2) Villager shot down during military operation in Yuguru Village, Nduga
3) Two Papuan students arbitrarily detained at Jayapura Port, Papua Province
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Human Rights Monitor
1) New interactive mapping platform exposes accelerating environmental destruction in West Papua
Groundbreaking satellite data analysis and interactive mapping tools have revealed the unprecedented scale of deforestation and ecosystem destruction across West Papua, with the National Strategic Projects driving 24% of the forest loss in 2024. A comprehensive new study published by Nusantara Atlas has unveiled a detailed analysis of land clearing trends across West Papua, revealing alarming acceleration in environmental destruction driven by government mega-projects and corporate expansion. The research introduces powerful new data visualization tools that allow interactive monitoring of ecological changes across one of the world’s last intact tropical wilderness areas.
The research methodology combines multiple data sources, including satellite imagery analysis, land-use planning documents obtained through information requests, and ground-based verification, to create a comprehensive picture of environmental change across West Papua. The publication’s combination of scientific analysis and accessible data visualisation tools marks a new era in environmental monitoring, providing the evidence base necessary for urgent policy intervention to protect one of Earth’s most biodiverse regions.
The Nusantara Atlas publication represents a breakthrough in environmental transparency by opening public access to civil society organisations, researchers, and policymakers with sophisticated tools previously available only to government agencies and large corporations. The interactive mapping platform allows public access to environmental monitoring data, enabling real-time tracking of ecological destruction and corporate accountability.
New data platform transforms environmental monitoring
The publication introduces “Papua Watch,” an interactive story map that provides unprecedented access to satellite-based monitoring of land clearing activities across 13 key locations in West Papua. The platform combines high-resolution satellite imagery, land-use planning data, and comparative analysis tools to track the ongoing expansion of food estates, oil palm plantations, mining operations, and infrastructure development in the region.
The mapping application’s most significant innovation lies in its ability to provide comparative satellite imagery analysis, allowing users to observe environmental changes over time with precision previously unavailable to the public. Users can visualize the exact locations where deforestation occurred, identify which ecosystems were affected, and track the companies responsible for the destruction.
Key data visualisation features include:
- Time-series satellite imagery comparison showing before-and-after environmental changes
- Detailed mapping of forest loss by driver and geographic location
- Interactive overlay of protected areas, indigenous territories, and development projects
- Real-time tracking of road construction and infrastructure expansion
- Ecosystem-specific analysis distinguishing between primary forest, swamp forest, savanna, and grassland conversion
Alarming acceleration of environmental destruction
The research reveals that primary forest loss in West Papua rose 10% from 2023 to 2024, reaching 25,300 hectares, with preliminary 2025 data indicating the pace is accelerating further. Most significantly, the Merauke National Strategic Project (PSN) emerged as the top driver of deforestation in 2024, resulting in the loss of 5,936 hectares of primary forest. This figure equals 24% of all recorded forest destruction.
The satellite data shows that from January 2024 to June 2025, the Merauke PSN cleared 22,272 hectares of natural ecosystems, including primary forest (9,835 ha), Melaleuca swamp forest, natural savanna, and grassland. This represents only a fraction of the project’s ultimate target of converting up to 3 million hectares for rice fields and sugarcane plantations.
Interactive tools reveal corporate networks behind destruction
The mapping platform’s corporate tracking capabilities expose the key players driving environmental destruction in West Papua. The analysis identifies the Jhonlin, Fangiono, and Salim groups as the three primary actors. The interactive data allows users to trace specific concessions to their corporate owners and track their clearing activities over time.
Major findings through the mapping analysis revealed that PT Global Papua Abadi (linked to the Fangiono family) cleared 11,751 hectares between January 2024 and June 2025. Land clearings associated with the oil palm expansion in the first half of 2025 are already equal to those of all of 2024, indicating an accelerating pressure on land and resources. According to the satellite imagery analysis on the infrastructure development, 40 km of a planned 135 km access road have been completed, opening new areas for exploitation that have previously been inaccessible.
