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Newsletter articles

DTE's quarterly newsletter provides information on ecological justice in Indonesia.

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DTE publications

WALHI sues government over mega-project

Down to Earth No 43, November 1999

Indonesia's prominent environmental organisation is taking court action against the President, ministers and other officials involved in the disastrous plan to convert over a million hectares of peat swamp forests in Central Kalimantan into rice-fields. Meanwhile, new, more ambitious plans for plantation development in the area could lead to much more devastation.

New act thwarts reformers

Down to Earth No 43, November 1999

Important new forestry legislation was forced through parliament in the final weeks of Habibie's interim regime. According to forest campaigners and indigenous rights activists, the Forestry Act (No. 41 1999) is no advance in terms of protecting Indonesia's forests or forest peoples over the 1967 Basic Forestry Law it replaces.

West Papua

Down to Earth Special Issue, October 1999

The Indigenous Peoples' Congress was held only a few weeks after one hundred West Papuan representatives came to Jakarta as part of a long-awaited 'National Dialogue' to discuss the future of their homeland. President Habibie offered nothing. So it was not surprising that the Congress' Papuan contingent was in no mood for compromise. They were united in their message: 'Merdeka' - independence.

Dayaks charged in oil palm dispute

Down to Earth No. 42, August 1999

A long-running land dispute between oil palm plantation company PT London Sumatra and indigenous Dayak landowners has resulted in large-scale military and police repression in East Kalimantan.

Yamdena islanders continue battle against loggers

Down to Earth No. 42, August 1999

The indigenous people of Yamdena Island in the Tanimbars, Maluku, have resumed protests against the destruction of their forests after the government withdrew from an agreement to halt commercial logging on the island.

Logging and palm oil threat to Siberut

Down to Earth No. 42, August 1999

The resumption of plans for logging and oil palm plantations on the biologically and culturally unique island of Siberut show how current 'reform era' measures still allow powerful elites to profit at the expense of indigenous communities.

Central Kalimantan mega-project re-invented?

Down to Earth No. 42 1999

The Central Kalimantan Mega-project, or 'PLG', as it is known in Indonesia, has been an unmitigated disaster. The ecology and biodiversity of a vast area has been devastated; indigenous communities have lost their resources and livelihoods; and the transmigrant families who were brought in to work on the project remain dependent on government assistance as their harvests fail repeatedly.