Claiming that agricultural expansion is needed to counter a threat to food security posed by the coronavirus pandemic, in 2020 Indonesia relaunched a nationwide program of food estates, modern and industrialised agricultural projects on a vast scale. The first project was to be in Central Kalimantan, on peatlands which were the site of another failed megaproject, the Mega Rice Project. Appointed to a key role in the project, the military has already started clearing forest for a cassava plantation in another part of Central Kalimantan.

Further food estate areas are being proposed around Indonesia, in North Sumatra, South Sumatra and East Nusa Tenggara Provinces. Potentially the largest food estate however, is reserved for southern Papua – not just Merauke Regency but also including parts of Mappi and Boven Digoel Regencies. The area currently being considered is over 3.2 million hectares, virtually all of which are natural forests, savannahs and wetlands, within the territory of several indigenous groups who have not yet been consulted.

The plans have been roundly criticised by enviromnentalists, indigenous and peasant movements. A new report, published recently by a coalition of NGOs which details the current state of the food estates around Indonesia  appeals specifically to banks, development agencies and other institutions not to support these reckless plans. The report is available in English and Indonesian, with one page summaries also available in the following languages: English, Indonesian, Chinese, German, Korean and Japanese.

Indonesian NGOs have also produced other useful resources on the new food estate programme:

• Pantau Gambut has produced an excellent website, focussing specifically on the Central Kalimantan food estate, and debunking many of the myths around food security put out to justify the programme. (in English and Indonesian)
• Madani has a in-depth briefing of the current state of the food estate in all parts of Indonesia. (in Bahasa Indonesia)
• The Indonesian Center for Environmental Law has a briefing on legal aspects of the food estate programme, and the new legislation which has been created to facilitate it. (in Bahasa Indonesia)

New plantation and partially cleared area in Korindo’s PT Pusaka Agro Lestari concession (Photo: Greenpeace 2018)

On 5th November 2019, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) released a summary of their findings into a complaint against Korindo, two and a half years after it was made. It is not the full report, since that is still withheld from publication “due to a disagreement with Korindo”. Mighty Earth, the NGO which launched a campaign against Korindo in 2016, had alleged that deforestation and violations of indigenous rights in Korindo’s palm oil concessions should mean that the FSC should not certify Korindo’s timber and plywood operations.

Mighty Earth’s argument was that the FSC’s policy on association does not allow companies to be FSC members if they or their sister companies have destroyed areas of high conservation value, converted large areas of forest to plantations, or violated any of the ILO Conventions (including ILO convention 169 which includes the right of indigenous peoples to give or withhold their free prior and informed consent).

The FSC’s findings, and the additional social and environmental research it commissioned while investigating the case, confirmed that Korindo group companies had indeed contravened its policy in all the above ways. However, it chose not to rescind Korindo’s membership or annul the sustainability certificates held by Korindo Group companies. Considering that “continued dialogue with interested stakeholders and Korindo is the best way forward towards achieving meaningful positive impacts in the company’s forestry and forestry-related operations”, the FSC proposed instead that Korindo maintains a moratorium on land-clearing in its plantation concessions and phases out the use of timber from forest conversion in its factories. Korindo will also need to undertake as-yet-unspecified remediation measures with local communities to address the lack of FPIC. If it complies, this is likely to be painful for Korindo, as the bill reportedly runs into the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Notwithstanding this process, the FSC is admitting that it will continue to certify a company which has been found to have violated its standards on sustainability. Consumers who bought Korindo’s products believing that the FSC seal of approval meant it was sustainably sourced may not be entirely happy to realise that they were actually buying from one of the companies that has cleared the largest amounts of primary forest in Indonesia over the last decade, whilst also causing severe hardship for the indigenous communities who depended on that forest. By choosing to maintain a relationship with Korindo, the FSC’s credibility as a body capable of verifying sustainable timber is severely compromised.

Astonishingly, the FSC has continued to engage with Korindo, despite the company having sent a cease-and-desist letter in September threatening legal action if it releases the full findings of its investigation. By acquiescing to Korindo’s aggressive attitude, the FSC is now unable to provide a transparent guarantee that Korindo’s products reach an acceptable sustainability standard.

So why should the FSC be willing to forgive Korindo’s deforestation and continue to certify its operations (assuming it addresses its debts to indigenous communities)? The probable answer is that Korindo not a lone bad apple: it is actually only one of many FSC-certified companies that have cleared forest and violated indigenous rights for palm oil plantations in Indonesia and elsewhere. Six other similar cases are detailed below.

Applying the principle of group-level responsibility, where companies cannot be treated as isolated entities but must be evaluated alongside other entities with common ownership, management or financial links, is a vital part of any efforts to create a real transition to sustainability. Otherwise, corporations will present their more acceptable subsidiaries for certification by the likes of the FSC or RSPO, while continuing to expand their more destructive operations under the radar. In places like Indonesia it is not always easy to establish the links between companies, as the beneficial owners are concealed behind shadow companies which track back holding companies in offshore secrecy juristictions or people who hold shares in name only. Nevertheless, part of the FSC’s job should be to conduct due diligence checks on ownership to make sure companies meet their own criteria, before accepting them as members.

Other FSC-certified forest destroyers.

Moorim Group.

Moorim’s forest clearance in Merauke (Photo: Greenpeace 2018)

Companies with FSC Certification: Moorim P&P Co Ltd, Moorim Paper Co Ltd, Moorim SP Co. Ltd (South Korea), Moorim UK Ltd (UK), Moorim USA Inc (USA)

Companies which have cleared forest: PT Plasma Nutfah Marind Papua (Merauke, Papua, Indonesia)

PT Plasma Nutfah Marind Papua has operated an industrial forestry concession in Merauke Regency since 2015. By 2019, around 4400 hectares of natural forest had been cleared, of a 64,050 ha concession. The area where the concession is located is part of the Trans-Fly Eco-region, an area of eucalyptus forests interspersed with savannah which is unique in Indonesia.

PT Plasma Nutfah Marind Papua is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Korean FSC-certified companies Moorim P&P Co. Ltd. and Moorim Paper Co. Ltd. Moorim’s UK and USA sales divisions are also certified.

Salim Group.

destruction of a sago grove by PT Bintuni Agro Prima Perkasa, 2018

Companies with FSC Certification: PT Rimba Mutiara Kusuma (East Kalimantan, Indonesia)

Companies which have cleared forest: PT Permata Nusa Mandiri (Papua, Indonesia), PT Rimbun Sawit Papua, PT Subur Karunia Raya, PT Bintuni Agro Prima Perkasa (Papua Barat, Indonesia), PT Duta Rendra Mulya, PT Sawit Khatulistiwa Lestari (West Kalimantan, Indonesia).

PT Rimba Mutiara Kusuma is a timber processing company based outside Samarinda which has obtained FSC certification for sawn timber and garden furniture. It is owned by Anthoni Salim, one of Indonesia’s richest men, who also controls a labyrinthine business empire across Asia.

Anthoni Salim is also the largest shareholder in PT Duta Rendra Mulya, a palm oil plantation company which has cleared at least 1720 ha of forest in Sintang Regency since 2015, mostly on peatland. Several other plantation companies which are known to be part of the Salim Group include PT Sawit Khatulistiwa Lestari, located next to PT Duta Rendra Mulia, which has cleared 5315 hectares of forest since 2015. In Papua, the Salim Group is clearing natural forest in three palm oil concessions (PT Rimbun Sawit Papua, PT Subur Karunia Raya, PT Permata Nusa Mandiri) and one corn plantation (PT Bintuni Agro Prima Perkasa). In all four cases conflicts have occurred with indigenous people who feel they have not given their free prior informed consent to the companies.

Shares in these plantation companies are formally owned by individuals other than Anthoni Salim, but operate together under the banner of the “Indogunta Group” and share management and office facilities with other Salim Group companies, including PT Rimba Mutiara Kusuma and PT Duta Rendra Mulya. It is considered highly likely that Anthoni Salim is the beneficial owner of all these companies through nominee shareholder agreements – a practice which is widespread in the Indonesian natural resource industries.

Rimbunan Hijau Group.

Companies with FSC certification: PT Wapoga Mutiara Industries (Biak, Papua, Indonesia), PT Wapoga Mutiara Timber Unit II
Companies which have cleared forest: Eastern Eden Estate (Sarawak, Malaysia), Gilford Ltd (East New Britain, Papua New Guinea).