Mining threats exposed through island-specific analysis
The research platform also provides a detailed analysis of mining impacts on West Papua’s ecologically sensitive small islands, particularly in Raja Ampat. The mapping reveals that PT Gag Nikel cleared 35 hectares between January 2024 and June 2025, while PT Kawei Sejahtera Mining cleared an additional 35 hectares on Kawe Island.
The platform’s ecosystem-specific analysis demonstrates why island mining poses exceptional risks. Smaller islands are home to globally significant biodiversity, which cannot regenerate once damaged by industrial operations due to their geographical limitation and their exposure to various forms of erosion.
Infrastructure development catalyses environmental destruction
The mapping shows that completion of planned infrastructure will inevitably increase accessibility to protected areas, including Danau Bian and Bupul Nature Reserves, facilitate speculative land clearing as road access increases land values, and enable expansion of transmigration sites with associated population pressure.
The platform’s road network analysis reveals the strategic nature of current development. The new PSN road, when completed, will connect to the existing Trans-Papua Highway and MIFEE road networks, creating a continuous corridor across southern Papua’s wilderness. The mapping illustrates that this corridor ends less than 1 km from the Danau Bian Nature Reserve, putting this protected ecosystem at immediate risk.
The comparative satellite imagery supports the observation that road construction acts as a catalyst for broader environmental destruction, with clearing expanding along transport corridors and facilitating industrial access to previously protected areas.
Scientific validation of environmental concerns
The research validates concerns about the environmental suitability of current projects through detailed ecosystem analysis. The mapping reveals that much of the targeted area consists of acidic peat soils and seasonally flooded wetlands, conditions that have caused similar food estate projects to fail elsewhere in Indonesia.
The platform’s soil and climate data integration shows that Merauke’s tropical wet-dry savanna climate, combined with naturally occurring annual wildfires and highly acidic soils, creates conditions “far from ideal for rice cultivation.” The research notes that while the Indonesian government claims a successful first rice harvest on a 4-hectare plot in May 2025, initial yields often succeed due to residual soil nutrients before productivity typically declines as tropical soils become increasingly acidic and nutrient-poor.
International implications and conservation priorities
The research platform positions West Papua’s environmental crisis within global conservation priorities, noting that the region represents one of the world’s last intact tropical wilderness areas. The mapping demonstrates that without urgent intervention, such as Indigenous land rights recognition, science-based land use planning, and a permanent halt to the Merauke Strategic National Project, West Papua is at high risk of losing irreplaceable ecosystems.
Interestingly, the study warns that continued destruction could jeopardize Indonesia’s 2030 net-zero emissions target, as the clearing of carbon-rich peat forests and wetlands releases significant greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Urgent call for policy response
The research concludes with specific policy recommendations based on the mapping analysis. Recommendations include implementing a moratorium on forest conversion to oil palm, banning mining on small islands, recognizing Indigenous land rights, and adopting science-based land use planning. The interactive platform provides policymakers with the precise geographic and temporal data needed to implement targeted conservation measures.
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Human Rights Monitor
2) Villager shot down during military operation in Yuguru Village, Nduga
On 9 July 2024, Indonesian military personnel reportedly opened fire at indigenous Papuan, Mr Eran Gwijangge, in Yuguru Village, Mebarok District, Nduga Regency, Papua Pegunungan Province. The shooting occurred during an ongoing military operation in the area. Mr Gwijangge sustained a gunshot wound to the right foot, resulting in an open fracture of the ankle (see photo on top, source: independent: HRD). He was later transported by his relatives to Wamena Regional General Hospital for medical treatment.
The Yuguru Village has been subjected to heightened military activity in recent months due to past activities of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) in the area. During the incident, no armed confrontation or resistance by the victim was reported. Eyewitnesses stated that Mr Eran Gwijangge was unarmed at the time he was shot.
Human rights analysis
The incident raises serious concerns under international human rights law, particularly regarding the right to life (Article 6 ICCPR) and the prohibition of arbitrary use of force by state agents. The use of firearms by military personnel against unarmed civilians without an immediate threat to life or serious injury constitutes a violation of the principles of necessity and proportionality under the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials. Indonesian authorities should immediately conduct an independent, impartial, and transparent investigation under civilian oversight into the incident. The protections for non-combatants must be reinforced in line with Indonesia’s international humanitarian law obligations.
