Beleaguered West Papuans Left to Count the Cost of Indonesia's Palm Oil Boom | Johnny Langenheim

7/31/2019 Beleaguered West Papuans Left to Count the Cost of Indonesia's Palm Oil Boom | Johnny Langenheim

1/4

23/05/2012 00:01

Page 1 of 4http://gu-facebook.appspot.com/canvas/global-development/poverty--palm-oil-boom?fb_source=timeline_news&fb_action_types=news.reads

Invite your friends

Your app settings

Global development

Beleaguered West Papuans left to count thecost of Indonesia's palm oil boom | JohnnyLangenheim

Read by 175 people

Thursday 17 May 2012

Indigenous Papuans are reeling from the cut-price sale of the land

and forests that are their lifeblood

Papua is one of the last great frontier wildernesses. Its

vast rainforests and coral rich waters are home to more

than 250 indigenous tribes, the most linguistically diverse

population on Earth. But it is also the scene of a brutal

and under-reported conflict.

Indonesia took control of the western half of New Guinea

now the provinces of Papua and West Papua in 1969. Its claim was ratified

by the UN through the controversial Act of Free Choice, in which only 1,026 ofan estimated population of 800,000 Papuans voted for Indonesian

sovereignty, having been selected by the Indonesian military.

Since then, Indonesia has been trying to extinguish an increasingly desperate

independence movement. Amnesty International estimates that at least

100,000 indigenous lives have been lost as a direct result of the conflict.

West Papua is of immense importance to Indonesia because of its wealth of

natural resources. Indonesian and multinational companies reap enormous

profits from timber, mining and fossil fuel interests in the territory, yet

standards of health and education for indigenous Papuans are far below the

national average. While resources flow out to world markets, a constant

stream of Malay migrants is reducing the Melanesian population to a minority

underclass in their own land.

Environmental impacts have been severe. Rampant illegal logging decimated

swathes of primary forest, before Indonesia's current president, Susilo

Bambang Yudhoyono, finally took steps to curb it. In May 2011, he signed a

moratorium freezing all new permits to clear primary forest, in exchange for

the promise of up to $1bn in grants and compensation from the Norwegian

government through its Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest

Degradation (Redd) programme. In 2007, Indonesia's CO2 emissions were the

third highest in the world after the US and China, according to a World Bankreport.

Become a fan ofGuardian globaldevelopment

Johnny Langenheim

guardian.co.uk

View this story on the Guardian10 Guardian comments

Activity stream

Popular now

1. Facebook shares tumble as

underwriters desert stock

Read by 3,420 people

2. The 10 best goals in European

football during the 2011-12

season | Simon Burnton

Oemar Werfete and 98 others read Beleaguered West Papuans left to count the cosIndonesia's palm oil boom.

Recommend

Send

7

11kLike

Virginia Poetry read USmilitary course taughtofficers 'Islam is the enemy'.about a week ago

Virginia Poetry read Muslimmarriages like GeorgeGalloway's should beregistered. about 2 weeks ago

Oemar Werfete read GoogleDoodle celebrates KeithHaring's pop art. about 2weeks ago

Oemar Werfete read Thetrouble with mobilityscooters. about 2 weeks ago

Indah Lie read The brain itmakes you think. Doesn't it?about 2 weeks ago

Oemar Werfete watchedAndaman Islanders 'forcedto dance' for tourists -video. about a month ago

Facebook social plugin


2/4

23/05/2012 00:01


But another industry is now threatening West Papua's unique forest

ecosystems and the communities that rely on them. Ironically, it is an

agribusiness touted as one of the solutions to global warming rather than a

driver of it. The recent growth ofpalm oil plantations in Indonesia has been

exponential, driven by the food and cosmetic industries and an anticipated

biofuels boom as the world seeks alternatives to petrol. Ironically, the

country's carbon-sequestering forests are being cleared to make way for these

plantations.

Based on ancient systems of ancestral tenure, much of West Papua's rainforest

is actually owned by the indigenous population. But palm oil companies

owned by powerful corporations are coercing communities into selling their

land, sometimes for less than $1 a hectare. Promises to build schools and

homes go unfulfilled, and villagers are left bereft of the ecosystems they have

relied on for generations.

Even more concerning, a report by the UK-based Environmental Investigation

Agency (EIA) reveals that Norway is profiting from West Papua's plantation

boom, in spite of its commendable efforts through Redd+. The country's

Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG), the world's biggest sovereignwealth fund, is heavily invested in the Noble group, a Singaporean

commodities trading company that is the majority shareholder in one such

palm oil operation.