The Rimbunan Hijau Group is one of the most notorious timber groups in the world. Owned by Tiong Hiew King and his family, it was one of the six timber companies which made their fortune snapping up timber and palm licences under the corrupt regime of Sarawak’s First Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud, which have largely destroyed all forest in Sarawak. Rimbunan Hijau then expanded to other logging operations around the world, notably in Papua New Guinea.

On Biak Island in Papua province, a Rimbunan Hijau Group company, PT Wapoga Mutiara Industries, operates an FSC-certified timber and plywood mill. PT Wapoga Mutiara Industries is owned by an offshore company in the British Virgin Islands, Kinley Trading Limited, so it is impossible to know its ultimate owner. However there are several members of the Tiong Family on its board of directors, and that of the intermediate holding company in Hong Kong, Baines Limited.

Disclosures made to the forestry industry reveal that PT Wapoga Mutiara Industries sources from two logging concessions in West Papua, PT Wapoga Mutiara Timber and PT Salaki Mandiri Sejahtera. PT WMT is FSC-certified, PT SMS isn’t. Majority shares in both companies are owned by Susan Lilianti Sunarti, an Indonesian citizen who is also on the board of PT Wapoga Mutiara Industries. Since it is illegal for foreign-owned companies in Indonesia to operate logging concessions, it is possible that Susan Lilianti Sunarti is acting as a nominee shareholder, while the Tiong family are the actual beneficial owners.

Amongst the areas where palm oil subsidiaries of the Rimbunan Hijau Group are known to have converted natural forest in recent years are the Eastern Eden Estate in Sarawak, which is owned by Jaya Tiasa Sdn Bhd, and Gilford Ltd, which has cleared over 11,000 hectares of forest in East New Britain, Papua New Guinea.

Gama Group.

Forest clearance in PT Agrinusa Persada Mulia (Photo: Greenpeace 2018)

Companies with FSC Certification: PT Katingan Timber Celebes (Makassar, Sulawesi, Indonesia), PT Gema Hutani Lestari (Gorontalo, Sulawesi, Indonesia), PT Forestry Ganda Utama (currently suspended) (Gorontalo, Sulawesi, Indonesia)

Companies which have cleared forest: PT Agrinusa Persada Mulia, PT Agriprima Cipta Persada (Merauke, Papua, Indonesia), PT Graha Agro Mulia (Kubu Raya, West Kalimantan, Indonesia).

The Gama Group, which is now rebranding itself as KPN Corp, is the business empire of Ganda and Martua Sitorus and their families, and includes a plantation division which claims to have planted almost 200,000 hectares of oil palm. Several of these concessions were clearing forests in southern Papua and West Kalimantan until June 2018 when a Greenpeace investigation uncovered a web of entanglements between Gama and agribusiness giant Wilmar, which was also founded by Martua Sitorus. Embarrassed, Wilmar announced that it would stop buying from Gama, and Gama committed to stopping deforestation.

Although it is not acknowledged on the KPN Corp website, Gama also owns a forestry business, known as the Katingan Timber Group. A logging concession (PT Gema Hutani Lestari) is FSC certified, and two plantation forests (PT Gorontalo Citra Lestari and PT Gema Nusantara Jaya) also obtained certification through their parent company PT Forestry Ganda Utama, although it is currently suspended. A processing facility, PT Katingan Timber Celebes, is also certified.

Although Gama does appear to have made a clear commitment to embrace better practices in its palm oil operations, and has not deforested in the last year, the FSC’s policy specifically prohibits the association of companies which have cleared over 10,000 hectares of forest within the last five years. Gama’s two subsidiaries in Merauke alone have cleared 12,890 ha, according to data in CIFOR’s Papua Atlas.

Central Cipta Murdaya Group.

Companies with FSC Certification: PT Intracawood Manufacturing (North Kalimantan, Indonesia)

Companies which have cleared forest: PT Hardaya Inti Plantations (Buol, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia)

PT Hardaya Inti Plantations has a concession in Gorontalo, Indonesia. Even though a case brought by Indonesia’ Corruption Eradication Commission found the owner of the company, Siti Hartati Murdaya, guilty of bribery to obtain permits and sentenced her to prison, the concession was not revoked and has cleared 434 ha of forest. Then in November 2019, the Forestry and Environment Minister controversially released another 9964 ha of state forest for the plantation to expand further.

Siti Hartati Murdaya’s Central Cipta Murdaya Group also owns PT Intracawood Manufacturing, which has obtained FSC certification for its forestry business in North Kalimantan.

Sungai Budi Group

Companies with FSC Certification: PT Paramitra Mulia Langgeng (Ogan Komering Ulu Selatan, South Sumatera, Indonesia)

Companies which have cleared forest: PT Samora Usaha Jaya (Ogan Komering Ilir, South Sumatra, Indonesia), PT Solusi Jaya Perkasa, PT Bumi Perkasa Gemilang (Kubu Raya, West Kalimantan, Indonesia)

PT Paramitra Mulia Langgeng has FSC certification for its 70,000 hectare industrial forestry plantation in South Sumatra province. However, it is part of the same Sungai Budi Group as PT Tunas Baru Lampung, a company which operates oil palm and sugar plantations and has cleared forest and peatland in several concessions in Sumatra and Borneo in recent years.

However PT MSL is believed to not yet be in possession of a valid environment permit, and has not completed an Environmental Impact Assessment process with the Papua Barat Provincial Environment Agency.

A.J. Siregar, who is a manager with PT MSL, confirmed that if his company had started to plant oil palm seedlings it was because they had been requested and urged to do so by local people. Meanwhile the EIA document was still being processed, he claimed.

“Local people have been urging us to give them work, so we have cleared an area of around 2 hectares which used to be a forest garden for a palm oil nursery, so that local people can start filling polybags”, Siregar explained yesterday when the Tahura Pos called him on his mobile phone.

Siregar claimed that PT MSL had been put in a dilemma, as local people had said that if they had to wait too long to get jobs from the company, then they would no longer want to accept the company’s plans.

For that reason, he continued, the company would accede to the people’s request to plant seedlings. “So we started the nursery, but we did it in an area which had been used by the people as a forest garden,” he said.

After getting this request, Siregar continued, his company co-ordinated with the South Manokwari Regency Administration, in this case the head of the one-stop permit service.

“We asked him what should we do, since the local people are insisting. He advised us that we should offer some work to local people, but that we shouldn’t clear any forest. That is the reason why we’re getting the seedlings ready. Aside from that, the local people also wanted to offer us the land they had previously used as a forest garden, so we wouldn’t need to clear forest,” he said.

On the other hand, the head of Environmental Planning and Enforcement and the Papua Barat Provincial Environment and Land Agency, Daniel L Haumahu, claims that PT MSL still does not have an approved EIA document.

“We have still not processed an EIA for PT MSL. They have previously asked us to explain the plans to local people as part of a EIA process, but we judged it to not be in accordance with the proper mechanism, and so we recommended that the project initiator should co-ordinate with us first, involving the relevant government bodies at the provincial level. However they have never come back again to try to process the document”, Haumahu said when contacted by the Tabura Pos yesterday.

For that reason, he stressed, PT MSL should not use local people as a shield in order to impose its will. It should instead process the permits and follow valid procedures. If it doesn’t, that’s a criminal offence.” he said

He added that although South Manokwari Regency does already have a Environment Agency in place, it does not yet have a technical team that is capable of processing an EIA document, so the company is obliged to process the document through the Provincial Environment Agency.

Bua, the head of the Food Security and Agriculture Agency for South Manokwari says they have not received any reports about the oil palm nursery.

“Actually there was a meeting and information about the plantation plan at the Bupati’s office not long ago, but at that meeting the District Secretary made clear that the company should not commence working before there was an EIA in place. We mustn’t collide with regulations the government has put in place,” Bua said.

In response to these events, Yohanes Akwan, an environmental activist from Pantau Gambut Papua Barat stressed that before the permit process is complete, there should be no ground work whatsoever, even if it is in the forest garden of local people.

“Even if it is in the local people’s gardens, if the government has not given permission, then no work can be done without a permit,” Akwan said yesterday.

He said, that the key point was that no activity was permitted and that it really did not make sense to say that it was because the local people had pressed for it. “There have been cases here in Papua Barat where local people have regretted handing over their customary land to oil palm plantations, and have been deceived by companies,” he said.

Before the permits are issued and certainty around local people’s rights, Akwan said, work is not allowed, even if the reason is pressure from local people.

He continued to say that he had heard that there had been several meetings and that it wasn’t the whole community in the area which had agreed to accept the oil palm plantation company’s plans.