Detailed Case Data
Location: Yuguru Village (Exact location available at https://mapcarta.com/de/W506007682)
Region: Indonesia, Highland Papua, Nduga, Mebarok
Total number of victims: 1
Location: Yuguru Village (Exact location available at https://mapcarta.com/de/W506007682)
Region: Indonesia, Highland Papua, Nduga, Mebarok
Total number of victims: 1
| # | Number of Victims | Name, Details | Gender | Age | Group Affiliation | Violations |
| 1. | 1 | Eran Gwijangge | male | 19 | Indigenous Peoples |
Perpetrator: , Indonesian Military (TNI)
Issues: indigenous peoples, security force violence
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Human Rights Monitor
3) Two Papuan students arbitrarily detained at Jayapura Port, Papua Province
On 17 July 2025, two Papuan students, Mr Oknis Faluk and Mr Higit Pahabol, were arbitrarily arrested by plain clothes police officers upon disembarking at Jayapura Port, Papua Province. The arrest took place without prior explanation or a warrant. Both students were searched and interrogated at the port security post regarding their alleged association with a third individual arrested on the same boat for allegedly carrying ammunition. Despite no evidence connecting the students to the suspect, they were forcibly taken to the Papua Regional Police Headquarters and held in the Criminal Investigation Division. They were released on 18 July 2025 with instructions to report to police authorities periodically.
On 16 July 2025, Mr Oknis Faluk and Mr Higit Pahabol boarded a ship from Biak bound for Jayapura. Upon their arrival at Jayapura Port on the morning of 17 July 2025, at approximately 10:00 am, the students were apprehended by approximately ten individuals dressed in civilian clothing, reportedly affiliated with the Papua Provincial Police. Mr Faluk and Mr Pahabol were immediately separated and brought to the port security post, where they were subjected to physical searches and interrogated about their alleged relationship with the suspect, who was simultaneously arrested on suspicion of carrying ammunition.
Mr Faluk and Mr Pahabol explained that they had only exchanged greetings with the suspect during the boat trip and were not otherwise acquainted with him. Despite the absence of any evidence linking them to the ammunition or the suspect, the two students were transferred around 1:00 pm to the Papua Police Headquarters, where further interrogations took place. On 18 July 2025, at 1:36 PM local time, both students were released after a legal representative from the police reviewed the case and confirmed that there was no basis for prosecution. Nonetheless, they were instructed to report regularly to the Papua Police Headquarters.
The incident is emblematic of the broader trend of stigmatisation of indigenous Papuans that requires urgent attention from national oversight bodies and international human rights mechanisms.
Human rights analysis
The arbitrary arrest and short-term detention of Mr Oknis Faluk and Mr Higit Pahabol constitute a violation of their rights to liberty and security of person, enshrined in Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Indonesia is a State party. The arrest was conducted without a warrant, probable cause, or immediate legal justification, failing the standards of lawful arrest. The conditions of their detention and the lack of transparency surrounding their arrest raise serious concerns about racial profiling, the criminalisation of Papuan youth, and collective suspicion targeting indigenous Papuans under the pretext of security operations.
Detailed Case Data
Location: Jl. Dr. Sam Ratulangi No.8, Bayangkara, Kec. Jayapura Utara, Kota Jayapura, Papua 99113, Indonesia (-2.536765, 140.7064009) Papua Regional Police (Polda Papua) Headquarters
Region: Indonesia, Papua, Jayapura
Total number of victims: 2
Location: Jl. Dr. Sam Ratulangi No.8, Bayangkara, Kec. Jayapura Utara, Kota Jayapura, Papua 99113, Indonesia (-2.536765, 140.7064009) Papua Regional Police (Polda Papua) Headquarters
Region: Indonesia, Papua, Jayapura
Total number of victims: 2
| # | Number of Victims | Name, Details | Gender | Age | Group Affiliation | Violations |
| 1. | 1 | Oknis Faluk | male | 0 | Indigenous Peoples, Student | |
| 2. | 1 | Higit Pahabol | male | 0 | Indigenous Peoples, Student |
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