30-by-30: An Act of Green Colonialism in International Agreements Towards Indigenous Peoples in Indonesia
Athaya Tasya Ario Putri, Randy Wirasta Nandyatama, SIP, M.Sc., Ph.D
2025 | Skripsi | Ilmu Hubungan Internasional
This research critically examines the postcolonial dimensions of Indonesia’s engagement with the 30-by-30 global conservation target, as outlined in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) — and how the framework emanates Green Colonialism towards Indigenous groups living within the country. Through desk-based research, it chronologically analyzes the developments of Indonesia’s Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (IBSAP) 2025-2045 as a derivative of the 30- by-30 framework, focusing on how Indigenous knowledge systems and customary lands are represented in national environmental planning. Drawing on the use of Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak’s Can the Subaltern Speak? — this study disseminates the structural silencing of Indigenous voices within global biodiversity regimes and national conservation frameworks. Case studies of Indigenous resistance from across Indonesia — such as in Papua (Awyu peoples), Timor (Mollo peoples), Meratus (Meratus peoples), Borneo (Dayak Punan Tugung peoples), and Sumatra (Simardangiang peoples) — are explored to highlight ongoing struggles for territorial recognition and ecological self-determination, displaying the modern Imperialist conservation model in action. The findings reveal a persistent tension between top-down conservation targets set by international agreements and the real-life experiences of Indigenous communities, notably through; modern representation models, seemingly implicit practices of epistemic violence, and consequentially, the sidelining of indigenous sovereignty — whose ways of knowing are often erased and replaced. The paper argues for a decolonization of academia approach to biodiversity policymaking that prioritizes Indigenous sovereignty as a subaltern, plural legal systems, and lived experiences of those most affected by future conservation schemes.
This research critically examines the postcolonial dimensions of Indonesia’s engagement with the 30-by-30 global conservation target, as outlined in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) — and how the framework emanates Green Colonialism towards Indigenous groups living within the country. Through desk-based research, it chronologically analyzes the developments of Indonesia’s Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (IBSAP) 2025-2045 as a derivative of the 30- by-30 framework, focusing on how Indigenous knowledge systems and customary lands are represented in national environmental planning. Drawing on the use of Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak’s Can the Subaltern Speak? — this study disseminates the structural silencing of Indigenous voices within global biodiversity regimes and national conservation frameworks. Case studies of Indigenous resistance from across Indonesia — such as in Papua (Awyu peoples), Timor (Mollo peoples), Meratus (Meratus peoples), Borneo (Dayak Punan Tugung peoples), and Sumatra (Simardangiang peoples) — are explored to highlight ongoing struggles for territorial recognition and ecological self-determination, displaying the modern Imperialist conservation model in action. The findings reveal a persistent tension between top-down conservation targets set by international agreements and the real-life experiences of Indigenous communities, notably through; modern representation models, seemingly implicit practices of epistemic violence, and consequentially, the sidelining of indigenous sovereignty — whose ways of knowing are often erased and replaced. The paper argues for a decolonization of academia approach to biodiversity policymaking that prioritizes Indigenous sovereignty as a subaltern, plural legal systems, and lived experiences of those most affected by future conservation schemes.
Kata Kunci : the 30-by-30 framework, green colonialism, indigenous sovereignty, traditional indigenous knowledge, Indonesia, subaltern, epistemic violence
