Cases / Carbon credits · Indonesia · 2025
Indonesia's Merauke food estate released 486,939 hectares of forest
Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.
Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
Forest land in Merauke, South Papua, was released for a food estate, and army battalions are reported to be clearing land there. At stake: forest cover and customary land in Papua.
What?
486,939 hectares of forest in Merauke were released for a food estate, with army battalions clearing land, according to Kompas and The Jakarta Post. Kompas
Where?
Merauke, South Papua, Indonesia Kompas
When?
Reported in October 2025 (Kompas). Kompas
Who?
Gained
None on recordLost
- Customary landholders in Merauke — Customary lands are affected, per the reporting Kompas
Harmed
None on recordWhy?
Stated aim, without a linked source: food and energy sovereignty.
How?
Release of forest land for a food estate; press reports raise concern about the army's role in it. The Jakarta Post
6 of 6 questions answered from the record
What happened
The record, in order.
Kompas and The Jakarta Post reported that 486,939 hectares of forest in Merauke had been released for a food estate, with army battalions clearing land there.
The reporting says that customary (adat) lands are affected.
The campaign group Mighty Earth reported in 2025 that more than 50,000 hectares had been cleared in Merauke.
In court and with insurers
Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.
Lawsuits and rulings
No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.
Insurers
No insurer decision on record.
What we don't know
Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Record
- Insufficient Reported but not verified: Norway agreed to pay 530 million NOK for reduced deforestation in Indonesia, and 2 to 3 million hectares of land were opened in the same period; no causal link is recorded (Norwegian government and Mongabay, not checked).
- Insufficient Reported but not verified: ten companies received recommendations to remove 541,094 hectares of forest, and 13,540 hectares, including protected forest, were opened in July 2024.
- None on record Reported without a linked source: five army battalions (at least 2,000 soldiers) are involved, and sugar and bioethanol investors are among the beneficiaries.
- Insufficient Reported but not verified: customary owners (Malind, Maklew, Yei and Khimaima) are not recognised.
Did the harm stop?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations✓ Communities and civil society— Researchers
Press and investigations
- PSN Merauke dikritik picu deforestasi, pemerintah bilang siap reforestasiKompas · 2025-10-21
- Concerns raised over TNI's role in Papua food estateThe Jakarta Post · 2025-03-01
Communities and civil society
- Food estate projects in IndonesiaMighty Earth · 2025
Connected cases
Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
- Grain traders report 93–99% of Cerrado soy as deforestation-free Brazil · 2021–2025
- Mighty Earth (NGO) — here: campaign group reporting clearing above 50,000 hectares; there: monitoring source