World's largest deforestation project fells forests for bioethanol fuel, sugar and rice in Indonesia
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia plans to clear forests about the size of Belgium to produce sugarcane-derived bioethanol, rice and other food crops, potentially displacing Indigenous groups who rely on the land to survive.
Local communities say they're already experiencing harm from the government-backed project, which environmental watchdogs say is the largest current planned deforestation operation in the world.
A vast tropical archipelago stretching across the equator, Indonesia is home to the world's third-largest rainforest, home to many endangered species of wildlife and plants, including orangutans, elephants and giant forest flowers. Some live nowhere else.
Indonesia has been building food estates, massive plantations designed to improve the country's food security for decades, with varying level of success. The concept was revived by former President Joko Widodo during his 2014- 2024 administration.
The current president, Prabowo Subianto, has expanded such projects to include crops to produce bioethanol, a renewable fuel made from plants like sugar cane or corn, in pursuit of Indonesia's ambition to improve its energy mix and develop more renewable sources.
'I am confident that within four to five years at the latest, we will achieve food self-sufficiency,' Prabowo said in October 2024. 'We must be self-sufficient in energy and we have the capacity to achieve this."
Biofuels, such as bioethanol, play an important role in decarbonizing transport by providing a low-carbon solution for sectors that heavily rely on fossil fuels such as trucking, shipping and aviation, according to the International Energy Agency. But the agency also cautions expansion of biofuel should have minimal impact on land-use, food and other environmental factors in order to be developed sustainably.
That's of particular concern in Indonesia, where more than 74 million hectares (285,715 square miles) of Indonesian rainforest — an area twice the size of Germany — have been logged, burned or degraded for development of palm oil, paper and rubber plantations, nickel mining and other commodities since 1950, according to Global Forest Watch.
Indonesia has vast potential for bioethanol production due to its extensive agricultural land but currently lacks sustainable feedstocks, like sugarcane and cassava. A previous attempt to introduce bioethanol-blended fuel in 2007 was discontinued a few years later due to a lack of feedstock supply.
Since then, the government has accelerated work on its food and energy estate mega-project, which spans 4.3 million hectares (about 10.6 million acres) on the islands of Papua and Kalimantan. Experts say the combined size of the numerous project sites makes the mega-project the largest current deforestation project in the world.
The largest site, called the Merauke Integrated Food and Energy Estate, will cover more than 3 million hectares (7.4 million acres) in the far-eastern region of Papua, according to the international environmental organization Mighty Earth.
Overlapping with the Trans-Fly ecoregion, it's home to critically endangered and endemic mammals, birds and turtles and to several Indigenous groups who rely on traditional ways of living.
'Imagine every piece of vegetation in that area being completely cleared ... having all the trees and the wildlife erased from the landscape and replaced with a monoculture,' said Glenn Horowitz, CEO of Mighty Earth. 'It's creating a zone of death in one of the most vibrant spots on Earth.'
An unpublished government feasibility assessment obtained and reviewed by The Associated Press estimates that carbon dioxide emissions from clearing land for the project will total 315 million tons of C02 equivalent. An independent assessment by the Indonesia-based think tank Center of Economic and Law Studies estimated double that.
Deforestation contributes to erosion, damages biodiverse areas, threatens wildlife and humans who rely on the forest and intensifies disasters from extreme weather.
Hashim Djojohadikusumo, Subianto's brother and envoy for energy and the environment, said the government will reforest 6.5 million hectares (16 million acres) of degraded and deforested land.
'Thus, the food estate program continues while we mitigate the possible negative impacts with new programs, one of which is reforestation,' he said.
But experts warn that reforestation, while essential, cannot match the ecological benefits of old-growth ecosystems, which store vast amounts of carbon in their soils and biomass, regulate water cycles and support biodiversity.
Indonesia's Ministry of Agriculture, which oversees the food and energy estate project, did not respond to requests for comment from The AP. Merauke Sugar Group and Jhonlin Group, the two main Indonesian companies in charge of the project in Merauke, did not respond to requests for comment from The AP.
Local communities in Papua that rely on the area for hunting, fishing and other aspects of their cultural identity say their basic needs have been harmed by the projects.
