Papua tribe’s homeland under threat after court loss – Society

The Supreme Court on Friday rejected an appeal by an indigenous Papua tribe in its lawsuit against a palm oil company. The decision put the tribe at risk of losing vast tracts of ancient forest, the advocacy group said.

The Awyu tribe, whose approximately 20,000 members live off the land, attempted to suspend the operations of private palm oil company PT Indo Asiana Lestari in West Papua.

But the Supreme Court rejected their final appeal, according to a document published on its website Friday, upholding the company’s government concession of 36,000 hectares, more than half the size of Jakarta.

In a two to one decision, the panel ruled that the appeal exceeded the legal time limit. The dissenting judge argued that IAL’s permit violated Indonesia’s environmental regulations.

“I feel heartbroken because I have no other legal way to protect the land and people of my ancestral homeland,” said Avew Tribe plaintiff Hendricus Voro.

“I am heartbroken because throughout this struggle there has been no support from the government, local or central. Who should I contact and where should I go now?” He said this in a statement released by the Coalition to Save Papuan Traditional Forests, made up of 10 environmental NGOs.

A Supreme Court spokesman declined to comment when contacted by AFP about the decision.

The Awyu tribe’s case gained attention in Indonesia earlier this year after a campaign called “All Eyes on Papua” spread on social media.

“Both the government and the legal system have failed to support indigenous peoples,” said Sekar Banjaran Aji of the Papuan Traditional Forests advocacy group.

“The fight to protect Papua’s traditional forests has become even more difficult.”

In November, a Papuan court ruled that PT Indo Asiana Lestari’s permit was valid, rejecting the Awyu tribe’s argument that the concession was awarded based on a flawed environmental impact assessment.

The tribe and environmental NGOs also say opponents of the palm oil company’s plans have faced intimidation.

Apart from this case, other Awyu members are also seeking to revoke the permits of PT Kartika Cipta Pratama and PT Megakarya Jaya Raya, two other palm oil companies that have granted concessions in the same area. The total size of the territory in all cases is about 115,000 hectares.

Environmental groups supporting Avyu’s case said the Supreme Court’s rejection on Friday could affect the outcome of other cases.

Indonesia produces about 60 percent of the world’s palm oil, a third of which is consumed domestically.

Papua lost 2.5 percent of its tree cover between 2001 and 2023, according to Global Forest Watch.

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