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Court orders govt to disclose data on Papua land ownership
Environmental groups have urged the Agrarian and Spatial Planning Ministry to disclose data on landholding in Papua and West Papua following a court ruling in their favor.
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A 'cendrawasih' (bird-of-paradise) sits on a tree in Sorong's Malagufuk village, Papua. Agricultural plantations are rapidly expanding in Papua, alarming some villagers and conservationists, who fear forests will be destroyed and the birds that inhabit them driven to the brink of extinction. (AFP/File)
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nvironmental groups have urged the Agrarian and Spatial Planning Ministry to disclose data on landholding in Papua and West Papua following a court ruling that the data be treated as public information.
The Jakarta State Administrative Court (PTUN Jakarta) ruled on Feb. 19 in favor of Greenpeace Indonesia in a dispute case against the Public Information Commission (KIP) and the ministry involving the disclosure of right to cultivate (HGU) land permits in the country’s easternmost provinces.
In October, the KIP had rejected a request by the environmental group for data on land permits in the provinces, arguing that the data was not public information. Greenpeace then brought the case to the PTUN Jakarta.
The court ruling is in line with a 2017 Supreme Court ruling that mandates disclosure of HGU land permit data on oil palm plantations in the country.
Greenpeace Indonesia forestry campaigner Asep Komarudin said Greenpeace welcomed the ruling, as it finally restored the Supreme Court’s decision that the ministry had previously ignored.
“The PTUN judges found that the KIP’s argument had no legal basis. Hence, the map must also be disclosed, and the ministry must reveal the data to the public,” Asep told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
“This is important, because the map can finally show the locations and [size of] landholdings,” he added.
