[Jakarta, 4 March 2025] Twenty-two Indonesian civil society organizations have sent a letter to senior European Union officials expressing concern over the worsening condition of the rainforest in West Papua, with the threat of 2 million hectares of forest deforestation and increasing risks faced by the Malind and Yei Indigenous Peoples in the region.
The letter was addressed to Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President for a Clean, Just and Competitive Transition; Kaja Kallas, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission; Jessica Roswall, Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy; Jozef Síkela, Commissioner for International Partnerships; and Maroš Šefčovič, Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency.
In the letter, the civil society organizations urge the European Commission to seriously consider the deforestation crisis and threats to Indigenous Peoples’ rights in Papua within the country and subnational risk assessment process under the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) benchmarking scheme. Under this scheme, the European Union will classify countries or regions as low, standard, or high risk in relation to deforestation and human rights violations. This designation must be determined before 30 June 2025.
Article 29 of the EUDR states that risk assessments must take into account levels of deforestation and agricultural expansion. Furthermore, Article 29(4)(d) requires the European Commission to consider the existence of laws protecting human rights, Indigenous Peoples’ rights, anti-corruption measures, and the transparency of data required to comply with EUDR provisions.
“We urge the European Commission to ensure that Article 29(4)(d) is applied consistently and rigorously across all countries and regions, including West Papua. Without a strict approach to forest and Indigenous Peoples’ protection, the EUDR scheme risks failing to achieve its objectives of preventing deforestation and human rights violations in global supply chains,” said Andi Muttaqien, Executive Director of Satya Bumi.
A report previously submitted to the European Commission in 2024, supported by more than 30 Indonesian civil society organizations, detailed how the expansion of large-scale plantation industries in Papua has threatened ecosystem sustainability and the rights of Indigenous Peoples who depend on forests. Papua holds more than 2 million hectares of natural forest reserves allocated for plantation industries in Indonesia—1.9 million hectares of which are designated for oil palm and timber commodities. Therefore, civil society organizations urge the European Union to ensure that the risk classification under the EUDR benchmarking scheme reflects Papua’s vulnerability to deforestation, in line with realities on the ground.
Franky Samperante, Director of Yayasan Pusaka Bentala Rakyat, emphasized that forest clearing in Papua clearly violates the rights of Indigenous communities within concession areas, particularly the Malind and Yei peoples.
“The European Union should consider the destruction of livelihoods, economic dispossession, social fragmentation in several districts of South Papua, including intimidation by the military and police. Europe’s clean consumption should not only be free from forest destruction, but also free from the destruction of human dignity,” he said.
This large-scale deforestation mega-project in Papua allocates 1.5 million hectares for rice fields and 500,000 hectares for sugarcane plantations. Although these two commodities are not covered under the EUDR, there is potential for timber resulting from forest clearing to enter European markets. Moreover, deforestation potential must be assessed based on total forest clearance figures—not limited to the seven commodities covered by the EUDR.
Research conducted by Satya Bumi et al. shows that the environmental carrying capacity threshold for oil palm plantations in Indonesia is 18.1 million hectares, while current oil palm plantations already cover 17.7 million hectares. With President Prabowo Subianto’s ambition to open 20 million hectares for food and energy plantations, this would rapidly drive deforestation in Papua, the last remaining extensive natural forest in Indonesia.
“Papua is a unique region and must be protected. Our modeling results show that the upper threshold for oil palm development on the island of Papua is 290,837 hectares. Currently, oil palm plantations have already reached 290,659 hectares. This means the threshold has essentially been reached. The European Commission must take this situation into account in its benchmarking considerations,” said Giorgio Budi Indrarto, Deputy Director of Yayasan MADANI Berkelanjutan.
The European Commission must maximize the use of the EUDR to halt deforestation and protect Indigenous Peoples. The letter specifically calls on the European Union to:
Give special attention to the potential deforestation in Papua linked to food and energy plantation expansion, including the lack of community involvement as a potential human rights violation.
Request the UN Human Rights Council and other relevant bodies to investigate whether the situation in West Papua constitutes a violation of Indonesia’s international human rights obligations.
Support Indonesia in identifying sustainable approaches to improving food and energy security, including increasing agricultural productivity on existing lands, reducing food waste, and prioritizing the use of degraded lands for expansion.
