a vital tool for climate change adaptation

DTE 91-92, May 2012

A personal view of KMAN IV by Clare McVeigh

In April this year, I was fortunate to be invited to represent DtE as an observer at KMAN IV and the National Indigenous Women’s Meeting in Tobelo. It was a remarkable experience to see at first hand one of the largest and most diverse indigenous movements consolidate and advance collective efforts to fight for the rights of indigenous peoples.

The road ahead: making it happen for indigenous peoples

DTE 91-92, May 2012

An overview of some of the outcomes of KMAN IV: AMAN’s people, plans and demands for the future.

The Indigenous Women’s Meeting - a personal perspective

DTE 91-92, May 2012

By Clare McVeigh, DTE

Big plans for Papua

DTE 91-92, May 2012

In our special edition newsletter on Papua published in November 2011, DTE drew attention to the long and sorry history of top-down resource exploitation in Papua. Now, a whole raft of new development plans are being pushed through, under the government’s nation-wide effort to speed up development (MP3EI), launched last year. An additional layer of plans specifically for Papua is being promoted by UP4B, a special unit to speed up development in Papua.