Instead of addressing the root causes—structural inequality, extractivism, and rent-based economies—Indonesia is pursuing a risky shortcut through large-scale land expansion. At this intersection of energy and food conflict, Papua has emerged as the most problematic arena.
Globally, the fossil energy crisis has pushed many countries to seek so-called renewable energy solutions. Bioenergy based on oil palm, sugarcane, corn, and cassava is often promoted as carbon-neutral and as a pathway to energy self-sufficiency.
In practice, however, bioenergy has expanded land conflicts, displaced Indigenous communities, and deepened food insecurity. When fertile land is diverted to fuel production, food is pushed aside. When forests are cleared in the name of energy, emissions rise—especially when primary forests and peatlands are sacrificed.
This pattern has already occurred in Brazil, as well as in Kalimantan and Sumatra. In this context, the plan of President Prabowo Subianto to expand oil palm and sugarcane plantations in Papua deserves critical scrutiny. The argument sounds familiar: Indonesia needs food and energy self-sufficiency, and Papua is framed as the country’s last “vast land reserve.”
This is where the most fundamental misconception lies.
Papua is not empty land. It is a living space rich in ecological, cultural, and historical meaning. Papuan forests are not merely carbon stocks; they are food banks. The diversity of forest-based food sources sustains Indigenous livelihoods. Genetic evidence shows that Papuan ancestors were among the earliest Homo sapiens to arrive in the Indonesian archipelago, at least 60,000 years ago—long before Austronesian rice farmers arrived around 5,000 years ago.
When the state views Papua as an energy and food frontier, what is truly at risk is not land, but people—along with their history, knowledge systems, food sovereignty, and land rights.
The expansion of oil palm and sugarcane is not only socially unjust, but also ecologically and economically fragile. Monoculture industries demand massive forest clearing, drainage, chemical fertilizers, and enormous volumes of water.
Recent major floods in Sumatra have shown how forest conversion into oil palm plantations contributes to ecological disasters. In a region with one of the world’s highest levels of biodiversity and a highly sensitive hydrological system like Papua, large-scale deforestation is a recipe for ecological crisis.
The failure of the Merauke Integrated Food and Energy Estate (MIFEE) should serve as a stark warning. Since 2010, forest clearing for food and energy in Merauke has intensified agrarian conflicts, environmental degradation, structural poverty, and declining public health as local food systems were displaced.
These developments are closely linked to gast colonialism—a new form of domination through food. Local food systems are dismantled: sago is replaced by rice, tubers and bananas by instant noodles, and fresh fish and vegetables by ultra-processed foods. Communities that once controlled their own food sources are now forced into dependency on external supplies with lower nutritional value.
Strong criticism has also come from Basuki Tjahaja Purnama. In a video posted on his YouTube channel titled “Protect Papua’s Forests, Don’t Turn Them into Oil Palm Estates!” (23 December 2025), Ahok warned that Papua could face disasters similar to those in Sumatra if rainforests are converted into oil palm plantations. He emphasized that rainforests are complex ecosystems, fundamentally different from monoculture crops.
Many observers argue that the energy–food conflict should prompt reflection, not expansion. Indonesia has more appropriate and just alternatives: decentralized solar energy through rooftop systems and microgrids, as well as micro-hydropower that has minimal environmental impact and can be community-managed. Ironically, existing regulations still fail to support rooftop solar development at the household level.
Subsidies for oil palm and sugarcane expansion could instead be redirected toward electric public transportation, energy-efficient buildings, and industrial efficiency. Energy security cannot be built by destroying the last great reservoir of biodiversity, and food security cannot be achieved by dismantling resilient Indigenous food systems.
Papua does not need oil palm or sugarcane to achieve food sovereignty. On the contrary, Indonesia needs to learn from Papua—about food diversification, human–nature relations, and long-term sustainability. Without justice for nature and local communities, energy transition and food security will remain empty slogans.
Source : Kompas.id
Editor : Olemah News Editorial Team
Website : www.olemah.com
Published : January 01, 2026
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