“There are still some people in favour and some against, so the government should come and sit with all the different elements of the community and hold a joint decision making meeting so that conflict doesn’t break out within the community at a later date,” Akwan concluded.

Source: Tabura Pos (print edition 8 August 2019)

• Jalan Korea, a birdwatching site in Jayapura Regency where endemic Papuan birds can be seen, is under threat. The area is part of a palm oil concession, which means the tree cover will be lost and wildlife, including birds, will disappear.
• Jalan Korea has been a tourist destination for birdwatchers from around the world for the last 27 years.
• Alex Waisimon, who runs a birdwatching ecotourism business, believes that if palm oil moves into the area, it will mean a repeat of the negative experiences seen elsewhere in Papua, where Papuans who depended on the forest are pushed out from their own lands.
• Emmy Mandosir, head of the Papua province Environment Agency, will co-ordinate with the Jayapura Regency Environment Service to discuss the issue. If the area is indeed a site for watching endemic birds, it may still be possible to reevaluate the permits and exclude the area.

We went to the site that PT Permata Nusa Mandiri had been clearing land on Wednesday 5^th June 2019. A few hundred metres before the company’s camp, our vehicle pulled over. On our left hand side, behind a thin strip of remaining forest, we could see a broad expanse of empty ground. The forest had recently been felled to plant oil palm.

Following a footpath, we waked onto the site. The trees which had been felled had already been removed, so only a few branches remained on the ground alongside the tracks of heavy machinery.

Alex Waisimon tried to see to the far side of the cleared area with his binoculars, which he normally uses for watching birds. He has been actively trying to protect the forest, conserve birds of paradise and other wild animals and trying to improve local people’s economic situation through bird watching ecotourism activities. He has received multiple awards including being named an ASEAN Biodiversity Hero by the ASEAN Center for Biodiversity (ACB), and previously in 2017 he received the Kalpataru and Kick Andy Heroes awards.

That day, although he did not speak much, Alex seemed upset. If this land is cleared for oil palm it will threaten endemic bird species in the area. One birdwatching site which has been a destination for bird-lovers from around the world for the past 27 years, lies within the company’s concession. This spot is known as Jalan Korea, or Korea Road.

The reason behind the name is that it was an old logging road built by a Korean company. Jamil, a tourist guide from Nimbokrang, was the first to introduce this site to others.

Trees can still be seen standing upright around Jalan Korea, but these are actually only the trees the the illegal loggers who have targetted the area have not felled. Evidence of ongoing illegal logging can even still be seen along the roadside.

Several endemic Papuan bird species can be found in this area. The birdwatching website burung-nusantara.org notes that amongst the species can be seen are the northern cassowary, victoria crowned pigeon, twelve-wired bird of paradise and the pale-billed sicklebill. It’s a favorite spot for bird-lovers which has been reviewed on many travel and birdwatching websites.

On maps showing PT PNM’s permits, Jalan Korea can be seen to be within the concession. It is not far from the area recently cleared.

Alex is frustrated at the government for letting this area become an oil palm plantation, because developing the potential of areas which are already well-known is much easier and more cost-effective than pioneering new tourist destinations as the Jayapura Regency administration keeps choosing to do.

What’s more, the reality is that oil palm plantations have never brought improvements to the welfare of the indigenous peoples who own customary land rights in the areas they operate. As far as Alex is concerned, the arrival of palm oil in the area will only lead to a repeat of the negative experiences from many other areas of Papua, where Papuans who used to depend on the forest are pushed out of their own forest.

There’s not much that Alex can do. The Jalan Korea area is not part of his own ancestral land. The word has gone around that the indigenous people who hold land rights in this area have accepted compensation money from the company.

Apart from the Jalan Korea site, other birdwatching spots in the area are under threat. If the company clears land for a 32,000 hectare palm oil plantation it will drastically alter the ecosystem in the entire area. Another site, known as KM 8, for example, does not lie within the concession, but will be just beyond the boundary of the plantation.

Not all the indigenous clans in the area have surrendered their lands to the company. Alex is determined that the company will not be able to work in his area, even if it only wanted to build a road. In 2016, the Waisimon tribe handed an area of 19000 ha over to him to be managed as a conservation area. Within their lands there are also many birdwatching sites, which have become known as Isio Hill Bird Watching.

“As for the Waisimon clan, we’re still holding on. Other groups may be happy that palm oil has arrived here. Not us. Because this spot is already well-known, we just have to keep going with it. The government needs to pay attention to this.

Alex hopes that the government will get involved to save the Jalan Korea site and nearby areas.

PT PNM was given a location permit by the Bupati of Jayapura regency in 2011 (number 213/2011), and an environment permit on 20^th February 2014, again by the Bupati (number 62/2014). The land was released from the forest estate by Forestry Ministry decree SK680/Menhut-II/2014.

The company’s 32000 hectare permit traverses Unurumguay, Namblong, Nimboran, Nimbokrang, Kemtuk and Kemtuk Gresi sub-districts. It also plans to build a palm oil mill on the coast at Demta.

In PT PNM’s Environmental Impact Assessment, the only area identified to be set aside for conservation are riverbanks, an area of 2671 hectares. It doesn’t mention that the area is the habitat for a range of endemic Papuan birds which must be protected.

The name of the Waisimon clan doesn’t appear in the list of identified clans which hold customary rights, which includes the Ters, Jek, Meigar, Yanbe, Sobor, Sasbe, Gorto, Sawa, Goakan, Yandu, Tecuari, Bano, Kasmando, Joshua, Kasse, Bue, Yewi, Hawasse, Bally, Sem, Swally, Sanggrawai, and Sanggrabano clans.

Agus Sawa, speaking on behalf of one clan whose land is part of PT PNM’s concession claims that he has not signed any documents to surrender their land. However, he and 13 other clans have received 4 billion Rupiah for 10,000 hectares of land.

Matias Sanggra, head of the Orya customary council in Unurumguay sub-district said he knew little about the surrender of customary lands. “The tribal customary council is not aware of this company. Usually companies seek out people who don’t know anything. Until very recently we had no information at all, even though I represent the tribal council at the sub-district level. Its only when there’s a problem that they (the indigenous people) will come running to us. The company’s people are pretty smart.”

He knows that people currently involved in PT PNM’s management used to work for PT Rimba Matoa Lestari (PT RML) previously, which is located nearby. PT RML itself is currently invovled in a dispute with local indigenous rights holders.

How has the government responded?

Although well-known by birdwatchers globally, the Jayapura Regency Tourism agency was unaware of the Jalan Korea site. I met with Alfius Youwe, the head of the tourism promotion division of Jayapura Tourism Agency on the sidelines of an event in Sentani on 26^th June 2019. Alfius said, the three birdwatching spots on the agency’s list were Putali village in Ebungfau sub-district, Rhepang Muaif in Nimbokrang sub-district and Amai in Depapre sub-district. Of these, the best known was Rhepang Muaif, he said.

The spot he was referring to in Rhepang Muaif is Isio Hill Birdwatching, which is managed by Alex Waisimon. He hadn’t heard of other birdwatching locations such as KM 8 or Jalan Korea beforehand.

Markus Budiadi, the head of the EIA division of the Jayapura Regency Environment Agency said that no information was received from local people about birdwatching areas when the EIA documents were being compiled.

“At the time of putting the document together there was no information from the community. We informed them of the plans of course. Before an EIA process we organised presentations in the area”

Review and remove from the concession.

Emmy Mandosir, the head of the Papua Province Environment Agency said she would coordinate with the Jayapura Regency Environment Service about the issue. Interviewed at her office on 25^th June 2019, Emmy said that the EIA for this company had been processed by the Jayapura Regency EIA evaluation commssion, under the supervision of the Papua Province Environment Agency.

“There’s nothing which can’t be sorted out. If it is really within the permit area, of course we have to reevaluate that. If it is in the permit area we need to revise the document and remove it.”

Emmy promised to check on the ground to see for herself the condition of the birdwatching site, and would co-ordinate with the company.

When asked for confirmation of the problem, PT PNM’s public relations staff Ridwan Syarif Abbas said he was not able to give a response and recommended approaching the Forestry Service directly.

A local regulation to manage customary forest.

Permits for oil palm plantations and illegal logging are rampant in Jayapura Regency, which has been a worry to many people for some time. Alex was already anticipating this problem when he started Isio Hill’s Birdwatching in 2015. Many different bodies have supported him in his fight to seek legal protection for this area.

