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Indigenous Peoples

Tangguh - adapting to the West Papuan context?

Down to Earth No. 73, May 2007


It has been two years since Down to Earth's last detailed report on BP's huge Tangguh gas project in Bintuni Bay, West Papua. Surprisingly little has changed.


From BP's point of view much has changed at Tangguh - the project is now well into its construction phase (70% complete as of March 2007) and is due to go 'onstream' in 2008. However, the same issues, the same concerns, the same doubts keep surfacing. How can this mega-project possibly fit into the realities of West Papuan life?

Illegal military payments by Freeport/Rio Tinto

Down to Earth No 68  February 2006

Freeport, operator of the giant Grasberg goldmine in West Papua, is in the public spotlight once again over its financial relationship with the Indonesian security forces.

After almost forty years of largely fruitless protest, Amungme and Kamoro indigenous owners of the Freeport concession area in West Papua can be forgiven their cynicism at the latest push for accountability from the US-based mining company, Freeport.

ADB to fund BP's Tangguh gas project

Down to Earth No 68  February 2006

Despite protests from NGOs, the Asian Development Bank has approved a loan for BP's giant Tangguh gas project in West Papua.

In December 2005, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) decided to put US$350 million towards the $5.5 billion gas extraction and liquefied gas processing plant, now being developed by Anglo-US multinational BP, in Bintuni Bay, in the western part of West Papua.

This project has attracted critical attention because of the actual and potential impacts on local people and the e

In Brief... DTE 66 - August 2005

Down to Earth No 66  August 2005

Land of peace for Papua: a basis for rebuilding Papua

On his recent visit to the UK and Ireland, Rev. Socratez Sofyan Yoman, the President of the Alliance of Baptist Churches of West Papua, reiterated the call for peace talks to be held in West Papua. He pointed to the peace talks between GAM (Free Aceh Movement) and the government of Indonesia, which had struck an agreement including troop withdrawal and an arms amnesty for GAM, and said this should become a precedent.

AMAN in West Papua

Down to Earth No 65  May 2005

Notes from a discussion between DTE and Alex Sanggenafa, focal point for the Alliance of Indigenous Peoples of the Archipelago (AMAN) for Yapen Waropen, Papua.

 

AMAN and indigenous peoples: challenges in the Papuan context

Papuans' mistrust of the Indonesian government remains as deep as ever; they still tend to ask what hidden agenda lies behind any government efforts to win their hearts and minds.

Military base for Wasur National Park

Down to Earth No 65  May 2005

Wasur National Park, in southern Papua, managed by conservation organisation WWF, will host a new military battalion as part of a large build up of military forces in West Papua.

The 413,510 hectare park, in the southern district of Merauke, is close to the border with Papua New Guinea and forms part of a larger trans-boundary conservation area across the Fly River.

Tangguh - ignoring the reality

Down to Earth No 65  May 2005

In February 2004, DTE took a detailed look at BP's controversial gas project in Bintuni Bay, West Papua. One year on, we ask how far concerns over human rights, security and local people's rights have been addressed.

The Tangguh gas extraction and liquid natural gas (LNG) installation in the Bird's Head region of West Papua got the final go-ahead from BP on March 7th. As a result, the area will experience massive social, environmental and economic changes.