Greenpeace Indonesia, Pusaka Foundation, WALHI Papua and LBH Papua Joint Press Release

Jayapura, 13 September 2022 – A flurry of forestry permit revocations by President Joko Widodo in early 2022 now seems to have been little more than a charade, with no subsequent law enforcement efforts by the national government.

Companies that were listed in Minister of Environment and Forestry Decree concerning Revocation of Forest Concession Permits still continue to operate, and Papua’s forests continue to be cleared by companies that were included in the minister’s decree.[1] 

The minister, Siti Nurbaya, said that her decision to list the companies was “declarative.” There has been no further explanation regarding this, either from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MoEF) or other institutions. Greenpeace Indonesia wrote officially to the ministry to request clarification, however no suitable response was received.

“MoEF has provided a purely technical response to this forestry permit issue, much to the detriment of the Indigenous land owners. The local community, in particular Indigenous land owners, are faced with a complicated system that fails to resolve the problem and does not recognise their land rights,” said Sekar Banjaran Aji, Forest Campaigner for Greenpeace Indonesia.

Uncertainty over the MoEF’s permit revocations has a negative impact on the Indigenous Peoples in the Grime Nawa Valley, Papua Province. The president’s announcement of the permit revocations at the beginning of the year was like a late Christmas gift for the community, because palm oil company PT Permata Nusa Mandiri (PNM) was included in the revocations list. Unfortunately the company instead was able to carry out extensive land clearing after the announcement, highlighting a lack of clarity over the president’s commitment and a failure by MoEF to act decisively. Currently, the total forest loss in PT PNM’s concession since the announcement is more than 100 hectares.[2] 

Palm oil company PT PNM is acting like a menacing giant towards the Indigenous peoples of the Grime Nawa Valley. A giant who is ready to devour their forests, the place that constitutes their homelands, their center of food production and social interaction. The presence of PT PNM in the Grime Nawa Valley has never received the approval of all Indigenous landowners. The community became aware of the company’s existence and its government-issued permits only when the company began to open access roads into the forest. Since then, the community has consistently expressed their refusal.

PT PNM obtained a forest estate release permit from MoEF in 2014. The forest release letter 650/Menhut-II/2014 handed an area of ​​more than 16 thousand hectares of forest to the company, and became its collateral to apply for a cultivation permit (HGU). In 2018 the company was awarded HGU permits over several vast tracts of Indigneous land. Outrageously, these permit documents were issued by government without the Free and Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) of the Indigenous landowners.

This is illustrated by Indigenous efforts to obtain state recognition for their customary forest. In 2018, the Jayapura Regent issued Decree No. 188.4/150/2018 which stipulates the Isyo Rhepang Muaif Forest in Grime Nawa to be the first customary forest in Papua province.

After a protest action carried out by the community on 7 September 2022,[3] the Jayapura Regent announced his commitment not to extend PT PNM’s location permit, to support the customary lands mapping process that took place at PT PNM’s location, and to coordinate with the Papua Provincial Government to review the PT PNM Forest Area Release Permit as well as review PT PNM’s cultivation permit (HGU). 

“The community continues to demand what was promised, namely the revocation of all permits held by PT PNM, and for their Indigenous land rights to be recognised. The regent must ensure that he does not extend PT PNM’s location permit, he must revoke PT PNM’s environmental permit, and stop the company’s operations,” said Tigor Hutapea of Bentala Rakyat Heritage Foundation.

In addition, the central government needs to ensure that rogue companies such as PT PNM receive legal sanctions and continue all efforts for the recognition of Indigenous Peoples, including the determination of customary areas. It’s not enough to make Indigenous peoples a symbol of the celebration of independence every August. Promises to Indigenous peoples must be paid in full. 

Notes to editors:

[1] Photos and video showing PT PNM continuing to operate in July 2022.

[2] Remote sensing image of forest clearing from Dec 2021 – July 2022.

[3] Photo of protest action by Indigenous peoples of the Grime Nawa valley against the palm oil company PT PNM.

Media contacts:

Sekar Banjaran Aji, Greenpeace Indonesia Forest Campaigner: +62 812-8776-9880

Tigor Hutapea, Bentala People’s Heritage Foundation: +62 812-8729-6684

Maikel Primus Peuki: WALHI Papua: 082248000233

Emanuel Gobay, Director of YLBHI – LBH Papua: 082199507613