In 2018, the Bupati of Jayapura Regency Matius Awaitouw, finally issued a decree with reference 188.4/150/2018. This decree established Isio Hill Rhepang Muaif as the customary forest of the Yawadatum people in the Grime valley, Nimbokrang sub-district – an area of 19,000 hectares.

On the map of state forest zones, as delineated by ministerial decree SK 782/Menhut-II/2012, this area consists of ‘production forest which may be converted’ and ‘other use areas’ [the latter meaning it is outside the state forest estate and therefore available for development]. With the signing of the Jayapura Bupati’s decree, he hopes that the area will now not be assigned for other uses but instead protected as an area for birdwatching-based eco-tourism and other uses which provide a direct benefit to the community.

At the moment, Isio Hills Birdwatching continues to grow. There’s accommodation on site, with 18 bedrooms ready for guests. There is also a hall where different groups such as researchers, students and the local community can engage in activities. A nature school is still being built. From July to November, the area accepts visits from bird lovers. At present, around three hundred people a year are visiting.

“I think, if we manage this site it should be enough. Hard work is the most important thing. Working for ourselves, and teaching the community. We have already taught several groups so they can make a living from the forest.

But, he says, it is not sufficient to just develop Isio Hill. Alex has to fight to save other nearby spots. The attraction of birdwatching in Nimbokrang is not just at the Isio hills, but also at other spots, including Jalan Korea.

Other well-known birdwatching locations around Papua can be found in Biak, Nimbokrang, Arfak, Sorong and Waigeo.

Author: Asrida Elizabeth

Source: Mongabay Indonesia https://www.mongabay.co.id/2019/07/11/rumah-burung-endemik-papua-di-nimbokrang-terancam-ekspansi-sawit/

According to Donatus, he was paid ‘knock-on-the-door’ money amounting to 195 million Rupiah for 1649 hectares of lannd. The company gave this money to two individuals as representatives of the family who hold customary rights in the area, Donatus and Yeremias Yerkohok. Donatus received 175 million for 1227 hectares of land while Yeremius was given 20 million for around 422 ha. If this is calculated per square metre, PT SKR only gave 14 Rupiah per square metre to Donatus, and 4 Rupiah per square metre to Yeremias.

The customary land owners don’t know what was written in the agreement between them and the company. After signing it, they were not given an original copy of the document signed by the company, which is not in accordance with a proper implementation of the principle of Free Prior Informed Consent. “First of all, at that time, the company came with a letter about this may-I-come-in money, we didn’t really know what was in the document. I want to report this so they review the palm oil plantation plan. Secondly, it was only us indigenous folk that signed, no responsible party present like the sub-district government was present, so that’s why we say we were deceived by them. They didn’t give us a copy of the agreement, not even a photo. The company didn’t read out the contents of the agreement to us and I didn’t read it. They said that our signature was just to show they had ‘knocked on the door’, but the way I see it is that it was impossible that we would ever be able to read such a thick document,” Donatus said.

As well as feeling he had been deceived into signing the agreement, Donatus has made a commitment that he will return the money he received, if the company refused to revisit the contents of the agreement. “We are asking the company to review this agreement, if they don’t then I’m out of it, I’ll return the money”

When he was asked about the name of the company which made this agreement with the customary landowners, Donatus said that he didn’t know the name of the company. “I don’t know the name of this company, we only know it’s the same company that started work in Meyado and then in Barma,” Donatus said.

PT SKR is believed to have initiated communication with the elders of the Yerkohok clan in Jagiro village within the last year, but has never presented its plans publicly to the wider community which lives in Jagiro village. The head of South Moskona sub-district Siprianus Yerkohok also confirmed that the company had not tried to engage with the sub-district administration “they arrived and just met straight away with the customary rights holders, they never met with us, the government representatives at the sub-district level”. When asked about the agreement that had been drawn up between the company and the customary rights holders, Siprianus siad that he had no idea what was in the agreement and that he hadn’t been involved in producing the agreement.

The land around Jagiro is land belonging to the ancestors which has been passed on to members of the Yerkohok clan so they can meet their livelihood needs. This land is subject to PT SKR’s plantation business licence even though there are still ingienous people living in the area. Metejimow, the local name for the sago groves which provide people’s staple food are still found in the area, stretching from Keibur village as far as Irahima village. Around Christmas, New Year and for other festivities, members of the clan visit the metejimow to pound the starch found in the sago trunks. Yistus Yerkohok, as an elder of the Yerkohok clan, is committed to not hand the metejimow over to PT SKR. “We need to guard our sago grove, the company may not clear in that area. It’s a historic place, it is where out ancestors used to pound the starch, just as we do today. There are no other sago groves remaining in the area, just that one”.

In the same vein, Mafret Yerkohok as a representative of the youth of Jagiro village also complained about the company’s presence. “I don’t agree with palm oil moving in, as it will have an impact on our children and grandchildren, so we hope all relevant parties can get involved and resolve this problem”.

Source: Perkumpulan Panah Papua Press Release, 28 Mei 2019

Perluasan perkebunan kelapa sawit di Tanah Papua terus berkembang. Kali ini sasarannya adalah wilayah Assue, Mappi. Investor mulai datang ke wilayah ini tahun 2015.

The first meeting with local people took place on Tuesday 12 May 2015, attended by the company which planned to invest and the village heads of seven villages as well as indigenous leaders and other community figures. In that meeting the companies gave information about a planned oil palm plantation and the upcoming visit of the environmental impact assessment team.

A second meeting took place on the 31^st May 2015. The topics for discussion in this meeting were the plans to build a palm oil mill how the use of the 33.775 hectares of concession land would be used. The land and mill would be managed by PT Putra Palma Cemerlang. Apart from that palm oil plantation, there were also plans for industrial food agriculture and processing facilities on 21,300 ha of land by PT Ekolindo Palm Lestari and and another 20,725 ha palm oil plantation to be managed by PT Sawit Murni Sejahtera.

According to these three companies’ plans, they would have taken over land within the administrative territory of Busiri, Girimo, Aboge, Kopi, Isage, Kiki, Eci, and Hafo villages. The companies have made many promises – saying in a nutshell that once the company started work, local people’s welfare and their economy would improve.

But since 2015 the investors didn’t come back.

That was until recently, in April 2019 when they returned and held a meeting in Aboge village. They had changed their plans, saying that the palm oil plans were off, and would be replaced with food crops. They passed around questionnaires for people to fill in their personal details. After this was completed, they met with representatives of the Environment Ministry. Nearly all the local people filled in the questionnaire.

As the meeting was finishing I spoke to say that basically our local people can’t comprehend large-scale plantations covering thousands of hectares. So we wouldn’t accept them if they mean that forest and other lands will be destroyed. The forest is like our marketplace, it’s where we got to look for food. So would the future impacts of an investor like this be positive or negative? For me, that’s the big question. As a resident of Aboge sub-district (including Aboge and Girimio), I’m against the plans. I don’t agree with them taking our land. We also want to ask that the plan for food crops doesn’t get change back to being palm oil in the future.

Our forest here is small. From our village to Busiri is only 8 km, and to Eci it’s 11km. So a big plantation like this could destroy all the forest in Assue. We don’t want to be victims. So I will try as hard as I can to ensure that the forest of Assue doesn’t become a palm oil plantation. No-one has permission to clear our forest. Our potential as human resources is minimal. If a company moves in we won’t be able to compete. All the natural resources we own here will be destroyed. We ask the priests (of the Merauke Justice and Peace Secretariat) to keep informing people what’s going on.

Disasters have occurred all over. It’s the forest that protects nature. We must make sure another disaster doesn’t happen here.

Who says we we aren’t already well off? We are. What other way can we improve our welfare? The only way is to make use of the potential we have from managing the forest? If a company wanted to cultivate eaglewood saplings, we wouldn’t have a problem. Because that wouldn’t involve destroying nature.

Yanuarius Yawang Kaibu, Head of Girimio village,

Distrik Assue, Kabupaten Mappi, 22/4/2019

Source: Sorak 78 April 2019 (monthly bulletin of SKP KaME – Merauke Archdiocese Justice and Peace Secretariat)

Last November, the head of the Awyu ethnic group in Boven Digoel Regency, Egidius Pius Suam, sent a letter to Indonesian President Joko Widodo, with copies also sent to several ministries, the Governor of Papua Province, Boven Digoel’s Bupati and leaders of civil society organisations in Papua and Jakarta. The letter detailed the Awyu indigenous people’s oppostion and grievances against seven large-scale plantation companies that have been trying to set up on the Awyu’s traditional lands.

