January 22, 2024 in National & International, Environment

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Author: CR-9 – Editor: Dewi Wulandari

Data on potential deforestation in Tanah Papua. – Jubi/Greenpeace Indonesia

Jayapura, Jubi – Greenpeace Indonesia estimates that around 7.5 million hectares of natural forest in Tanah Papua has the potential to be lost, along with other natural resources, which will be sacrificed to spur economic growth and regional governance in four new provinces, namely Southwest Papua, Central Papua, and Mountain Papua. , and South Papua.

This was conveyed by Greenpeace Indonesia forest campaigner, Nicodemus Wamafma, when met by Jubi in Jayapura City, Papua Province on Saturday (20/1/2024).

“With weak and limited fiscal support as a new autonomous region in order to finance government and regional development, the new province will focus on encouraging the presence of land-based investment in the hope that it will contribute to economic growth and regional development,” he said.

Wamafma said the four new provinces needed land for offices, development of supporting infrastructure and economic growth to strengthen regional fiscal.

“If it is not carried out with a wise and good development approach, the expansion of provinces and districts and cities will have an impact on environmental damage, including deforestation of natural forests in the Land of Papua,” he said.

Data on the area of oil palm plantations in Tanah Papua. – Jubi/Greenpeace Indonesia

Learning from Papua’s journey during 1963-2021, continued Wamafma, development and investment in the Land of Papua had more of an exploitative impact on forests and natural resources belonging to the indigenous Papuan community rather than having an impact on improving the quality of life such as improving the quality of education, health and the economy, but there were more rights conflicts. -rights to land, forests and natural resources as well as human rights violations.

“[The conflict] between the state and corporations or companies against the Papuan indigenous people has not been resolved properly until now and is still a hidden ember. “This situation will get worse after the expansion of provinces continues to be forced in the Land of Papua,” he said.

The government in the four new provinces, he said, must learn from the process that Papua and West Papua Provinces have gone through and look at the living conditions of the Papuan indigenous people where extractive and exploitative development approaches have resulted in deforestation of Papua’s natural forests, environmental damage and loss of important biodiversity. as well as the violation or loss of the rights of indigenous Papuan people to land, forests and other natural resources.

“If not, the same approach and process will be repeated and more and more of Papua’s natural forests will be sacrificed or eliminated. This results in wider environmental damage and marginalization of the rights and lives of Papuan indigenous peoples in their traditional territories. “The Papuan indigenous people will stand as silent witnesses to the loss of rights and destruction of their areas of life, identity and future,” he said.

According to Wamafma, in the last two decades Greenpeace Indonesia recorded that more than 641,400 hectares of natural forest in Tanah Papua were lost with the main focus in Merauke, Boven Digoel, Nabire, Mimika, Mappi, Fakfak, Teluk Bintuni, Sorong, Manokwari and Kaimana.

Meanwhile, in the era of the Jokowi administration, from 2014 to the present, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry under the leadership of Siti Nurbaya has released more than 296,378 hectares of natural forest for various licensing purposes including allocation for the National Strategic Food Estate Project and the Trans Papua road and bridge infrastructure project. along more than 4,600 km from Sorong to Merauke. (*)

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