PT Henrison Inti Persada (PT HIP) is one of three palm oil plantations in the

Sorong Regency of West Papua, all of them established by the Kayu Lapis

Indonesia (KLI) group, one of Indonesia's biggest logging and plantation

companies. According to the EIA and Greenpeace (pdf), KLI has flouted

forestry laws.

The EIA report uncovers serious instances of malpractice by PT HIP in its

dealings with Sorong Regency's Mooi people, including a contract indicating

the company paid 8.5m rupiahs ($925) for a 1,420-hectare plot owned by the

Gilik clan of Malilis village. That is just 65 cents a hectare. Once developed,

similar land assets have been valued at about $5,000 a hectare.

Villagers in nearby Klamono reported that a four-year-old child was made to

sign a contract in 2006 stipulating that, if his father died, PT HIP would retain

control of the land it had purchased. When EIA visited in May 2011, the

villagers had still not received the homes, vehicles and education they had

been promised. The EIA report goes on to detail instances of illegal land

clearing, logging and corporate coercion by PT HIP and associated company PT

Inti Kebun Sejahtera (PT IKS), both associated with KLI.

Noble purchased a 51% stake in PT HIP in 2010, paying $24,525,000.

According to analysis obtained by EIA, once developed the plantation could be

worth more than six times as much. When questioned about PT HIP's record,

Stephen Brown, Noble's director of corporate affairs, said "the company and

the relevant parties are actively engaged in a process aimed at any justified

grievances being settled amicably".

Noble's shareholders will have ample reason to celebrate not least Norway's

GPFG, with its $47m stake in the company. According to Hilde Singsaas, state

secretary at Norway's ministry of finance, the GPFG follows established ethical

guidelines in its investments.


3. Should one attend the funeral

of a 'virtual friend'? | Edward

Collier


4. Flat taxes a great way to help

the poorest pay for the richest |

Richard Murphy


5. Damien Hirst: Two Weeks One

Summer review


6. Will the airbag bike helmet be

the way forward? | Laura Laker

Read by 728 people

7. Which superhero is about to

come out as gay?

Read by 611 people

8. Wine awards: Greece given

reason to raise a glass

Read by 521 people

9. Chelsea flower show 2012 - in

pictures

Read by 306 people


3/4

23/05/2012 00:01


Facebook

Facebook shares tumbleas underwriters desertstock

Tuesday 22 May 2012

01:44 BST


European football

The 10 best goals inEuropean football duringthe 2011-12 season |Simon Burnton

Tuesday 22 May 2012

10:46 BST


Death and dying

Should one attend thefuneral of a 'virtualfriend'? | Edward Collier

Tuesday 22 May 2012

12:43 BST


Frequently asked questions | Terms of service | Privacy policy

"An independent council on ethics advises the ministry on companies in the

portfolio with activities which might be in breach of these guidelines," said

Singsaas, adding that the GPFG also invests$20bn in targeted environmental

investments.

Nevertheless, Norway is involved in the continued destruction of the very

forests it is trying to preserve, demonstrating how the complex investment

portfolios in the commodities marketplace implicate not only multinationals

but entire countries in environmental degradation and social injustice.

Meanwhile, the people of West Papua continue to lose their land and their way

of life in return for pocket change and empty promises.

Popular now

Facebook comments

10. Louis van Gaal in line for a

senior managerial position at

Liverpool

Read by 636 people

Popular video

Israeli settlers fire at Palestinians video

Watched by 3,776 people

Solar eclipse creates ring of fire video

Watched by 1,912 people

tienne Balibar: 'Ejecting Greece from theeurozone would be a moral failure forEurope'

Watched by 558 people

Facebook social plugin

CommentPosting as Oemar Werfete (Change)

Add a comment...

Post to Facebook

4 people like this.

4 people like this.

16 people like this.


4/4

23/05/2012 00:01


More from Globaldevelopment

Domestic violence is biggest

threat to west Africa's women,

IRC says

Humanitarian groups fear

implications of Afghanistan

security handover | Zofeen T

Ebrahim

MPs call on UK to set example by

increasing Global Fund

contribution

Fears grow for the Gambia asfood insecurity increases

Vietnam's battle against

tuberculosis boosted by Australia

partnership

Documents

Beleaguered West Papuans Left to Count the Cost of Indonesia's Palm Oil Boom | Johnny Langenheim