Jakarta – Indonesia’s Food Estate program, touted as a national food security solution, is under fire for its potential to devastate natural forest ecosystems and jeopardise the country’s climate commitments, Indonesian civil society coalition said in a statement on Wednesday, November 13.
This warning follows remarks made by Hashim Sujono Djojohadikusumo, Indonesia’s Special Envoy, at the COP29 plenary session in Baku, Azerbaijan, on November 12, where he reaffirmed the government’s commitment to the controversial initiative.
President Prabowo Subianto recently visited the Food Estate site in Merauke, South Papua, a project spanning over two million hectares. While the administration positions the program as critical for food security, environmentalists and indigenous groups are raising alarms.
Nadia Hadad, Executive Director of the Madani Berkelanjutan Foundation, criticised the program, describing it as a potential gateway for unchecked natural resource exploitation. “The Food Estate program threatens Indonesia’s FOLU Net Sink 2030 target,” she said. The FOLU (Forestry and Other Land Use) initiative aims to achieve a net carbon sink by reducing deforestation to 4.22 million hectares by 2030.
Indonesia’s deforestation rate has already surpassed its target, with 4.8 million hectares cleared by 2019—exceeding the limit by 577,000 hectares. “Opening new food estates will further derail efforts to meet climate goals,” Nadia added, emphasising that ecosystem restoration is a lengthy process that often fails to restore original conditions, particularly in fragile peat and mangrove ecosystems.
Cindy Julianty from the Working Group ICCAs Indonesia (WGII) highlighted conflicts between food estate projects and indigenous rights. In Merauke, over two million hectares of forest within the customary lands of the Malind, Maklew, Khimaima, and Yei communities have been cleared. These forests, crucial for biodiversity and traditional food sources, are being sacrificed for the program.
Cindy urged scrutiny of the government’s ambitious restoration target of 12.7 million hectares under President Prabowo’s administration. “Will this restoration process respect indigenous territories, follow Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) principles, and benefit local communities?” she questioned.
Nadia also criticised Indonesia’s absence from the Forest and Climate Leaders’ Partnership (FCLP), a global initiative to halt deforestation by 2030. “Joining the FCLP could help Indonesia secure critical climate funding from developed nations to protect its forests,” she said, calling for more robust climate diplomacy.
Environmental advocates like Eka Melisa from Kemitraan and Iqbal Damanik from Greenpeace lamented Indonesia’s lack of leadership at COP29. “This COP focused on climate finance, yet Indonesia failed to champion the needs of vulnerable nations or advocate for targeted funding,” Iqbal said. He urged the government to push for financing mechanisms that support mitigation, adaptation, and loss-and-damage measures.
Hashim defended the Food Estate program, asserting that the international community misunderstands it. He claimed that degraded forests would be revitalised to mitigate environmental impacts. However, critics remain unconvinced, warning that the program’s long-term consequences could outweigh its short-term benefits.
As Indonesia balances food security and environmental stewardship, experts stress the need for policies prioritising forest conservation while addressing climate resilience and community welfare. (nsh)