The letter was also signed by five clan chiefs, the heads of Metto, Hobinanggo, Ujung Kia, Kapogu villages and of Ki sub-district and the head of the LMA Boven Digoel, along with the support of three other heads of ethnic groups in Boven Digoel: Wambon, Kombai and Korowai.

The seven companies referred to in the letter are: (1) PT Perkebunan Boven Digoel Sejahtera (with a concession of 39,440 hectares); (2) PT Perkebunan Boven Digoel Abadi (37,010 hectares; (3) PT Boven Digoel Budidaya Sentosa (39,190 hectares); (4) PT Perkebunan Sawit Kifofi 19,940 hectares); (5) PT Perkebunan Dugu Fofi (38,160 hectares); (6) PT Perkebunan Papua Sentosa (38,725 hectares); and (7) PT Indo Asiana Lestari (38,525 hectares).

The companies’ concessions cover part of several administrative sub-districts: Subur, Ki, Jair, Mandobo and Fofi, all in Boven Digoel, Papua Province. The total amount of forest under threat of being handed to these oil palm plantation companies is 250,990 hectares.

The reason these community leaders are opposing the company is because of the threat it poses to their land and culture; they risk losing sites where they carry out cultural rituals and obtain customary artefacts as well as their food sources and sources of livelihood, as well as the loss of biodiversity, damage to the environment and social conflict.

“We are asking the Indonesian President to cancel and revoke the companies’ permits, and put a stop to the process of allowing oil palm plantation companies to operate in forested areas on the land of the Awyu indigenous people, based on a consideration of Law 29/2009 concerning the environment, Constitutional Court Decision No 35/PUU-X/2012, Presidential Instruction 8/2018 concerning a moratorium and re-evaluation of permits for palm oil plantations, and the rights of the Awyu indigenous people.”, asked Egedius Pius Suam in his letter.

However, the community has still not received any meaningful replies to the letters they sent. In the meantime, the company has kept up its attempts to influence members of the community to accede to its plans.

“According to our research the majority of these concessions are located in the area where plantation companies owned by the Menara Group obtained plantation business licences in 2011 and then got permits to release state forest land from the Forestry Minister in 2012. However, those companies did not make optimal use of the land and were then sold to new owners based in Malaysia: Tadmax Resources Bhd and the Pacific Inter-link Group”, explained Franky Samperante from the Pusaka Foundation.

The government of Boven Digoel Regency and the Investment Agency and One-stop Permit Centre, revoked location permits for [some of the] Menara Group companies in 2015, and [some of their] Plantation Business Licences in 2018. However, the local government just handed out new permits for the same land to the companies mentioned above.

The practice of companies buying and selling land from each other, and the government issuing permits to new companies, has all taken place without a process of consultation and collective decision making to obtain the consent of local indigenous people who hold rights in the area. This goes contrary to principles laid down in law and business norms which are supposed to respect the rights of indigenous people, including through the principle of Free Prior Informed Consent).

“Currently the Awyu indigenous people have not been able to obtain any information or permit documents, including copies of Environmental Impact Assessments and agreements that have been made by the Menara Group”, explained Father Anselmus Amo, MSC, leader of the Justice and Peace Secretariat for Merauke’s Catholic Diocese.

We have found that in this case, both local and central government have shown negligence from the outset and there have been a string of violations of regulations concerning the issuance of location permits, plantation business licences, environmental permits and forest release permits. This includes issuing location permits and forest release which exceeds the maximum permitted area: Agrarian Ministry / National Land Agency regulation 5/2015 states that location permits can only be issued for 20,000 hectares in a single province or 100,000 hectares in the whole of Indonesia; Agriculture Ministry Regulation 98/2013 states a maximum of 100,000 hectares of Plantation Business Licence should be given to a single company or corporate group; and Environment and Forestry Ministry Regulation P.51/2016 states that the area of forest estate released to a single company or corporate group should be no more than 60,000 hectares and should be issued in stages, no more than 20,000 hectares at one time.

“According to Environment and Forestry Ministry LHK P.51 Tahun 2016, it is forbidden to transfer the ownership of conversion production forest which has formerly been released to a different party and start work in that forest, because the new licencee will not have met the obligations. The way government issues permits and the ways companies transfer them is agaist the law. This case shows just how poor the governance of forest and other land in Papua is”, explained Aiesh Rumbekwan, the Executive Director of Walhi Papua.

Because of this, the Pusaka Foundation, Walhi Papua and the Justice and Peace Secretariat of Merauke Catholic Diocese urge the central and local government to swiftly implement the Oil Palm Moratorium legislated for in Presidential Instruction 8/2018, by taking proactive and transparent steps to stop the companies mentioned above from working and undertake an evaluation, revoking the permits of companies which violate communities’ rights and come into conflict with the law.

At the present time, indigenous men and women and our ancestral domain is threatened – under pressure from government policies and large-scale development projects that are planned or underway on our customary lands, such as logging, plantations and mining, which take place for commercial gain.

We feel the impact, loss and the poverty caused by the exploitations of forests, deforestation and mineral extraction, such as the loss of livelihoods, the loss of forests and sago groves which provide our food, the loss of rivers and the difficulties in obtaining clear water and quality food, as well as the loss of cultural knowledge around indigenous management of natural resources.

We experience intimidation, physical violence and human rights violations, we are brought into conflicts with companies and breakdowns in harmony within our communities, including conflict with people who have recently moved to the area.

The government issues policies, initiates programmes and issues business licences to companies and the wealthy without consultation, without prior consent, without transparency, without sufficient information, without an honest evaluation of environmental impacts and without affected communities making free decisions. Our lands, and the natural wealth they contain, pass out of our control to others who are given ownership and use rights, but who do not hand on the benefit to the local communities who are the real owners.

We wish to highlight the weakness in oversight and neglect we observe in the law enforcement apparatus’s approach to incidents of violence and human rights violations, and environmental crimes. The government is still unable to meet its obligations to find a resolution to past cases of human rights violations, crimes against humanity and environmental crimes. Indeed, the physical and verbal violence experienced by human rights defenders and defenders of the environment still keeps happening again and again.

We want to make clear that land, forest in our ancestral domain, and the natural riches they contain, are the source of our livelihoods, have always supported us, and will support not just the present generation, but generations to come. This is why, since the time of our ancestors we have have taught ourselves to protect nature, use land in a just and wise manner, peacefully and without making people feel they are our enemies, using indigenous knowledge and customary law.

We as indigenous Papuan women and men, have a fundamental right to live freely, to freedom of expression and opinion, without discrimination. We have a right to justice and to equal treatment before the law, a right to not be tortured or enslaved, a right to determine and participate in development, a right to customary land, a right to a good and healthy environment. All this is legislated for for in the constitution, national laws and the Papuan Special Autonomy Law, as well as international instruments concerning civil and political rights and economic, social and cultural rights.

Based on this background and view, we wish to state the following resolutions:

We urge local government to swiftly issue local regulations which recognise, protect and respect the existence and rights of indigenous Papuans, their rights to land and forest, rights to freedom of expression, rights to form indigenous institutions and the freedom to join organisations, the right to development, the right to customary law and justice. To recognise, respect and protect these rights is an effective way of preventing the occurrence of human rights violations, environmental crime and forest destruction.

Urge the government to find real and meaningful solutions to past gross human rights violations, to ensure victims and their families can feel a sense of justice. The government should also take measures to restore and rehabilitate the rights of these victims and their families.

We want to inform the government, corporations and other interest groups, as well as elements of civil society, that the land which we compare to our mother or a woman is land, earth which represents our identity, dignity and self-respect. We won’t sell our land. Governments and corporations, and other elements of society, must respect our rights as Indigenous Papuans (both men and women), and that includes the right to land, trees, worms, and all other forms of life both above and below the land, which must be protected.

In the context of policy strategies and programmes to develop economic enterprise which involves women and women’s organisations, we ask the government to come up with affirmative action polices which prioritise and protect Papuan women’s business interests and empower Papuan women in business.

We urge national, provincial and regional governments to consistently implement the moratorium on new permits in primary forest and peatland (Presidential Instruction 6/2017) and the moratorium on permits for oil palm plantations (Presidential Instruction 8/2018), and review permits and the activities of companies which violate the law, cause deforestation and environmental crime. This process and evaluation must be thorough and transparent, and involve local indigenous people.

