Palm oil development halted by Indonesian court, yet Indigenous land rights remain unprotected
In a significant move for forest conservation, the Indonesian Supreme Court has upheld a government decision to halt the expansion of a multibillion-dollar oil palm plantation project in Papua. The ruling affects two plantation companies, PT Megakarya Jaya Raya (MJR) and PT Kartika Cipta Pratama (KCP), which had cleared 8,828 hectares (21,814 acres) of rainforest but were found to have mostly idle concessions.
The Tanah Merah project, the world's largest palm oil estate, spans 280,000 hectares (692,000 acres) of rainforest and is divided into seven concessions. However, the focus is on the involvement of these two companies and widespread resistance from indigenous communities against corporate investment in the area.
The ruling sets a legal precedent for forest conservation in Indonesia, reinforcing the government's authority to stop companies from clearing forests if they fail to develop plantations or violate environmental regulations. The ministry and the Awyu tribe, whose ancestral forests would be threatened if the companies resumed operations, appealed to the Supreme Court. In December 2024, the Supreme Court overturned a lower court's ruling, upholding the forestry ministry's authority to regulate forest use, and confirming that the companies could no longer clear additional forest for oil palm plantations.
The court's decision spares 65,415 hectares (161,644 acres) of rainforest from further clearing. This comes as a relief to the Awyu tribe, who launched a lawsuit against another oil palm concession, PT Indo Asiana Lestari (IAL), at a court in Jayapura, the capital of Papua province, in March 2023. The petition for IAL's revocation has garnered more than 258,000 signatures.
Meanwhile, ASS reportedly began engaging with local communities in December 2024, making tali asih ("goodwill") payments to at least three villages in the region. This move suggests a shift towards more community-focused practices in the palm oil industry.
The campaign for the revocation of IAL's concession, using the hashtag #AllEyesonPapua, has gone viral, with the campaign poster shared nearly 3 million times on Instagram. The focus now shifts to the indigenous communities' plans to apply for formal recognition of their rights with the local government using the December court ruling as the basis.
Despite the progress, some challenges remain. Some of the concessions in the Tanah Merah project are owned by unknown investors hiding behind anonymously held firms in the Middle East. The campaign for transparency and accountability in these investments continues to be a crucial aspect of the fight for forest conservation in Papua.
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