Urgent action is needed to halt the takeover of indigenous peoples’ lands for megaprojects in forested provinces like Kalimantan and Papua in Indonesia. The destruction of forests and rivers is undermining local indigenous livelihoods, and destroying ancestral lands. Between 40 and 70 million people in rural Indonesia depend on access to lands and resources, including water for drinking and sanitation, protected by customary laws.

Forest Peoples Programme continues to fight alongside local organisations for the rights of indigenous peoples to be upheld and calls on re-consideration of the projects by the Government of Indonesia, and has made the following submission to the ‘Asia-Pacific Regional consultation on the impact of mega-project on the human rights to water and sanitation’

We join with other UK civil society organisations in calling on the UK government to ensure that the UK’s own overseas development priorities and spending support and protect human rights defenders acros