We urge the government to take swift action to reevaluate the permits and cultivation rights title (HGU) of oil palm plantation companies operating in Boven Digoel, Papua Province as follows: (1) PT. Energi Samudera Kencana; (2) PT. Graha Kencana Mulia; (3) PT. Megakarya Jaya Raya; (4) PT. Kartika Cipta Pratama; (5) PT. Manunggal Sukses Mandiri; (6) PT. Trimegah Karya Utama and (7) PT. Usaha Nabati Terpadu. These companies originally belonged to the Menara Group, but have since changed hands to the Pacific Inter-link Group, Tadmax Resources Group and the Bumi Mitratrans Marjaya Group. Five of these companies have not yet started work and still have not got the consent of the wider local community, which in this area is predominantly from the Auyu ethnic group.

We urge the government to examine permits and penalise companies who are believed to be destroying forests and disadvantaging local indigenous communities, by revoking their permits. This includes plantation company PT Bintuni Agro Prima Perkasa in Kebar, Tambrauw Regency and logging company PT Kurnia Tama Sejahtera in Wondama Bay Regency, Papua Barat Province.

We urge the central government to involve indigenous people who hold customary land rights in the negotiations surrounding PT Freeport Indonesia’s mining licence and operations, which take place in the domain of local indigenous people, and we ask PT Freeport Indonesia to respect the rights of local indigenous peoples and provide compensation for the losses suffered by communities affected by the direct impact of the company’s operations or the tailings waste it produces.

We urge and request the government to review and cancel military involvement in business activities run by corporations and other development projects, and call a halt to the security approach and military involvement in negotiations for development enterprises and in conflict resolution.

We urge the government, law enforcement officials and the Corruption Eradication Commission to aim toward effective law enforcement and prevent human rights violations and environmental crime from reoccurring.

We urge local government to restructure and revise their policies around population and the migration of people from outside the Land of Papua. We feel that the flow of settlers from outside Papua has created anxiety within society and has become a burden for local government, as well as perpetuating exploitation and ‘modern slavery’ of labourers by wealthy employers.

We urge and request the local government to allocate funds to support and build capacity within communities and villages, for community empowerment and to ensure an increase in standards of living and to manage assets effectively, and for community rights based sustainable forest management.

We urge corporations to increase their commitment to forms of development which respect people’s rights, and to ensure their business does not cause deforestation, is not on peat and does not exploit workers, which would ensure that their business and trade is fair and sustainable.

We urge corporations to implement commitments to protect forests, sacred or culturally important sites, high conservation value areas and other sensitive areas, to restore forest areas and peatlands which have been damaged, and to carry out their social obligations.

We urge the government and corporations to respect and protect the activities of communities and human rights and environmental defenders in civil society organisations.

We ask civil society and religious organisations to actively struggle for, monitor, initiate and intervene in processes and initiatives for new draft special (i.e. in the context of the special autonomy law) and provincial legislation concerning (1) the recognition, protection of and respect for Papuan indigenous communities and their rights (2) the protection of local food sources (3) to support development of indigenous Papuans’ economic enterprise.

We ask for the support and collaboration of civil society and religious organisations to facilitate and strengthen capacity for community advocacy, push for a greater capacity for social struggle to defend and protect human rights and the environment, and capacity to participate in the supervision of policies and programmes which could potentially result in human rights violations or environmental crimes. We also ask for them to support mapping of customary lands and domain, and information management and sharing concerning knowledge ofthe law and innovative environmentally-friendly ways of using natural resources.

We ask indigenous people to actively and consistently defend their values and rights to secure livelihoods while protecting the environment

Thank you,

This resolution has been signed by members of the Papuan Indigenous People’s Policy Dialogue and Conference:

(full list of signatories on the Indonesian version, here)

After an angry exchange of words they proceeded to the company’s field office, where the Ariks clan explained that they were going to return the money they had received from the company a few years before. Holding a package containing 100 million Rupiah, Semuel Ariks, representing the clan, informed company workers “We have already asked the company to stop working but the company continues to clear land. For this reason, we are taking back our customary land and we are returning the money.” (( Kami sudah minta perusahaan harus setop pekerjaan tetapi perusahaan tetap membongkar terus. Dengan demikian, tanah adat kami kami cabut kembali, dan uang kami kembalikan. ))

Nobody from the company was willing to accept the money, as doing so would weaken the company’s claim to use the land, so Semuel Ariks simply left it at the company office and departed with the rest of the indigenous people. The company passed the money to the local police, who have been encouraging the Ariks clan to take it back, but they have refused.

The Ariks clan were aware that in February this year the Arumi clan had also tried to return money to the company, 50 million Rupiah, but were obliged to bring the money back home after the company refused to accept it.

Neither of the clans, nor the four other landowning clans so far affected by PT BAPP’s 19368 hectare corn plantation, disputes having accepted money from the company. The problem, they claim, is that the company was not honest about its plans.

The first contact the clan leaders had with the company, was when they were summoned to a meeting in Arumi village. No-one is sure of the date, they think it was in 2015, although it may have been 2016. They waited until 3pm when the representatives finally showed up, and described their plan to plant corn in the Kebar valley.

Clan members allege they were told that the plans were for a two year trial study, and they believed it would only be on small grassland areas. At this stage the company had actually already planted an area of corn on grassland, after meeting with two administrative village heads. The representatives offered ‘tali asih’ money, a deliberately vague term often used by plantation companies in Papua which translates vaguely as ‘cords of friendship’, but which companies later claim represents a relinquishment of land rights by the indigenous recipients. The money offered was 50 or 100 million Rupiah per clan, all the clans accepted, and the representatives left the same afternoon.

None of the clans imagined that they had surrendered their rights to their ancestral land that day. They say that the information that they received was minimal and misleading. They weren’t even told the name of the company, the people who spoke at the meeting made it seem as if they were planning to implement a programme initiated by the Tambrauw Regency Agriculture Agency (Dinas Pertanian). At no point were they shown a map or asked to participate in an exercise to establish customary land boundaries. They were never given any copy of whatever documentation the company had taken away with them.

When the company moved beyond the grassland areas and started clearing forest and sago groves, people started to protest. They challenged the company out in the field, but had to abandon their protest after armed police and military showed up.

There are now around ten members of the Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) tasked with protecting the company. The atmosphere of intimidation has meant that the local people are cautious in expressing their opposition to the plantation, but protests have continued.

People have appealed to the church to support them. After representatives of the Synod of the GKI (Evangelical Christian Church in Tanah Papua) managed to get documents from the company last year, they found out that it actually had a permit, issued by the local Bupati, for a 19368 hectare plantation which would stretch along the whole Kebar valley, over 40km from end to end.

It was also only after protesting that people realised that this project had nothing to do with the local government Agriculture Agency but was a private company named PT Bintuni Agro Prima Perkasa. They then realised that this was the same company which had met them in 2014, in the sub-district office, to propose an oil palm plantation. They had emphatically rejected that proposal at the time.

From this story, it is very clear that this is a case of land-grabbing. The company has not engaged in a valid or sincere process of negotiation with the six clans, which Indonesian law recognises as the legitimate land rights holders on the land in question. Stories like these are commonplace in Papua, where companies routinely present any document they have persuaded indigenous leaders to sign as proof that the entire community has relinquished its collective rights to the land. Since the land law is full of ambiguities and lacking in specifics, it offers little formal protection for indigenous communities against these powerful and unscrupulous companies.

The people of Kebar are now calling for the company’s permits to be revoked. It turns out there are a series of serious irregularities in the permits which would mean this is entirely justified.

First of all, there is no environmental impact assessment. A preliminary framework was prepared in April 2016, but the process of discussing the final document has been suspended due to opposition. That means that there has been no evaluation of the environmental effects of a plantation on the ecological richness of the Kebar valley, a landscape like no other in Papua, being a mid-altitude mosaic of grasslands and marshes interspersed with forest, which could be expected to host unique ecological communities and possibly its own endemic species. Virtually the whole valley bottom is included in the permit area. There has been no evaluation of the impact to the two conservation areas of the Arfak and Tambrauw mountains which surround the valley, nor the effects of vast amounts of agricultural chemicals pouring into the headwaters of the Kamundan River, which flows for hundreds of kilometres through the forests and swamps of the Bird’s Head peninsula. There has been no study of the effects the introduction of industrial agriculture on the lives of the indigenous people of the Kebar valley, or a chance for them to have their say about the impacts.

