Jakarta, March 4, 2025 – Twenty-two Indonesian civil society organizations have sent a letter to senior European Union officials expressing concern over the worsening condition of rainforests in West Papua, with the threat of deforestation of 2 million hectares of forest and increasing threats to the Malind and Yei indigenous peoples in the region.
The letter is addressed to Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President for a Clean, Fair, 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 Competitive Circular Economy, Jozef Síkela, Commissioner for International Partnerships, and Maroš Šefčovič, Commissioner for Trade Security and Economy, Interinstitutional Relations, and Transparency.
In the letter, civil society organizations urge the European Commission to seriously consider the deforestation crisis and threats to the rights of indigenous peoples in Papua in the process of assessing the risk of countries and their regions under the EU Deforestation Regulation Benchmarking Scheme (EUDR). Under this scheme, the EU will classify countries or regions as low, standard, or high risk for deforestation and human rights violations. This classification must be completed by June 30, 2025.
Article 29 of the EUDR states that risk assessments must consider the level of deforestation and agricultural land expansion. Furthermore, Article 29(4)(d) requires the European Commission to take into account the existence of laws protecting human rights, indigenous peoples’ rights, corruption prevention, and transparency of the data required to comply with the EUDR.
“We urge the European Commission to ensure that Article 29(4)(d) is applied consistently and strictly in all countries and regions, including West Papua. Without a strict approach to forest protection and indigenous peoples, the EUDR scheme risks failing to achieve its objectives of preventing deforestation and human rights violations in the global supply chain,” said Andi Muttaqien, Executive Director of Satya Bumi.
A report previously submitted to the European Commission in 2024, supported by more than 30 civil society organizations in Indonesia, highlights how the expansion of large-scale plantation industries in Papua has threatened the sustainability of ecosystems and the rights of indigenous communities dependent on forests. Papua holds one of the largest reserves of natural forests for the plantation industry in Indonesia, spanning over 2 million hectares—1.9 million of which are allocated solely for palm oil and timber commodities. Therefore, civil society organizations are urging the European Union to ensure that the risk classification within the EUDR benchmarking scheme takes into account Papua’s vulnerability to deforestation, as this reflects the reality on the ground.
Franky Samperante, Director of the Pusaka Bentala Rakyat Foundation, emphasized that the deforestation of Papua’s forests clearly violates the rights of indigenous communities around the concessions, particularly the Malind and Yei indigenous communities. “The European Union should consider the destruction of livelihoods, the deprivation of economic rights, and social division in several districts in 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 project in Papua allocates 1.5 million hectares for rice fields and 500,000 hectares for sugarcane plantations. Although these two commodities are not included in the EUDR, we see the potential for timber from the deforested areas to enter the European market. Furthermore, the potential for deforestation is calculated based on the total area of forest clearance—not just the seven commodities covered by the EUDR.
Research conducted by Satya Bumi et al. shows that the upper limit for oil palm plantations in Indonesia, using calculations of Environmental Carrying Capacity and Environmental Load Capacity, is 18.1 million hectares. Meanwhile, Indonesia’s current oil palm plantations cover 17.7 million hectares. With Prabowo Subianto’s ambition to open 20 million hectares of food and energy plantations, this will certainly rapidly deforest Papua, the last remaining natural forest in Indonesia.
“Papua is a unique region and it is important to protect it. Our modeling results show that the upper threshold for oil palm development on the island of Papua is 290,837 hectares. Currently, oil palm plantation development has reached 290,659 hectares. This means that the threshold has been reached. The EU Commission needs to consider this situation when setting benchmarks,” said Giorgio Budi Indrarto, Deputy Director of the MADANI Berkelanjutan Foundation.
The European Commission must maximize the use of the EUDR to halt deforestation and protect indigenous communities. This letter specifically requests the European Union to:
- Focus specifically on the potential for deforestation in Papua linked to food and energy plantations, 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 finding sustainable ways to improve food and energy security, including increasing agricultural productivity on existing land, reducing food waste, and prioritizing the use of degraded land for expansion.
Additional documents:
[APPENDIX] EUDR and West Papua Letter EC]
Contact:
Satya Bumi – Andi Muttaqien (andi@satyabumi.org)
Yayasan Pusaka Bentala Rakyat – Franky Samperante (angkytm@gmail.com)
JPIC OFM Papua – Alexandro F. Rangga OFM (skpkc2010@gmail.com)
Petrus Vertenten MSC, Papua – Harry Woersok (harryvertentenpapua21@gmail.com)
Traction Energy Asia – Tommy Pratama (tommy.pratama@tractionenergy.asia)
Trend Asia – Amalya Reza Oktaviani (amalya.oktaviani@trendasia.org)
WALHI (Friends of The Earth Indonesia) – Uli Arta Siagian (ulisiagian@walhi.or.id)
Palm Oil Smallholder Union (SPKS) – Sabarudin (sabarudin.spks@gmail.com)
SUSTAIN – Tata Mustasya (tata@sustain.or.id)
Sawit Watch – Achmad Surambo (rambo@sawitwatch.or.id)
Teraju Foundation – Agus Sutomo (tomotfindonesia@gmail.com)
TuK INDONESIA – Linda Rosalina (linda@tuk.or.id)
Indonesia Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) – Muhammad Isnur (isnur@ylbhi.or.id)
Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (ELSAM) – Ahmad Vauzi (vauzi@elsam.or.id)
WALHI Jambi – Abdullah (abdull.jambi@gmail.com)
Independent Forest Monitoring Network (JPIK) – Muh Ichwan (ichwan.jpik@gmail.com)
Indonesia for Global Justice (IGJ) – Rahmat Maulana Sidik (rahmat.maulana@igj.or.id)
Madani Berkelanjutan – Giorgio Budi Indrarto (giorgio@madaniberkelanjutan.id)
Perkumpulan HuMa – Agung Wibowo (agung@huma.or.id)
Forest Watch Indonesia – Mufti Ode (muftiode@fwi.or.id)
Link-AR Borneo West Kalimantan – Ahmad Syukuri (azadsyukri@gmail.com)
WALHI Southeast Sulawesi – Andi Rahman (rahmantusa1304@gmail.com)
