Misguided development in West Papua

James C. Scott (1938-2024).

In his book Seeing Like a State (1998), American anthropologist James C. Scott argues that States tend to simplify complex social orders to make them more manageable.

Indonesia's project to create two million hectares of food estates in Merauke, in one of the Papuan provinces annexed in 1963, is a concrete example of this simplification.

Considering Indonesia's 280 million people, Jakarta believes that large-scale rice development is the only solution to its food security.

However, all of this is carried out without respect for the environment and local communities. In Merauke, Papuans have lived in harmony with nature for thousands of years.

They are dark-skinned Melanesians, unlike the Indonesians of Asian descent. Different from the Javanese, Indonesia's majority ethnic group of farmers, the Papuans are hunter-gatherers. 

Their staple food is sago, not rice. Thus, Jakarta's plan to convert Papuan forests into rice fields is utter nonsense!

Moreover, for Papuans, land is not just a resource to be exploited, it's also part of their identity. Thus, the neglect of their land rights is a real outrage.

The food estate in Merauke is not the first in Indonesia. Previously, similar projects have been carried out on other islands such as Kalimantan and failed miserably!

Jakarta is clearly mistaken in its development approach. It should stop policies that harm indigenous peoples.