The permit allowing the land to be released from the forest estate is also highly problematic. It was issued by former forestry minister Zulkifli Hasan on his last day in his job, 29^th September 2014, when he seemed to be clearing his desk by signing all pending requests, in many cases without due care and attention. In this case, the decree he signed stated that of the 32390 hectares 13021 ha would not be released because it was primary forest, and therefore only 19368 ha would be released. However the accompanying map of the area showed the full 32390 hectares – somebody had made a mistake. This 13021 ha now has no state protection whatsoever.

Furthermore, the intended use in the 2014 forest release was explicitly stated as oil palm, yet the company has started planting corn. What appears to have happened, is that after it became apparent that there would be widespread opposition to an oil palm plantation, the company approached the Bupati of Tambrauw Regency, Gabriel Asem. On the 28^th September 2015 he issued a location permit to the company (SK 521/296/2015), and then on the same day, issued a business licence for food crops (SK 521/297/2015).

Both permits were for 19,368 hectares, the area released from the forest estate by Zulkifli Hasan. However, the accompanying maps show that the company were aware of the former forestry minister’s mistake, since they do not include the primary forest areas.

Needless to say, this is not how the permit system is supposed to work. A location permit is issued first, valid for three years, so the company can go about trying to meet all the other requirements, including preparing an environmental impact assessment study for evaluation. After this has been completed, a business licence can be issued (the relevant legislation for Food Crops Business Licences is Agriculture Ministry Regulation 39/2010). According to the Forestry Ministry’s own regulations valid in September 2014 (Forestry Ministry Regulations 33/2010 and 28/2014), forest cannot be released unless the company possesses a business licence (and has therefore gone through the EIA process). However, Zulkifli Hasan routinely ignored his own regulations as he released over 900,000 hectares of Papua forest from the forest estate during his five year term of office.

It also appears that the company has used this flawed business licence and the permission to use indigenous land which it obtained through deception to successfully apply for cultivation rights (Hak Guna Usaha), a 35-year lease, on a portion of the land.

The company is also clearing land which has been established as the ecological zone of a Peatland Hydrological Unit, and so is therefore violating government regulation 57/2016 which prohibits the clearance of these zones, even for companies with existing permits.

This swampland is the main habitat for sago palms which are the traditional staple food of Papuans in the Kebar valley. The company has left a few individual sago trees standing as it clears the other forest, and they now stand surrounded by corn plants with no chance of surviving in the long term now the wetlands are drained.

PT Bintuni Agro Prima Perkasa is one of six plantation companies in Papua linked to the Salim Group. Three are actively clearing forest: PT Rimbun Sawit Papua, PT Subur Karunia Raya and PT Bintuni Agro Prima Perkasa, and there is known to be active community opposition in all three Three more are believed to have all the key permits required to operate: PT Menara Wasior, PT Tunas Agung Sejahtera and PT Permata Nusa Mandiri.

None of these companies are directly owned by Antoni Salim himself, but there is ample evidence that they are controlled by the group, possibly through nominee agreements which allow a beneficial owner to stay off the share register. The Salim Group has never publicly denied its links to these plantation companies, which are currently operated as the Indogunta Group.

As one of Indonesia’s largest processed foods producers, the Salim Group is a major consumer of corn. Much of this is used by its snack food business, which it’s Indofood business operates in a joint venture with Pepsico. This company, Indofood Fritolay Makmur has the franchise for Pepsico products in Indonesia, including corn snacks Cheetos and Doritos. Acting on a specific complaint about workers’ rights in the Salim Group’s IndoAgri oil palm plantations, and non-specified other complaints about the groups deforestation and social/land conflicts, Pepsico insisted that this joint venture ceased to source palm oil from IndoAgri mills in January 2017. This commitment was for palm oil only, however, it has not made a specific commitment regarding corn.

Jakarta – A civil society coalition took action outside the Environment and Forestry Ministry on Friday (23/03/2018), protesting a permit to release state forest land near the Wosimi River in Naikere and Kuriwamesa subdistricts of Wondama Bay Regency, Papua Barat which was issued to an oil palm company, PT Menara Wasior.

A statement of community opposition to the permits issued to this company had already been sent to the ministry in 2015, to which no response has ever been received. On the contrary, Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar has now issued PT Menara Wasior a permit SK No. 16/1/PKH/PMDH/2017, dated 20 September 2017, for an oil palm plantation.

Stephanus Marani, a representative of civil society from Wasior who attended the action, explained how the company’s plans threatened to destroy the areas where the Wondamen, Torowar and Mairasi ethnic groups lived.

A similar point was made by Yohanes Akwan, the chair of the Federation of Indonesian Trade Unions (GSBI) for Papua Barat province, who said that the one-sided practice of permits being issued in Jakarta was highly detrimental to Papuan indigenous communities.

“It’s forest that supports our livelihoods, not oil palm; we can’t eat oil palm if our sago groves have been converted into palm plantations” Yohanes said in his speech.

According to him, the people in this area had been the victims of violence from the security forces in 2001. The violence, which became known as ‘Bloody Wasior’, was to be described by the National Human Rights Commission as a Gross Human Rights Violation in 2004. The aggression took place between April and October 2001.

In July 2004, the National Human Rights Commission’s Adhoc Team for Papua investigated the 2001 Bloody Wasior case and the 2003 Bloody Wamena case, uncovering data about how the violence escalated, and came to the conclusion that there had been structural violence from both the police and the military.

The director of Yayasan Pusaka, Franky Samperante drew attention to the inconsistencies in Joko Widodo and Jusuf Kalla’s government. He said that during 2017 the government had issued forest release permits to three companies in Papua, comprising an area of 60,000 hectares. Not only plantation companies received permits, an area of 85,000 hectares was also allocated to mining companies.

This protest was jointly staged by several civil society organisations: Yayasan Pusaka. Foker LSM Papua, KPKC GKI Tanah Papua, Walhi Papua, Wongkei Institute, JERAT Papua, SKP KC Fransiskan Papua, Perkumpulan Belantara, Perkumpulan Bin Madag Hom, GSBI Papua Barat and Papua Forest Watch.

Source: Pusaka http://pusaka.or.id/2018/03/hutan-sumber-kehidupan-kami-bukan-kelapa-sawit/

Letter of Protest to Environment and Forestry Ministry about oil palm policy in Papua.

A strong protest about the policy of issuing permits to release state forest to oil palm plantation companies.

Letter of Protest

Concerning the PT Menara Wasior case in Wondama Bay Regency

To:

1. The President of the Republic of Indonesia

2. The Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister

Respectfully,
We are writing regarding the permit to release state forest lands in the Wosimi River area, Naikere and Kuriwamesa sub-districts, Wondama Bay Regency, Papua Barat province that was issued to oil palm plantation company PT Menara Wasior on the 20^th September 2017, decree SK No. 16/1/PKH/PMDH/2017. We wish to protest strongly about this permit and the policy which underlies it.

Back in 2015 we sent a letter protesting about PT Menara Wasior’s plans and asked the government not to process PT Menara Wasior’s request that state forest land be released for an oil palm plantation.

There were multiple reasons for this:

• The area of forest in question is the customary land and living space of the Wondamen, Torowar and Mairasi ethnic groups, who were the victims of the human rights violations known as the “2001 Bloody Wasior events”, which still remains unresolved to this day. The people in the area are still traumatised and they do not have the freedom of expression to make a decision about ‘development’ projects on their customary lands. Because of this, the granting of this permit goes against any sense of justice, it neither respects nor protects the indigenous people’s legal rights, and it disregards their right to feel safe and their right to determine their own path of development.
• PT Menara Wasior’s plantation will threaten the loss of the forest which is the source of life for local indigenous people. This forest is the source of their livelihoods, their income, their food and water, their medicines, the groves that are passed from generation to generation, sacred places, etc.
• This policy is incompatible with the government’s commitment to issue a moratorium on oil palm permits, and its commitment to sustainable development.

Based on these aforementioned issues, in the name of justice and the law, we urge the following action:

• The President should take immediate action to find a settlement to the 2001 Bloody Wasior human rights violation, rehabilitate and restore the victims’ rights, in a fair way which shows respect to the victims and their families. The same should also apply to all other cases of human rights violations throughout the Land of Papua.
• The Environment and Forestry Minister should immediately revoke the forest release permit issued to PT Menara Wasior because it violates the fundamental rights of Papuan indigenous people and has the potential to exacerbate existing problems or create other social conflicts. (A chronology is attached below).
• Another important action is to acknowledge, protect and respect indigenous people and their rights to land, forest and other natural wealth.

