Indonesian Govt’s sly U-turn on plans to destroy Aru islands

The Government of Indonesia appears to be reviving plans to clear-cut the vast forests of the beautiful Aru islands in a U-turn sparking confusion and anger among activists.

A high-profile campaign seeking to scrap plans to turn the remote islands in eastern Indonesia into a giant sugar plantation appeared to have ended in success in April 2014, with then Minister of Forestry Zulkifli Hasan announcing that plantation permits would not be renewed because the land was unsuitable.

Indonesian NGOs Forest Watch Indonesia and AMAN, the indigenous peoples’ alliance, had repeatedly exposed the threat to the islands’ people and biodiversity.

But speaking after a meeting last Wednesday, Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman admitted Aru was one of three areas the Government is targeting for sugar plantations. He told journalists it would work to “continue removing barriers” to foreign investment.

Jacky Manuputty, the activist behind the #SaveAru campaign, said: “The Agriculture Minister’s reinstatement of Aru islands as one of eastern Indonesia’s sugar industry development area is arrogant and arbitrary without considering the aspirations of the Aru indigenous peoples who strongly refused this plan in the past.”

Manuputty said the U-turn had left indigenous people feeling “fooled” by the Government and warned it could provoke social unrest.

“We will fight against this one-sided policy and the Government must take responsibility,” he said.

The lack of consultation or respect for the land rights of indigenous communities typifies the State’s approach to facilitating investment for large-scale industry. The decision not to renew permits in 2014 appeared to be a rare beacon of reason, recognising the impact on livelihoods and the environment would not benefit local communities.

Abdon Nababan, Secretary General of the Indigenous Peoples’ Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN), said: “The presence of plantations in Aru islands will not only degrade small islands ecosystem but lead to human rights violations against the indigenous peoples who have traditionally controlled and managed their agriculture lands and forests in the islands.”

Research by FWI suggests large-scale extractive and plantation industries could have a huge impact on forests in Indonesia’s so-called ‘small islands’, many of which could be swallowed up by the ocean as a combined consequence of misguided development and climate change.

FWI’s study found that some 18 per cent of the area covered by small islands has been ceded to land-based investments such as logging, palm oil or sugar concessions. Under threat in Aru is an area of forest 12 times the size of Singapore.

FWI campaigner Mufti Barri said: “The Government’s insistence to continue with sugar cane plantation development in Aru islands clearly shows their disregard to natural forest conservation in Aru islands.

“Some of us even believe that the main goal of this plan is merely to harvest natural timber from Aru.”

The Government has formally instituted policies that will direct further large-scale, intensive industries to Indonesia’s ‘small’ islands.

Nababan added: “All Indonesia’s small islands must be released from large-scale nature exploitation such as plantations, logging and mining activities because their long-term social and ecological costs are far greater than the short-term economic profits.”