The National Strategic Project (PSN) for the Merauke Food and Energy Development Area in South Papua has raised serious concerns about agrarian governance. A CELIOS report titled “PSN Eroding Special Autonomy and the Rights of Indigenous Papuans” reveals that regional expansion through revisions to the Papua Special Autonomy Law has facilitated land grabbing from Indigenous communities as a result of a deliberate legal vacuum in spatial planning. “This shows that regional expansion through revisions to the Papua Special Autonomy Law has made it easier to seize Indigenous communities’ land because of deliberately created legal gaps in the regulation of areas and spatial planning,” explained Muhamad Saleh, a CELIOS legal researcher.
Indigenous communities have voiced opposition in various districts, including Ilwayab, Tubang, Okaba, Eligobel, Kimaam, and Padua. Johny Teddy Wakum, head of the Papua Legal Aid Institute (LBH Papua) in Merauke, emphasized, “We call for the principles of recognition, respect, and protection of Indigenous communities to be prioritized in natural resource management policies, especially in Papua.” Echoing this, CELIOS Legal Director Mhd Zakiul Fikri described the situation as unlawful land grabbing. “The lands included in the PSN cluster are not vacant, ownerless land (terra nullius); they are lands owned and managed by Indigenous communities for generations,” he stressed.
President of the Institute for Regional Autonomy (i-OTDA), Prof. Djohermansyah Djohan, added that PSN implementation must take the distinctive features of special-autonomy regions into account. “That special status must not be amputated by central government regulations. Otherwise, customary land governance may benefit the government and private sector more than Indigenous communities,” he said. He emphasized that although the Papua Special Autonomy Law provides for the protection of Indigenous communities, implementation remains weak, and authorities continue to forcibly take customary lands.
The National Strategic Project (PSN) for the Merauke Food and Energy Estate in South Papua has raised serious concerns over land governance. A CELIOS report titled PSN Eroding Special Autonomy and Indigenous Papuan Rights reveals that the regional expansion enabled by the revised Papua Special Autonomy Law has facilitated land grabbing from Indigenous communities, largely due to a deliberate legal vacuum in spatial planning regulations. “This shows that the regional split under the revised Special Autonomy Law makes it easier to dispossess Indigenous lands, because of intentionally created loopholes in spatial and land-use governance,” explained CELIOS legal researcher Muhamad Saleh.
Resistance from Indigenous communities has emerged across districts such as Ilwayab, Tubang, Okaba, Eligobel, Kimaam, and Padua. Johny Teddy Wakum, head of the Papua Legal Aid Institute (LBH Papua) in Merauke, emphasized, “We call for recognition, respect, and protection of Indigenous peoples’ rights to be prioritized in natural resource governance, particularly in Papua.” Echoing this, CELIOS Legal Director Mhd Zakiul Fikri described the situation as a form of unlawful land grabbing. “The lands designated for the PSN are not vacant or ownerless (terra nullius). They are territories that have been owned and managed by Indigenous peoples for generations,” he stressed.
Professor Djohermansyah Djohan, President of the Institute for Regional Autonomy (i-OTDA), added that the implementation of PSN must respect Papua’s special autonomy status. “That special status cannot be overridden by central government regulations. If it is, land governance will likely benefit the government and corporations more than Indigenous communities,” he warned. He further underlined that while the Papua Special Autonomy Law formally protects Indigenous peoples, its enforcement remains weak, allowing authorities to continue dispossessing customary land.
PSN Eroding Special Autonomy & the Rights of Indigenous Papuans (1) Download