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Newsletter articles

DTE's quarterly newsletter provides information on ecological justice in Indonesia.

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DTE publications

Targeting illegal logging in West Papua

Down to Earth No 65  May 2005

An NGO report shows how West Papua's rich, extensive forests are being stripped to satisfy China's demand for timber. The Indonesia government, keen to demonstrate to the international community that it is taking illegal logging and timber smuggling seriously, responded by promising action against corrupt military, police and forestry personnel.

AMAN in West Papua

Down to Earth No 65  May 2005

Notes from a discussion between DTE and Alex Sanggenafa, focal point for the Alliance of Indigenous Peoples of the Archipelago (AMAN) for Yapen Waropen, Papua.

 

AMAN and indigenous peoples: challenges in the Papuan context

Papuans' mistrust of the Indonesian government remains as deep as ever; they still tend to ask what hidden agenda lies behind any government efforts to win their hearts and minds.

Community-centred reconstruction needed

Down to Earth No 64  March 2005

For many tsunami survivors whose homes and livelihoods were totally swept away in the early hours of December 26th, rebuilding their lives means starting from scratch. What lies ahead for these shattered communities and who will decide what happens next?

Acehnese civil society organisations are highlighting the overriding need for participation by the affected communities in the reconstruction and recovery processes and for transparency and accountability in the use of funds.

Give the people of Aceh the right to rebuild their territory themselves

Down to Earth No 64  March 2005

Alliance of Indigenous Peoples of the Archipelago (AMAN) Press Statement

All that's left for the survivors now is the thin thread of life and a stack of questions and fears.

The government has a three-stage plan to tackle the disaster in Aceh and North Sumatra. The emergency stage programme will be the priority until December 2005, when aid will be directed towards clothing, food and health. The emergency funding amounts to Rp1.35 trillion.

Pak Keuchik Jailani

Down to Earth No 64  2005

The well-known indigenous and environmental activist, Keuchik Jailani, was one of the victims of the quake-tsunami in Aceh. He did not come from a privileged background and had little formal education. He always described himself as an ordinary farmer. But Pak Keuchik - as he was always known - was not an ordinary man. He was a community leader who was chosen to be village head of Riseh Sawang and customary leader because he was an honest, hard-working, principled man who was a skilled negotiator and not afraid to speak out.

Plantations: fortune of misfortune?

Down to Earth No 63  November 2004

The case of Nyayat village, as told in a new Indonesian-language publication by Indonesian NGO, PENA. Summary translation by DTE.

Nyayat is a hamlet in Sambas district, West Kalimantan, of only 200 Dayak Bekati. To outside eyes, it looks much like any other small village in the province. Most of its inhabitants farm the land traditionally and tap native rubber. The striking difference is that these villagers have refused to accept oil palm plantations on their land.

Women, land and natural resources

Down to Earth No 63  November 2004

Women in Indonesia are disadvantaged by poverty and marginalised by the development process. Control over the natural resources that sustain their lives remains largely out of their hands.