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Developing Papua sustainably needs meaningful dialogue
The antipalm oil campaigners offer no help to the poor people in Papua but yet leave no avenue for local stakeholders to discuss the development needs in Papua.
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Palm oil is one of the most effective means for distribution of wealth, especially in Papua. (Shutterstock/File)
P
alm oil is an effective development agent for poverty alleviation, employment opportunity, improvement of quality of life and access to primary health and education services. Papua as the most deprived region in Indonesia needs the development opportunity, which palm oil can offer.
The availability of land, favorable weather and good biophysical characteristics hold great potential for the industry to ease off Papua’s reliance on federal funding for development.
As the least developed area with environmental significance, Papua has been targeted as the hotspot for both palm oil development as well as antipalm oil campaigns.
Extensive campaigns against palm oil development in Papua are underway. The issue of high carbon stock and customary rights are being used as these are issues that the campaigners know are supported by antipalm oil lobbies.
By naming and shaming investors in Papua with threats of financial risk to any company working in the region, none of the industries are spared from Non-governmental organization (NGO) attacks as the mining and sugarcane industries are similarly blackened with allegations of deforestation and land grabs.
The antipalm oil campaigners offer no help to the poor people in Papua but yet leave no avenue for local stakeholders to discuss the development needs in Papua. This can be seen by campaigners Mighty Earth of the United States and Aidenvironment of Europe, who rejected an invitation by community leaders and local governments for a meaningful discourse last year.
As a result, the development of oil palm plantations in Papua remain at a snail’s pace as investors consider it as risky of being targeted by the international NGOs. Some concessions are put on hold for development awaiting “non-regulatory” consent while other companies have opted to abandon their concessions. This is a ridiculous position for Papua to be in as development is hijacked by groups who bring no funds to help the impoverished peoples in the region.
