Indonesia fast-tracks massive papua rice project without indigenous consent, sparking deforestation fears

Indonesia’s government has sparked fierce criticism from Indigenous rights activists after fast-tracking permits for a controversial 328,000-hectare (810,505-acre) rice plantation in Papua. The final cultivation permit, known as Hak Guna Usaha (HGU), was approved at unprecedented speed compared to the typical years-long approval process for large-scale agricultural projects. Most alarmingly, the permit was issued without obtaining free, prior, and informed consent from Indigenous communities whose ancestral lands will be affected.

The project represents the latest development in Indonesia’s ambitious food estate program, which prioritizes national food security but has drawn widespread condemnation for sidelining Indigenous land rights and environmental protections. Since the government announced the southern Papua rice initiative in early 2024, the project has advanced rapidly, with civil society groups reporting the deployment of heavy machinery and security forces to support land clearing operations in designated areas.

Environmental advocates warn that the mega-plantation could trigger massive deforestation, widespread land dispossession, and severe social conflict in southern Papua. These concerns echo the outcomes of similar failed food estate projects elsewhere in Indonesia. In September 2025, the government further accelerated the process by reclassifying nearly 487,000 hectares of protected forest estate into non-forest land, effectively removing environmental safeguards.

Critics argue that this pattern of regulatory fast-tracking reflects a troubling disregard for both Indigenous rights and environmental conservation, prioritizing economic development over the protection of Papua’s fragile ecosystems and the communities that depend on them.