Vincen Kwipalo, 63, a villager living in the area, said that land he and other villagers used for hunting was turned into sugarcane nurseries guarded by groups of men, preventing them from engaging in their usual ways of surviving.
'We know the forests of Papua are one of the biggest lungs of the world, yet we are destroying it,' Kwipalo said. 'Indonesia should be proud to protect Papua ... not destroy it.'
Environmental watch groups say the projects' development will impact generations of Indigenous groups for generations to come
'Where are they going to hunt, fish and live?' said Horowitz. 'For an Indigenous community that's relied on the rainforest to provide for centuries, are they supposed to live in a sugar plantation?'
___
The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Alert: Iran confirms 2 additional high-ranking generals were killed in Israeli strikes on the country
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran confirms 2 additional high-ranking generals were killed in Israeli strikes on the country.
Hamilton Spectator
an hour ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Iran retaliates after Israeli strikes target its nuclear program and military
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran launched retaliatory missile and drone strikes on Israel into Saturday morning, killing at least three people and wounding dozens, after a series of blistering Israeli attacks on the heart of Iran's nuclear program and its armed forces. Israel's assault used warplanes — as well as drones smuggled into the country in advance, according to officials — to assault key facilities and kill top generals and scientists. Iran's U.N. ambassador said 78 people were killed and more than 320 wounded in the attacks. Israel asserted the barrage was necessary before Iran got any closer to building a nuclear weapon, although experts and the U.S. government have assessed that Tehran was not actively working on such a weapon before the strikes. Iran retaliated by launching waves of drones and ballistic missiles at Israel, where explosions lit the night skies over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and shook the buildings below. The Israeli military urged civilians, already rattled by 20 months of war sparked by Hamas' Oct. 7 attack, to head to shelter for hours. Strikes could derail nuclear talks Israel's strikes also put further talks between the United States and Iran over a nuclear accord into doubt before they were set to meet Sunday in Oman. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman called further nuclear talks with the United States 'meaningless' after Israeli strikes on the country, state television said. 'The U.S. did a job that made the talks become meaningless,' Esmail Baghaei was quoted as saying. He added that Israel had passed all Iran's red lines by committing a 'criminal act' through its strikes. However, he stopped short of saying the talks were cancelled. The Mizan news agency, which is run by Iran's judiciary, quoted him as saying: 'It is still not clear what we decide about Sunday's talks.' Iranian missiles strike Israel Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a recorded message Friday: 'We will not allow them to escape safely from this great crime they committed.' Iran launched waves of missiles at Israel late Friday and early Saturday. Iranians awoke Saturday to state television airing repeated clips of strikes on Israel, as well as videos of people cheering and handing out sweets. Israel's military said more drones were intercepted near the Dead Sea early Saturday. A hospital in Tel Aviv treated seven people wounded in the second Iranian barrage; all but one of them had light injuries. Israel's Fire and Rescue Services said they were wounded when a projectile hit a building in the city. A spokesperson for Beilinson Hospital said one woman was killed. Hours later, an Iranian missile struck near homes in the central Israeli city of Rishon Lezion, killing two more people and wounding 19, according to Israel's paramedic service Magen David Adom. Israel's Fire and Rescue service said four homes were severely damaged. Meanwhile, the sound of explosions and Iranian air defense systems firing at targets echoed across central Tehran shortly after midnight on Saturday. An Associated Press journalist could hear air raid sirens near their home. Iran's semiofficial Tasnim news agency reported a fire at Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport. A video posted on X showed a column of smoke and flames rising from what the outlet said was the airport. The Israeli military said it carried out overnight strikes on dozens of targets, including air defenses, 'in the area of Tehran.' Israel's paramedic services said 34 people were wounded in the barrage on the Tel Aviv area, including a woman who was critically injured after being trapped under rubble. In Ramat Gan, east of Tel Aviv, an AP journalist saw burned-out cars and at least three damaged houses, including one where the front was nearly entirely torn away. U.S. ground-based air defense systems in the region were helping to shoot down Iranian missiles, said a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the measures. Strikes raise fears of all-out war Israel's ongoing airstrikes and Iran's retaliation raised concerns about all-out war between the countries and propelled the region, already on edge , into even greater upheaval. Countries in the region condemned Israel's attack, while leaders around the globe called for immediate deescalation from both sides. Israel had long threatened such a strike, and successive American administrations sought to prevent it, fearing it would ignite a wider conflict across the Middle East and possibly be ineffective at destroying Iran's dispersed and hardened nuclear program. But a confluence of developments triggered by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack — plus the reelection of U.S. President Donald Trump — created the conditions that allowed Israel to finally follow through on its threats. