Palm Oil Plantations in Papua: Land Grabbing and Human Rights Violation of Indigenous Papuans

Abstract The organized land appropriation of indigenous Papuan territories has been systematically executed by elite capital actors, especially national elites, and sanctioned through various central government policies. This structured land acquisition is evident in numerous cases, particularly in transforming indigenous forests into large-scale palm oil plantations across Papua. Data indicate that from 1992 to 2019, the Minister of Forestry issued seventy-two forest area release decrees (SK PKH/Surat Keputusan Pelepasan Kawasan Hutan) covering a staggering 1,549,205 hectares in Papua, with 1,307,780 hectares—84% of the total released area—earmarked for palm oil. This article explores the memoria passionis of indigenous Papuans surrounding the forced release of their ancestral forests due to the massive expansion of palm oil plantations. Utilizing qualitative methodology and literature review of structured chronicles and journalistic reports, this study also integrates a case study approach, by interviewing indigenous informants from Keerom and Nabire Regencies. The researcher also complements it with literature on the legal framework of the Basic Agrarian Law (UUPA) No. 5 of 1960. Findings reveal a groundswell of resistance among indigenous Papuans against the conversion of their land for palm oil, rooted in a collective memory associating these plantations with state-driven land seizures. Many indigenous Papuans oppose these land grabs, viewing the palm oil sector as foreign to their traditional land use and cultivation practices. The study concludes that indigenous Papuans have no cultural alignment with cultivating oil palm, so these conflicts will likely persist if palm oil expansion continues.