Arbitrary arrests, deaths and injuries are the flip side of the palm oil boom as a pillar of the Indonesian economic growth.

For about 20 years the production of palm oil has been rising massively and ever faster.

With the intention of strengthening the national economy through oil palm cultivation, the Indonesian government began to increase its allocation of agricultural concessions. Palm oil companies are lobbying to get more land from villages, promising the inhabitants wealth and employment. But instead of the hoped-for wealth, many villages have experienced the loss of their livelihood by illegal clearing of the shared forest.

Principles of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) were not observed by the companies and in many cases contracts between communities and oil palm companies were broken by the company (see Volle Tanks – leere Teller, p. 150). Land grabbing, that is, the illegitimate expropriation of land, is common practice among large companies in Indonesia. In 2013 Sawit Watch, an Indonesian non-governmental organisation working on human and land rights, documented land use conflicts with 663 owners of oil palm plantations. Other organisations provide figures on a similar scale. Especially on Borneo and Sumatra many conflicts were registered. But particularly in less developed Papua it is expected that there are a high number of unreported cases. Human rights organisations have reported displacement of the local population. This not only leads to mounting financial difficulties of the displaced persons, but also to social conflicts in the areas where they seek refuge.