The MIFEE Project: Energy and Food Security Ambitions Amid Ecological and Social ThreatsGrand Ambitions and Troubling Ironies

In the global effort to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, the Indonesian government has launched one of its most ambitious strategic projects the Merauke Integrated Food and Energy Estate (MIFEE). This initiative aims to strengthen energy security through bioethanol production from sugarcane and ensure national food security via crops like rice, with plans to clear 2–3 million hectares of land in Merauke, Papua. A key rationale is to reduce Indonesia’s dependence on imported energy and food, particularly amid global geopolitical tensions such as wars, embargoes, or disruptions to international supply chains.

However, behind these grand ambitions lies a troubling irony. The project is planned in an area not only considered a potential food basket but also one of the last remaining strongholds of Asia Pacific’s tropical rainforests rich in carbon and biodiversity. It is also home to Indigenous communities like the Malind people, whose cultural identity and way of life are deeply tied to the forest. In pursuit of so-called “clean” energy, clearing primary forests for bioenergy risks grave consequences for ecosystems and Indigenous rights.

Strategic Potential and Positive Aspects of the MIFEE Project

Despite widespread criticism regarding its ecological and social impacts, the MIFEE Project is rooted in several strategic objectives. Beyond the controversies, it reflects an ambition to enhance national energy and food security, reduce import dependence, and develop a new bioenergy-based industrial sector. Acknowledging its potential, it is important to identify constructive pathways for improving project design and implementation, offering lessons for future policy.

1. National Energy and Food Security

   MIFEE aims to reduce import dependency by producing large-scale bioethanol from sugarcane and rice, reinforcing self-sufficiency amid global crises.

2. Energy Diversification

   Bioethanol from MIFEE has the potential to substitute fossil fuels, reduce fuel imports, and grow the renewable energy market.

3. Industrial Growth and Job Creation

   The project could stimulate investment, generate employment, and engage local communities as productive partners.

4. National Development Evaluation

   MIFEE serves as an opportunity to critically assess the energy transition for greater inclusivity and evidence-based governance.

Bioenergy and Its Environmental Risks

Theoretically, bioethanol from crops like sugarcane is a renewable energy source that can reduce carbon emissions. However, when its raw materials come from clearing natural forests, its climate benefits become counterproductive. In MIFEE’s case, land conversion in Merauke is projected to release vast amounts of carbon emissions, undermining Indonesia’s Net Zero Emission goal by 2060. While government estimates cite around 315 million tons of CO₂ equivalent, a more robust and credible figure comes from the Center of Economic and Law Studies (CELIOS), which projects that clearing up to 2 million hectares may release as much as 782.45 million tons of CO₂. This poses a serious climate risk, potentially setting Indonesia’s carbon neutrality efforts back by a decade.

It is crucial to base such claims on trusted sources such as CELIOS reports, studies from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK), Bappenas, or international bodies like the IPCC or WRI. Without strong data, arguments about the project’s climate impact risk being dismissed in both public and policy debates.

Papua’s forests store massive amounts of carbon, particularly in biomass and peat soils. When these forests are cut and burned, centuries of stored carbon are released into the atmosphere, creating a “carbon debt.” The climate benefits of bioethanol would only materialize after decades or even centuries a luxury we do not have amid today’s climate crisis.

Beyond carbon, this region is home to endemic species such as tree kangaroos, birds of paradise, and cassowaries. Replacing these rich tropical forests with sugarcane monocultures means losing far more complex ecosystems and the natural services they provide, such as carbon sequestration, water protection, and soil stability.

Social Tragedy Behind Large-Scale Development

In Papua, the forest is more than a natural resource it is a space of life and cultural identity. For the Malind people and other Indigenous communities, forests provide food, medicine, spiritual connection, and social continuity. MIFEE has systematically disrupted these foundations.

Land acquisitions are often carried out without transparency or adherence to the principle of FPIC (Free, Prior, and Informed Consent). Many communities do not fully understand the contracts they are signing, or are pressured into agreement without fair review. As a result, they lose customary land, access to traditional food sources, and are pushed into new systems of dependency as low-wage plantation laborers.

This is more than physical displacement; it is the erosion of autonomy, identity, and inherited rights. Social conflicts have begun to emerge both within communities and between residents and companies signaling that development which ignores social dimensions only plants the seeds for long-term crises.

Questioning Energy and Food Security Claims

One of MIFEE’s key justifications is to enhance national energy and food security. However, both ecologically and socially, this rationale is weak. Sugarcane and rice as primary commodities require large amounts of water, fertilizer, and irrigation infrastructure demands that are incompatible with Merauke’s savanna-dominated landscape and poor drainage. Local ecosystems are under strain as intensive agriculture is forced onto land naturally unfit for it.

Meanwhile, the global “food vs fuel” debate is increasingly relevant; using fertile land for large-scale bioenergy production is unwise, especially amid climate and hunger crises. Furthermore, bioethanol’s energy benefits will only be felt decades later, due to the high carbon debt.

Economically, the project’s sustainability is also in question. Dependence on subsidies, high logistical costs in Papua, and a mismatch between initial promises and on-ground realities raise concerns that MIFEE could become a fiscal and ecological burden. After exploring the project's goals, potential, and risks, it is essential to go beyond criticism. As consultants, we must offer constructive perspectives on how to make the energy and food transition more just and sustainable especially by protecting the environment and fulfilling Indigenous rights.

Recommendations for the MIFEE Project

Given the ecological, social, and economic impacts of MIFEE, a more equitable and cautious approach is necessary. The project should not be judged by its ambition alone, but also by its environmental sustainability, respect for Indigenous rights, and fiscal responsibility. The following recommendations aim to steer it toward a more sustainable path:

• Redirect the project to degraded lands to avoid deforestation and high emissions.

• Conduct open environmental and social assessments with independent experts and spatial data.

• Uphold FPIC principles ensure Indigenous communities are involved and freely give their consent.

• Promote small-scale, community-based bioenergy for energy independence without harming ecosystems.

• Integrate agroecology and local wisdom avoid monocultures unsuited to Papua’s environment.

• Strengthen governance and transparency by creating independent oversight and ensuring fair contracts.

• Reassess the project's position in alignment with Net Zero Emissions targets and consider a moratorium if needed.

A Just and Sustainable Energy Transition

Indonesia does not have to choose between clean energy and forest protection, both can and must go hand in hand. True decarbonization is not just about switching energy sources, but about designing energy and food systems rooted in social justice, ecosystem protection, and local wisdom.

Instead of relying on mega-projects like MIFEE, the government could adopt more adaptive and sustainable approaches, such as:

• Promoting small-scale, community-based bioenergy, such as biogas from livestock or agricultural waste.

• Developing agriculture and energy on degraded lands millions of hectares exist in Indonesia without clearing forests.

• Ensuring active participation of Indigenous communities in project planning and implementation, following FPIC principles.

• Building decentralized agroecological and renewable energy systems tailored to local conditions and more resilient to climate and economic crises.

Reforestation is important, but it can never fully replace lost primary forests. Therefore, the best strategy is to prevent deforestation from the outset. This is not just about carbon it’s about intergenerational justice.

Conclusion: Toward a Transition That Leaves No One Behind

The story of MIFEE serves as a mirror reflecting the direction of our national development. It reminds us that the energy transition is not just about technological change, but a shift in values and paradigms. If managed fairly and sustainably, Indonesia can become a global leader in an energy transition that leaves no one human or nature behind.