Jakarta, 23 March 2018

Yours respectfully,

Yayasan Pusaka
Foker LSM Papua
KPKC GKI Tanah Papua
Walhi PapuaWongkei Institute
JERAT Papua
SKP KC Fransiskan Papua
Perkumpulan Belantara
Perkumpulan Bin Madag Kom
Papua Forest Watch

Copies sent to:

• Head of the Capital Investment Coordinating Board
• Director-General for Planology at the Environment and Forestry Ministry
• Cabinet Secretary
• The Presidential Chief of Staff at the President’s Staff Office
• The Head of the National Human Rights Commission
• Papua Barat Provincial Governor

Contact Person:
Franky Samperante (Tel. +62 813 1728 6019)
Stephanus Marani (Tel. +62 812 9453 5639)

A CHRONOLOGY OF NATURAL RESOURCE EXPLOITATION AND VIOLENCE IN WASIOR

In 2001: as the Bloody Wasior events unfolded between March and October 2001, a string of protest actions took place against the logging companies operating in the area: PT Wapoga Mutiara Timber (WMT), PT Dharma Mukti Persada (DMP, a subsidiary of Kayu Lapis Indonesia Group), CV Vatika Papuana Perkasa (VPP). The reason for the actions was that these companies had not met their obligations or fulfilled the promises of development they had made to the local people.

Subsequently, after some violent protests, officers from the Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) got involved to provide security for the companies and tensions mounted, until some acts of deadly violence occurred. In June 2001, the Papuan Police HQ, with the support of the XVII Trikora Regional Military Command launched the “Operasi Tuntas Matoa” sweeping operation.

This major sweeping operation to track down the killers of some policemen started in nearby villages and eventually reached areas such as Nabire and Serui. Many villagers who knew nothing whatsoever about the issue were also arrested without a warrant, held in custody, beaten up and shot. 51 houses of local people were burnt along with all their possessions in eight different locations (Wasior city, Wondamawi, Wondiboi, Senderaboi, Sanoba and Ambuni villages, as well as Yopenggar and Sanoba in Nabire Regency). Gardens were destroyed and farm animals killed.

According to the report of the Humanitarian Team for the 2001 Wasior case, there were 94 known cases of innocent civilians arrested, amongst which some experienced mild or severe torture, or were even left with disabilities for life. People also fled the area en masse.

The results of the investigation carried out by the National Human Rights Commission’s Study Team on Human Rights Problems in Papua, stated that during the whole period the people who were believed to have carried out the killings were being pursued, people were killed, others were tortured, including tortured to death, and there were forced disappearances and rapes in several locations.

Four cases of people who died were recorded, one case of sexual abuse, five disappearances and 39 cases of torture. The Human Rights Commission passed the dossier on this case to the Attorney General’s office in July 2015. The AGO returned it several times (in July 2013 and June 2014) , but the National Human Rights commission have continued to resubmit it (in September 2004, December 2004, Septembe 2013 and on the 17^th July 2014).

In early May 2017 in Geneva, Switzerland, the Indonesian Government, represented by foreign minister Retno Marsuhi – speaking to the UN Human Rights Council during the Universal Periodic Review hearing, expressed the Indonesian Government’s commitment to establish a human rights court as outlined in law 26/2000. However, there is still no evidence that any trial process will be set out.

2009: New concessions and Continuing Violence

Amidst the lack of clarity in reaching a settlement about the Bloody Wasior human rights violation, the Forestry Minister granted a logging permit to PT Kurnia Tama Sejahtera (KTS, a company belonging to the Artha Graha group). The permit, with reference SK.648/MenhutII/2009, was located in PT DMP’s former concession area, and was for an area of 115,800 hectares.

The government and company never consulted with the local indigenous community or sought their support before the permit was granted. The company offered compensation money and promises of development. The Mairasi, Miere, Torowa and Wondamen ethnic groups, never gave their free consent, and opposed the plan, because they were still traumatised by the events of the past (ie. Bloody Wasior)

In January 2013, violence took place once more as three residents of Sararti and Ambumi villages were punched and tortured by members of army battalion Yonif 753 from Sorong at PT KTS’ log compound in Ambuni and at the KM48 company basecamp. In February 2013, community leaders from Sararti, Wosimo, Inyora, Undurari, Oyaa and Yawore villages, Naikere sub-district, wrote a statement expressing the indigenous community’s opposition to PT. KTS’ operations.

2013: Wijaya Sentosa and unpaid debts.

In 2013, the Forestry Minister once again issued a logging permit, this time to PT Wijaya Sentosa (WS, subsidiary of the Sinar Wijaya Group), with permit reference SK.33/Menhut-II/2013, dated 15^th January 2013, and for a location stretching from Kuri Wamesa sub-district to Nikiwar sub-district. This concession borders on that of PT KTS.

Previously, PT WS’ concession belonged to PT WMT which had not been active in the area since the Bloody Wasior events. The company left owing many debts, including compensation to indigenous landowners for commercial timber species which had already been felled, as well as the promised development projects which had not been fully realised.

The people from the Dusner, Kuri and Wamesa ethnic groups, who are the customary owners of the concession land and live in the area, weren’t able to oppose the arrival of PT WS on their lands either. Army and Brimob guards oversaw all the company’s work, from when it asked for the community’s agreement to the annual work plan to transporting logs to the logging compound. The company was working without heeding what the people were saying. Sacred forests were destroyed, commercial timber species were felled all along the course of the river and even along the shoreline, rivers were silted up with mud so they stopped flowing and sago groves died. Despite all this, the company was able to obtain a sustainable forestry certificate [from the FSC].

2017: Threatened Deforestation for Oil Palm

During Susilo Bambang Yudhuyono’s presidency, Forestry Minster Zulkifli Hasan issued an in-principle permit to release forest estate land for an oil palm plantation to PT Menara Wasior (MW, associated with the Salim Group), in the lowlands along the Wosimi River near Ambuni Village, Kuriwamesa sub-district, for 32,170 hectares. The concession also shares a border with PT KTS’s logging concession.

Then in 2017, the government issued a forest release permit to PT Menara Wasior with reference SK No. 16/1/PKH/PMDH/2017, dated 20 September 2017. The company had visited the area several times to present its plans and consult on its environmental impact assessment, but the community opposed the plans and did not attend the meetings.

In 2015, Pusaka sent a protest letter to the Environment and Forestry Minister, asking to halt the process of issuing a permit to release state forest to PT MW in line with the demands and opposition of local people, and because it was inappropriate to bring new companies to the area before problems of the past were resolved, notably the human right violations and other incidents that had occurred in the area. The government did not respond to this letter, and did not act consistently with its stated policy to implement a moratorium on oil palm plantations.

The natural forest around the Wosimi river is now threatened with deforestation. Local people from the Wondamen ethnic group will directly feel the effects of this plan. Ancestral forest, sacred places and sago groves which are passed from generation to generation, including the areas known as Sanebuh, Iwagasi and Koine, will be lost for ever. Areas which people find the resources to support their livelihoods will be cleared and the people will lose their sources of food and income.

Aside from the oil palm company, another threat has arisen from a plan to mine gold in the area. In 2014, the Wondama Bay local government issued an exploration permit to PT Abisha Bumi Persada, with number 543/06A/BUP-TW/2014, also located in Kuriwamesa, Rasiei and Naikere sub-districts, an area of 23,324 hectares. This company is currently engaging in consultations for its EIA study.

The Salim Group in Papua.

PT Menara Wasior is believes to still be linked with the giant Salim Group, belonging to the family of the late Sudono Salim (Liem Sioe Liong). In the Soeharto era, Sudono Salim was known as a crony of Soeharto and owned a logging business in Papua through PT Hanurata.

In Papua, oil palm companies linked to the Salim Group are PT Rimbun Sawit Papua (RSP,2014), located in Bomberay and Tomage sub-districts, Fakfak Regency (10,102 ha), PT Suber Karunia Raya (SKR, 2014), located in Maskona sub-district Bintuni Bay Regency (38770 ha) and PT Bintuni Agro Prima Perkasa (BAPP, 2014) located in Kebar, Tambrauw Regency (19369 ha).

The Salim Group’s expansion in Papua has been met with protests from opponents. In Tambrauw, local people have protested because the commodity planted by PT BAPP does not correspond to its permits and it threatens the local environment.

Sumber: Pusaka: http://pusaka.or.id/2018/03/surat-protes-klhk-kebijakan-kelapa-sawit-papua/