Greenpeace stages protest in Jakarta over Papua sugarcane project threatening forests and Indigenous lands

Greenpeace Indonesia has held a creative, peaceful demonstration outside the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs in Jakarta, protesting the Merauke Sugar Cane National Strategic Project (PSN), which activists say threatens Indigenous land rights and forest ecosystems in Papua.

Through a theatrical performance, Greenpeace activists joined by Papuan youth highlighted the experiences of Indigenous communities whose livelihoods they say have been displaced in the name of large-scale development.

An art installation bearing the words “STOP PSN”, constructed from banners and recycled sugarcane stalks, was erected at the site.

Creative protest highlights Indigenous voices

Protesters also carried placards reading “Stop PSN Merauke”, “Save Forest, Stop Sugarcane” and “Papua Is Not Empty Land”.

The action was organised to oppose large-scale deforestation planned in Merauke, South Papua.

Greenpeace said the threat had been reinforced by President Prabowo Subianto’s recent remarks at a meeting on accelerating development in Papua on 16 December, where he expressed support for expanding oil palm, sugarcane and cassava plantations to secure fuel and bioethanol supplies.

Government-backed project raises deforestation concerns

Activists described the president’s statement as ironic, pointing to ongoing climate crises and ecological disasters in parts of Sumatra linked to decades of deforestation.

They argued that environmental devastation in western Indonesia has not deterred the government from pursuing what they called “false solutions” that risk sacrificing forests and Indigenous territories in eastern Indonesia.

Among those taking part in the demonstration was Vincen Kwipalo, a member of the Yei Indigenous community.

Kwipalo was questioned last week by authorities after reporting alleged criminal acts related to plantation expansion and the seizure of customary land belonging to the Kwipalo clan by PT MNM.

“The government says it wants to focus on development, but it does not see the suffering of Indigenous Peoples whose land has been taken,” Kwipalo said.

“Where are they going to send us? The presence of companies in villages has also triggered horizontal conflicts, but the government does not see this. Development, as promoted by the government, is actually making Indigenous Peoples suffer.”

Greenpeace report warns of large-scale forest and wetland conversion

The experiences of Kwipalo and other Merauke residents affected by the PSN are documented in Greenpeace Indonesia’s latest report, The Bitter Reality Behind the Sweet Promises of the Merauke Sugar Cane PSN, released this week.

The report states that the government has allocated concessions covering around 560,000 hectares—roughly the size of Bali—for the sugarcane project.

Of this area, Greenpeace found that approximately 419,000 hectares consist of natural forest, with a further 83,000 hectares of wetlands and 34,000 hectares of savanna also included.

The organisation warned that converting these landscapes would have severe consequences for biodiversity, carbon storage and local livelihoods.

Refki Saputra, Greenpeace Indonesia’s forest campaigner, said the project—promoted as a shortcut to sugar self-sufficiency and renewable energy through E10 bioethanol—was fundamentally misguided.

“Pursuing bioethanol production in Merauke will encourage large-scale conversion of natural forests,” he said.

“The ambition to develop renewable energy will actually increase emissions and divert attention from improving sugar production for farmers.”

Saputra described the Merauke sugarcane PSN as “a concrete example of colonial land-grabbing practices in Papua”, arguing that it trades biodiversity and Indigenous living space for biofuel production.

The protest also drew attention to a series of government policies underpinning the project.

Biofuel ambitions questioned amid climate and social impacts

In April 2024, then-president Joko Widodo issued Presidential Decree No. 15/2024 establishing a task force to accelerate sugar and bioethanol self-sufficiency in Merauke Regency, South Papua.

The task force was mandated to fast-track integrated sugarcane plantation investments linked to sugar processing, bioethanol production and biomass power generation.

Under a regulation issued by the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs in November 2023, the Merauke Food and Energy Development Area was formally included in Indonesia’s list of National Strategic Projects.

Investment Minister and BKPM head Bahlil Lahadalia, who chairs the task force, subsequently identified around two million hectares of land in Merauke for potential sugarcane development.

Environmental groups note that this figure far exceeds earlier government plans.

The National Sugar Self-Sufficiency Acceleration Programme and bioethanol roadmap envisaged adding around 700,000 hectares of new sugarcane plantations, sourced from existing plantation land, smallholder farms and forest areas.

According to the roadmap outlined in Presidential Regulation No. 20/2023, the Merauke mega-project aims to boost bioethanol production by 1.2 million kilolitres.

At the same time, the government is targeting sugar imports of up to 5 million tonnes to meet domestic demand and support growth in the food and beverage industry.