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the U.S. was informed in advance of the attack. On Thursday, Iran was censured by the U.N.'s atomic watchdog for not complying with obligations meant to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon. The crossfire between Israel and Iran disrupted East-West travel through the Mideast, a key global aviation route, but Jordan's state-run Petra news agent said the country would reopen its airspace to civilian aircraft at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, signaling it believes there is no immediate danger. Above-ground section of Natanz facility destroyed Among the key sites Israel attacked was Iran's main nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz, where black smoke could be seen rising into the air. It also appeared to strike a second, smaller nuclear enrichment facility in Fordo, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Tehran, according to an Iranian news outlet close to the government that reported hearing explosions nearby. Israel said it also struck a nuclear research facility in Isfahan, and said it destroyed dozens of radar installations and surface-to-air missile launchers in western Iran. Iran confirmed the strike at Isfahan. U.N. nuclear chief Rafael Grossi told the Security Council that the above-ground section of the Natanz facility was destroyed. The main centrifuge facility underground did not appear to have been hit, but the loss of power could have damaged the infrastructure there, he said. Netanyahu said the attack had been months in the making and was planned for April before being postponed. Israel's Mossad spy agency positioned explosive drones and precision weapons inside Iran ahead of time, and used them to target Iranian air defenses and missile launchers near Tehran, according to two security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. It was not possible to independently corroborate those claims. Over the past year, Israel has been targeting Iran's air defenses, hitting a radar system for a Russian-made air defense battery in April 2024 and surface-to-air missile sites and missile manufacturing facilities in October. The first wave of strikes gave Israel 'significant freedom of movement' in Iran's skies, clearing the way for further attacks, according to an Israeli military official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss details of the attack with the media. The official said Israel is prepared for an operation that could last up to two weeks, but that there was no firm timeline. Among those killed were three of Iran's top military leaders: one who oversaw the entire armed forces, Gen. Mohammad Bagheri; one who led the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard , Gen. Hossein Salami; and the head of the Guard's ballistic missile program, Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh. Trump urged Iran on Friday to reach a deal with the U.S. on its nuclear program, warning on his Truth Social platform that Israel's attacks 'will only get worse.' 'Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left,' he wrote. ___ Lidman and Frankel reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press reporter Natalie Melzer contributed from Nahariya, Israel and Nasser Karimi from Tehran. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
2 hours ago
A Border Patrol agent died in 2009. His widow is still fighting a backlogged US program for benefits
When her husband died after a grueling U.S. Border Patrol training program for new agents, Lisa Afolayan applied for the federal benefits promised to families of first responders whose lives are cut short in the line of duty. Sixteen years later, Afolayan and her two daughters haven't seen a penny, and program officials are defending their decisions to deny them compensation. She calls it a nightmare that too many grieving families experience. 'It just makes me so mad that we are having to fight this so hard,' said Afolayan, whose husband, Nate, had been hired to guard the U.S. border with Mexico in southern California. 'It takes a toll emotionally, and I don't think they care. To them, it's just a business. They're just pushing paper.' Afolayan's case is part of a backlog of claims plaguing the fast-growing Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program. Hundreds of families of deceased and disabled officers are waiting years to learn whether they qualify for the life-changing payments, and more are ultimately being denied, an Associated Press analysis of program data found. The program is falling far short of its goal of deciding claims within one year. Nearly 900 have been pending for longer than that, triple the number from five years earlier, in a backlog that includes cases from nearly every state, according to AP's review, which was based on program data through late April. More than 120 of those claims have been in limbo for at least five years, and roughly a dozen have languished for a decade. 