A CRITICAL REVIEW OF THE IMPACTS OF MALAYSIAN OIL PALM INTERESTS ON INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES IN EAST AND NORTH KALIMANTAN

Abstract

Resource peripheries are areas that are physically distant from national cores and difficult to access, often found along international borders. The provinces of East and North Kalimantan, situated within the Sulu Sulawesi Zone, share both land and maritime borders with Malaysia. Trade exchanges and commodities have been an important factor in the development of these provinces, which owe much of their recent economic development to land-use based sectors, particularly the agribusiness sector, fueled mainly by palm oil. This oil palm boom has made this region one of the largest economies in Indonesia, experiencing consistent growth over the recent decades. However, this has led to significant socio-economic and environmental challenges for the indigenous communities in East and North Kalimantan, raising concerns about sustainability and cultural preservation. This study aims to critically analyze the socio-economic and environmental effects of the palm oil boom and globalization on the indigenous communities of East and North Kalimantan. Using content analysis of primary and secondary sources consisting of publicly available documents, this critical review examines the effect of these new relationships on the indigenous communities here, as well as the impact of globalization and capitalism on these two peripheral provinces. It finds that cross-border investments by Malaysian plantation companies in these provinces have brought more negative than positive impacts upon the indigenous communities residing there.