Comparative Legal Analysis of Climate Justice, Indigenous Tenure, and Deforestation in South Papua's Food Estate Expansion

Abstract

The expansion of the food estate in South Papua has generated legal and environmental concerns because of its implications for climate justice, indigenous land tenure, and deforestation. This article examines whether the project is consistent with Indonesia’s commitments to environmental protection, indigenous rights, and sustainable development by employing local and global solidarity as the analytical framework. Using a normative juridical method, the research applies statutory, conceptual, and comparative approaches through library research. The study compares Indonesia with Brazil, the Philippines, and New Zealand by examining indigenous land recognition, participatory governance, FPIC, environmental safeguards, and climate governance. The findings reveal a significant gap between Indonesia’s constitutional commitments and policy implementation, reflected in executive-driven land conversion, weak indigenous participation, and inadequate FPIC implementation. In contrast, Brazil constitutionally protects indigenous territories as part of forest conservation, the Philippines strengthens indigenous rights through ancestral domain recognition and mandatory FPIC, while New Zealand promotes treaty-based partnerships and shared natural resource governance. These comparative experiences demonstrate that stronger legal recognition of indigenous tenure, meaningful participation, and ecological protection better balance food security with environmental sustainability. Indonesia should strengthen indigenous tenure, institutionalize participatory governance, and integrate local and global solidarity to achieve climate justice and sustainable development.