'That is just outrageous that the person has to wait that long,' said Charlie Lauer, the program's general counsel in the 1980s. 'Those poor families.' Justice Department officials, who oversee the program, acknowledge the backlog. They say they're managing a surge in claims — which have more than doubled in the last five years — while making complicated decisions about whether cases meet legal criteria. In a statement, they said 'claims involving complex medical and causation issues, voluminous evidence and conflicting medical opinions take longer to determine, as do claims in various stages of appeal.' It acknowledged a few cases "continue through the process over ten years.' Program officials wouldn't comment on Afolayan's case. Federal lawyers are asking an appeals court for a second time to uphold their denials, which blame Nate's heat- and exertion-related death on a genetic condition shared by millions of mostly Black U.S. citizens. Supporters say Lisa Afolayan's resilience in pursuing the claim has been remarkable, and grown in significance as training-related deaths like Nate's have risen. 'Your death must fit in their box, or your family's not going to be taken care of,' said Afolayan, of suburban Dallas. Their daughter, Natalee, was 3 when her father died. She recently completed her first year at the University of Texas, without the help of the higher education benefits the program provides. Congress created the Public Safety Officers' Benefits program in 1976, providing a one-time $50,000 payout as a guarantee for those whose loved ones die in the line of duty. The benefit was later set to adjust with inflation; today it pays $448,575. The program has awarded more than $2.4 billion. Early on, claims were often adjudicated within weeks. But the complexity increased in 1990, when Congress extended the program to some disabled officers. A 1998 law added educational benefits for spouses and children. Since 2020, Congress has passed three laws expanding eligibility — to officers who died after contracting COVID-19, first responders who died or were disabled in rescue and cleanup operations from the September 2001 attacks, and some who die by suicide. Today, the program sees 1,200 claims annually, up from 500 in 2019. The wait time for decisions and rate of denials have risen alongside the caseload. Roughly one of every three death and disability claims were rejected over the last year. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and other Republicans recently introduced legislation to require the program to make determinations within 270 days, expressing outrage over the case of an officer disabled in a mass shooting who's waited years for a ruling. Similar legislation died last year. One group representing families, Concerns of Police Survivors, has expressed no such concerns about the program's management. The Missouri-based nonprofit recently received a $6 million grant to continue its longstanding partnership with the Justice Department to serve deceased officers' relatives — including providing counseling, hosting memorial events and assisting with claims. 'We are very appreciative of the PSOB and their work with survivor benefits,' spokesperson Sara Slone said. 'Not all line-of-duty deaths are the same and therefore processing times will differ.' Born in Nigeria, Nate Afolayan moved to California with relatives at age 11. He became a U.S. citizen and graduated from California State University a decade later. Lisa met Nate while they worked together at a juvenile probation office. They talked, went out for lunch and felt sparks. 'The next thing you know, we were married with two kids,' she said. He decided to pursue a career in law enforcement once their second daughter was born. Lisa supported him, though she understood the danger. He spent a year working out while applying for jobs and was thrilled when the Border Patrol declared him medically fit; sent him to Artesia, New Mexico, for training; and swore him in. Nate loved his 10 weeks at the academy, Lisa said, despite needing medical treatment several times — he was shot with pepper spray in the face and became dizzy during a water-based drill. His classmates found him to be a natural leader in elite shape and chose him to speak at graduation, they recalled in interviews with investigators. He prepared a speech with the line, 'We are all warriors that stand up and fight for what's right, just and lawful." But on April 30, 2009 — days before the ceremony — a Border Patrol official called Lisa. Nate, 29, had fainted after his final training run and was hospitalized. It was dusty and 88 degrees in the high desert that afternoon. Agents had to complete the 1.5-mile run in 13 minutes, at an altitude of 3,400 feet. Nate had warned classmates it was too hot to wear their black academy shirts, but they voted to do so anyway, records show. Nate, 29, finished in just over 11 minutes but then struggled to breathe and collapsed. Now Nate was being airlifted to a Lubbock, Texas, hospital for advanced treatment. Lisa booked a last-minute flight, arriving the next day. A doctor told her Nate's organs had shut down and they couldn't save his life. The hospital needed permission to end life-saving efforts. One nurse delivered chest compressions; another held Lisa tightly as she yelled: 'That's it! I can't take it anymore!' Lisa became a single mother. The girls were 3 and 1. Her only comfort, she said, was knowing Nate died living his dream — serving his adopted country. When she first applied for benefits, Lisa