Cultivating Resistance

A Look into the Merauke Integrated Food and Energy Estate (MIFEE) in the Papuan Province of Indonesia

Reality of Aid - Asia Pacific

The onset of the 2007–2008 global food and energy crisis drew the attention of the Indonesian government under President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (more commonly known as SBY). After initial plans to transform the Merauke Regency into the national “rice basket” failed, district head Johannes Gluba-Gebze and SBY were quick to steer the crisis to Indonesia’s advantage under the vision of “feeding the world".

Within the next year, the Department of Agriculture announced the Merauke Integrated Food and Energy Estate (MIFEE), its mega-project to overhaul the area for greater food and energy stock. Under this program, the local and national governments allocated at least one million hectares for agribusiness and biofuel operations.

The MIFEE generally aimed to accelerate export-led growth and minimize food import dependency. These aspirations seemed to have great potential; so much so that the Indonesian government attracted international investors.

It managed to secure US $48.3 million from its funders

The Papuan resource curse

While promising on paper, however, SBY’s ambitious plans were met with local outrage once the community noticed that a significant part of the concession areas included protected forests, savannahs, and swamps, all of which are essential to indigenous peoples’ livelihoods. These would be leased to the government for about 90 years, restricting Papuan access to a vast coverage of sacred sites, hunting grounds, and arable land.

Like the rest of the Papuan province, the Merauke Regency is ecologically diverse. It makes up about 14.22% of the entire island and features various landscapes, including mangroves, lowland rainforests, peat swamp forests, and savannahs.

As of 2013, researchers have estimated a total of 403 plant species in the area, 114 of which are protected and 74 are endemic to the area. The same study concluded that Merauke is home to approximately 72 fish species and 80 mammalia species, wherein 34 of these are endemic.

Like the rest of the Papuan province, the Merauke Regency is ecologically diverse. It makes up about 14.22% of the entire island and features various landscapes, including mangroves, lowland rainforests, peat swamp forests, and savannahs.

As of 2013, researchers have estimated a total of 403 plant species in the area, 114 of which are protected and 74 are endemic to the area. The same study concluded that Merauke is home to approximately 72 fish species and 80 mammalia species, wherein 34 of these are endemic.