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.
The following submissions were made in July and August 2011 in response to the urgent threats to human rights and livelihoods faced by indigenous peoples in the Merauke Integrated Food and Energy Estate (MIFEE) project area.
Already the world’s biggest producer of palm oil, Indonesia is promoting yet more palm oil plantations across almost all regions in the country. Palm oil plantations covered more than 8 million hectares in 2010.
The expansion is being driven by the Indonesian government’s push for export revenues and demand for the crop from the international food and cosmetics industries.
gn [dot] apc [dot] org
