The MIFEE project, or the Merauke Integrated Food and Energy Estate to give it its full name, is an agricultural mega-project proposed for Papua province in Indonesia. It was dreamed up as a response to the food and fuel price crises of 2008 and to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s appeal to “feed Indonesia, then feed the world”.
West Papua
There are 26 posts filed in West Papua (this is page 2 of 2).
Deforestation in Indonesia continues, despite the moratorium
Five million hectares of forest has been removed from Indonesia’s moratorium in the 12 months since the President announced a two year moratorium on new forest concessions, according to Greenpeace.
Discriminatory Forestry Regulations and REDD projects in Indonesia
Earlier this month, a group of Indonesian and international organisations wrote to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination about the Merauke Integrated Food and Energy Estate (MIFEE) project in Papua.
How Norway and the Merauke Integrated Food and Energy Estate threaten peatland and forest in Papua
A new report by Greenomics Indonesia documents how the Merauke Integrated Food and Energy Estate threatens peatland and forest in Papua province, Indonesia. The moratorium on new forest concessions, part of the US$1 billion Indonesia-Norway REDD deal has no effect whatsoever in limiting the destruction.
Will REDD benefit Papua’s Indigenous Peoples?
In 2007, Barnabas Suebu, the Governor of Papua, was named as one of Time magazine’s Heroes of the Environment. “We have to save the forests before it is too late. If we do that, we can help save the planet and alleviate poverty at the same time,” Suebu said.
“Recognise the rights of indigenous peoples”: New briefing series on REDD+ in Indonesia from Forest Peoples Programme
Last week, Forest Peoples Programme, together with local partners released a series of briefings about REDD in Indonesia. Five briefings look at REDD developments Aceh, Riau, Central Kalimantan, Central Sulawesi, Papua and West Papua and a sixth looks at REDD at the national level.
Mining for REDD in Indonesia (with a little help from Norway)
The mining industry has obvious reasons for being interested in REDD. The industry is responsible for vast greenhouse gas emissions. While the obvious way of reducing emissions is to reduce the amount of fossil fuels mined (an option that is never on the agenda at UN climate meetings), a more profitable option is to continue mining and “offset” the emissions by buying carbon credits.
On the eve of the logging moratorium, Indonesia’s Ministry of Forestry issued almost three million hectares of concessions
Zulkifli Hasan, Indonesia’s Minister of Forestry, recently issued almost three million hectares of new plantation concessions to 44 firms. There’s nothing surprising about that. Indonesia has one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world, largely due to oil palm and fast-growing pulpwood plantations. What is perhaps surprising is the timing.
A REDD week in Indonesia
Last week was an interesting week for REDD here in Indonesia. Most weeks are, to be honest. The following is an attempt to document a small part of what is happening, not an attempt to make sense of what is happening in the world of REDD in Indonesia. REDD-Monitor welcomes comments aimed at filling in some of the (many) gaps.
Indonesia’s climate promises and policy incoherence
Indonesia’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono likes to make promises. Particularly at international meetings. At last year’s G-8 summit in Japan, Yudhoyono committed to reducing carbon emissions from deforestation by 50 per cent by the end of this year, 74 per cent by 2012 and 95 per cent by 2025.
Save the People and Forests of Papua
A Declaration produced during a recent meeting in Papua demands that “All forms of activities and initiatives for carbon trade and carbon compensation which do not recognize the rights of adat community in land of Papua should be stopped.”