included the death certificate that listed heat illness as the cause of Nate's death. The aid could help her family. She'd been studying to become a nurse but had to abandon that plan. She relied on Social Security survivors' benefits and workers' compensation while working at gyms as a trainer or receptionist and dabbling in real estate. The program had paid benefits for a handful of similar training deaths, dating to a Massachusetts officer who suffered heat stroke and dehydration in 1988. But program staff wanted another opinion on Nate's death. They turned to outside forensic pathologist Dr. Stephen Cina. Cina concluded the autopsy overlooked the 'most significant factor': Nate carried sickle cell trait, a condition that's usually benign but has been linked to rare exertion-related deaths in military, sports and law enforcement training. Cina opined that exercising in a hot climate at high altitude triggered a crisis in which Nate's red blood cells became misshapen, depriving his body of oxygen. Cina, who stopped consulting for the benefits program in 2020 after hundreds of case reviews, declined to comment. Nate learned he had the condition, carried by up to 3 million U.S. Black citizens, after a blood test following his second daughter's birth. The former high school basketball player had never experienced any problems. A Border Patrol spokesperson declined to say whether academy leaders knew of the condition, which experts say can be managed with precautions such as staying hydrated, avoiding workouts in extreme temperatures and altitudes, and taking rest breaks. Under the benefit program's rules, Afolayan's death would need to be 'the direct and proximate result' of an injury he suffered on duty to qualify. It couldn't be the result of ordinary physical strain. The program in 2012 rejected the claim, saying the hot, dry, high climate was one factor, but not the most important. It had been more than two years since Lisa Afolayan applied and three since Nate's death. Most rejected applicants don't exercise their option to appeal to an independent hearing officer, saying they can't afford attorneys or want to get on with their lives. But Lisa Afolayan appealed with help from a border patrol union. A one-day hearing was held in late 2012. The hearing officer denied her claim more than a year later, saying the 'perfect storm' of factors causing the death didn't include a qualifying injury. Lisa and her daughters moved from California to Texas. They visited the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, where they saw Nate's name. Four years passed without an update on the claim. Lisa learned the union had failed to exercise its final appeal, to the program director, due to an oversight. The union didn't respond to AP emails seeking comment. Then she met Suzie Sawyer, founder and retired executive director of Concerns of Police Survivors. Sawyer had recently helped win a long battle to obtain benefits in the death of another federal agent who'd collapsed during training. 'I said, 'Lisa, this could be the fight of your life, and it could take forever,'" Sawyer recalled. "'Are you willing to do it?' She goes, 'hell yes.'' The two persuaded the program to hear the appeal even though the deadline had passed. They introduced a list of similar claims that had been granted and new evidence: A Tennessee medical examiner concluded the hot, dry environment and altitude were key factors causing Nate's organ-system failure. But the program was unmoved. The acting Bureau of Justice Assistance director upheld the denial in 2020. Such rulings usually aren't public, but Lisa fumed as she learned through contacts about some whose deaths qualified, including a trooper who had an allergic reaction to a bee sting, an intoxicated FBI agent who crashed his car, and another officer with sickle cell trait who died after a training run on a hot day. In 2022, Lisa thought she might have finally prevailed when a federal appeals court ordered the program to take another look at her application. A three-judge panel said the program erred by failing to consider whether the heat, humidity and altitude during the run were 'the type of unusual or out-of-the-ordinary climatic conditions that would qualify.' The judges also said it may have been illegal to rely on sickle cell trait for the denial under a federal law prohibiting employers from discrimination on the basis of genetic information. It was great timing: The girls were in high school and could use the monthly benefit of $1,530 to help pay for college. The family's Social Security and workers' compensation benefits would end soon. But the program was in no hurry. Nearly two years passed without a ruling despite inquiries from Afolayan and her lawyer. The Bureau of Justice Assistance director upheld the denial in February 2024, ruling that the climate on that day 15 years earlier wasn't 'unusually adverse.' The decision concluded the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act didn't apply since the program wasn't Afolayan's employer. Arnold & Porter, a Washington law firm now representing Afolayan pro bono, has appealed to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Her attorney John Elwood said the program has gotten bogged down in minutiae while losing sight of the bigger picture: that an officer died during mandatory training. He said government lawyers are fighting him just as hard, 'if not harder,' than on any other case he's handled. Months after filing their briefs, oral arguments haven't been set.
