Last night, my wife, children and I
watched a video about the destruction of natural habitat of the people of Kampung Zanegi, in Merauke, West Papua.
The short film, “Mama Malind Su Hilang” (Our Land is Gone) is
produced by Gekko Studio based on interviews with the people of Kampung Zanegi.
It tells the story of the Malind Anim tribe, hunter gatherers who rely on the
forest for their livelihood. Villagers
tell of how they were deceived by Medco, an Indonesian company which has
cleared forest for a 169,000 hectare acacia and eucalyptus plantation, and how
the loss of their forest has affected their possibilities to provide the most
basic necessities of life: harvesting sago and hunting wild animals, and also
how infant malnutrition is now on the rise.
According to a 2010 article in the Jakarta Post, “The Merauke project, which spans three districts in Papua, is part
of the government’s plan to develop agricultural estates in remote areas such
as Papua and Kalimantan so they can become self-sufficient in food production
and eventually major food exporters.
The video quotes a research group
statement that, “corporations facilitated by the state find the frontier to
start the new circuit of capital accumulation in the name of solving the world
food and energy crisis.”
However, the Merauke Integrated
Food and Energy Estate (MIFEE) Program has been accused of disenfranchising
local farmers in Papua. Berry N. Furqon, director of the Indonesian Forum for
the Environment (Walhi), said that more than 100,000 hectares of forest had
been cut down for the project, including the sago forest on which the locals
depend upon. According to an article by Pacific Scoop, Greenpeace Indonesia has
noted that every year the rate of deforestation in the West Papua region
reaches as much as 300,000 hectares.
In the Animha and Kaptel districts in
Merauke, about 169,000 hectares of native forest, were removed for a industrial
tree plantation of acacia and eucalyptus which Medco and its partner LG then
export as wood chips and pellets to South Korea, Japan and other countries to
burn for energy production. Other industrial scale deforestation in West Papua
is to clear land for palm oil expansion for agrofuels, a mega-rice project and
mining.
The Zanegi feel that they were deceived
by the corporations who promised protection of their sago grove, the starch
from which is a staple part of the Zanegi diet. According to one villager
interviewed in the video, the habitat of the Bird of Paradise has been
destroyed, the sago groves have been cleared, there are less (both in number
and size) wild animals to hunt for food for the community.
“The sacred lands are gone,” laments one
villager. For a traditional community, as we in Fiji understand well, the
loss/destruction of one’s land results in the loss of identity.
Merauke was promoted as a major
destination of foreign investment and a source of jobs in impoverished Papua.
The Indonesian government predicted the population of the district could soar
from about 175,000 to 800,000 as a result of the project. In reality, very few
of the locals have been hired by the corporation and those that do find
employment work as casual labourers with no job security. The majority of the
workforce is migrant labourers. Complaints are few due to intimidation by the
Indonesian military. West Papua, after all was annexed by Indonesia in 1969.
The video “Our Land is Gone” can be viewed on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=RqYoRh1aApg
For the West Papuans of
Merauke, the land is gone. Their source of life has been strangled in the name
of development. The cry for self determination
by West Papuans is not just a political issue; it is an environmental issue, a
human rights issue, an issue of identity, and of life and death.
Today, October 16, is World Food Day. This
year’s theme is “Sustainable Food Systems for Food Security and Nutrition”.
Food and Agriculture Organisation of the
United Nations (FAO) states that almost 870 million people worldwide are
chronically undernourished.
Recently one of my friends notice the
dwindling size of tuna being landed. He commented, “We won’t be satisfied until
it's all gone.....sad”.
“Unsustainable models of development are degrading the natural environment, threatening ecosystems and biodiversity that will be needed for our future food supply, “ said an FAO statement.
Yesterday, October 15th was
International Rural Women’s Day.
According to FemLINKPACIFIC
report, rural women
need information and services which can enable them to define and deliver food
security programmes from their homes and beyond the local market stalls:
“For Bulu Ratu, who has ventured into poultry farming, supporting women in agriculture means being able to help her also access markets and secure the sales she needs. This has meant she has to venture out into the Western Division to overcome the growing local competition in Nausori.”
“For Filomena Koroi, from Dilkusha, who manages a school canteen, food security goes beyond providing for the family, it is also about changing the mind set of people on what they eat and ensuring the supply of affordable nutritious meals to children.”
“The President of the Nausori Women market Vendors Association, Salote Delasau who travels two hours a day by horse to reach her plantation, women must be part of climate change adaptation programmes to ensure food security in the future. “
“For Bulu Ratu, who has ventured into poultry farming, supporting women in agriculture means being able to help her also access markets and secure the sales she needs. This has meant she has to venture out into the Western Division to overcome the growing local competition in Nausori.”
“For Filomena Koroi, from Dilkusha, who manages a school canteen, food security goes beyond providing for the family, it is also about changing the mind set of people on what they eat and ensuring the supply of affordable nutritious meals to children.”
“The President of the Nausori Women market Vendors Association, Salote Delasau who travels two hours a day by horse to reach her plantation, women must be part of climate change adaptation programmes to ensure food security in the future. “
According to the FAO, “a food system is made up of the environment, people, institutions and processes by which agricultural products are produced, processed and brought to consumers. Every aspect of the food system has an effect on the final availability and accessibility of diverse, nutritious foods – and therefore on consumers’ ability to choose healthy diets. What is more, policies and interventions on food systems are rarely designed with nutrition as their primary objective. Addressing malnutrition requires integrated action and complementary interventions in agriculture and the food system, in natural resource management, in public health and education, and in broader policy domains. “
Food Security is indeed more than just putting food on the
table.
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