Selling Out Paradise
Another neighbouring tribe signed a deal to sell the land, without having the rights to do so. Today, it belongs to Posco International and is covered in palm oil plantations - which is used to make chocolate, toothpaste and other common supermarket products. Linus’s tribe set up roadblocks and protests outside Posco International’s plantation but the company refuses to acknowledge that it was an act of land grabbing. Many Indigenous communities live among the plantations but few profit from the land. It is a story that plays out in equatorial nations across the Global South. During our investigation, we obtained an original copy of a redacted report into Korindo by the Forest Sustainability Council, the main certification body that scrutinises timber supply chains. Their report found that West Papuan tribes lost $300 million in timber deals with Korindo. Many of these deals are mired in fraud and acts of land grabbing.
Our 101 East documentary “Selling Out West Papua” and accompanying interactive “The $5 Forests” have been recognised with the Wincott Foundation’s Video Journalism of the Year award, a Venice TV Award, Overseas Press Club Award of America citation and was highly commended at the AIB awards. It was also nominated for an Amnesty Media Award and One World Media Award. Our exhaustive investigation exposes the controversial dealings of resource companies in a region of the world usually shut off from outside scrutiny. It brought international attention to a little- known issue, highlighting a critical environmental matter and raising awareness about the rights of Indigenous people. The documentary and interactive that accompanies it shine a light on the plight of tribes often forgotten in the rush to transform pristine forests into lucrative palm oil plantations whose products are then sold around the world.
Exposing the corporate misconduct behind environmental destruction in Indonesia is an incredibly dangerous endeavour. Local journalists and activists have been killed, assaulted, harassed and jailed by myriad stakeholders who stand to profit from deforestation. Despite the risks, our team of mostly Indonesian reporters trekked for hours, camped in villages and navigated roads in one of the most militarised corners of Asia. The risks were exceptionally high. All of our questions for the tribespeople and the logistics were written in code in case company officials or soldiers detained our reporting teams.
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