Academia
By prioritizing military expansion and resource extraction over indigenous land rights, Indonesia’s strategic development in Papua risks sacrificing constitutional protections and human safety for state control.
Demonstrators hold a banner reading “Papua is not vacant land” on Oct. 7, 2025, during a rally in front of the Agrarian and Spatial Planning Ministry office in South Jakarta against a plan to release forest areas in South Papua for national strategic projects (PSN) on food, energy and defense. (AFP/Yasuyoshi Chiba)
The government has designated the Wanam area of Merauke regency as an integrated satellite for National Strategic Projects (PSN). This zone merges national food reserve initiatives, via a large-scale food estate program, with palm oil and sugarcane-based agro-industrial bioenergy development.Parallel to these economic endeavors, the state is establishing strategic defense industries in the region, including ammunition manufacturing facilities. This cross-sectoral integration is supported by expansive logistical infrastructure, such as the Wanam integrated port, irrigation networks, airport access, and a 130-kilometer corridor road connecting production centers in Wanam with maritime distribution nodes in neighboring Boven Digoel.
