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.
The brutal crackdown by Indonesian security forces on the Third Papuan Congress in October has brought up to six deaths and hundreds of beatings and arrests.
The United National Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has written to the Indonesian government to express concern about the impacts of the Merauke Integrated Food and Energy Estate project (MIFEE) on the indigenous peoples affected by this agro-industrial mega-project.
The following report, by independent researcher Anna Bolin,[1] explores the global trends and influences at work behind agriculture mega-projects like MIFEE in Papua.
DTE last reported on the development of policy and projects in Indonesia to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) in early 2010. At that point, President Susilo Bambang Yudoyono had made an international commitment to limit Indonesia’s carbon emissions, and had announced plans to plant million of hectares of new forests.
Oil palm development in Indonesia has led to conflict, human rights abuses and the theft of community land; it has sparked massive fires which devastate forests, contribute significantly to climate change and affect human health.
A new certification scheme – Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) – is being introduced in Indonesia this year. Announced in November last year by Indonesia’s Agriculture Minister Suswono, the scheme is being seen as a rival to the Roundtable of Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).
gn [dot] apc [dot] org
