The Gecko Project

18/05/2026

Prabowo Subianto punya kebijakan prioritas berupa lumbung pangan, menargetkan sekitar 1,6 juta hektare lahan di Merauke, Papua, untuk diubah menjadi sawah dan perkebunan tebu. Program ini ditujukan buat memenuhi kemandirian pangan, supaya Indonesia tak lagi bergantung pada impor.

Sayangnya, food estate mengorbankan sumber hidup masyarakat adat berupa hutan dan rawa. Tanah di Papua seperti dianggap tanah kosong tak bertuan.

Tapi, bukan itu saja yang terjadi. Lumbung pangan di Papua turut menjadi ajang pelibatan militer dalam skala besar.

Lihat keseluruhan video pada tautan di bio kami.

18/05/2026

“Kami bertanya-tanya ada apa di tempat ini sampai anggota (TNI) segitu banyak,” kata Yasinta Moiwend, petani di Desa Wanam, Papua.

Masyarakat Papua telah turun-temurun tinggal di sini, makan sagu dari kebun, ikan dari rawa-rawa, dan rusa dari hutan.

Namun, pemerintah Indonesia sedang berusaha membangun satu juta hektar sawah di sini.

Tahun lalu, kapal-kapal datang ke pelabuhan dengan membawa tentara, diikuti dengan ekskavator yang mulai membersihkan rawa dan hutan.

Proyek ini dikembangkan oleh Kementerian Pertahanan, dengan bantuan konglomerat yang memiliki koneksi politik, Jhonlin Group.

Dalam film terbaru dari The Gecko Project ini, Ulet mendengar bagaimana tanah Papua diambil tanpa persetujuan, dan ketakutan yang timbul setelah sejumlah besar tentara turun ke Merauke untuk melaksanakan rencana tersebut.

Tonton penuh film kami “Langit Papua” 🔗 di bio

Foto Video

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“We wondered what was happening in this place that there were so many soldiers.” said Yasinta Moiwend, a farmer in Wanam Village, Papua. 

Papuans have lived here for generations, eating sago from groves, fish from swamps, and deer from forests. 

But now the Indonesian government is attempting to convert a million hectares of Papuan land into rice fields. 

Last year, ships turned up in the port loaded with soldiers, followed by excavators, which began clearing the swamps and forests.

The project is being developed by the Ministry of Defence, with the assistance of a politically-connected conglomerate, the Jhonlin Group. 

In this new film from The Gecko Project, photographer Ulet Ifansasti learns how Papuan land has been taken without consent, and of the fear generated after vast numbers of soldiers descended on Merauke to enforce the plan.

Watch the full film “Papuan Skies” 🔗 in ’s bio

Photo Video

15/05/2026

The Gecko Project is honoured to be a The Society of Publishers in Asia award finalist alongside Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and DW News for the “Excellence in Reporting on the Environment” category.

Our collaboration revealed that Harita Nickel— whose nickel likely ends up in EVs made by Tesla, Toyota, BMW, and more—has left a toxic legacy in its wake.

Its sprawling operations on remote Obi Island, eastern Indonesia, repeatedly leaked toxic chromium-6 for more than a decade, a vast trove of internal company documents and emails reveals. Harita staff tried to contain the contamination—but the polluted water repeatedly flowed, and the company kept expanding.

Check out the full story:
https://thegeckoproject.org/articles/clean-cars-poisoned-water/

07/05/2026

🦅 WATCH: Paper giant Royal Golden Eagle (RGE) manufactures “carbon-neutral” cardstock for packaging in China and has claimed to be “100% deforestation-free”.

But it sourced wood linked to deforestation and the destruction of orangutan habitat in Borneo, a new investigation by The Gecko Project and AFP found.

We tracked pulp from a mill in Borneo to a factory run by Royal Golden Eagle’s China paper arm, Asia Symbol.

The pulp mill is supplied by several companies that have cleared rainforest to plant timber plantations — including one of Indonesia’s worst deforesters.

Multinational healthcare company Haleon, which used the “carbon-neutral” cardstock, said it would cut ties with Asia Symbol as a result of this investigation.

Read our investigation in full to find out more.

🔗 Link in ’s bio

25/04/2026

🚨NEW INVESTIGATION : Paper giant Royal Golden Eagle manufactures “carbon-neutral” cardstock for packaging in China and has claimed to be “100% deforestation-free”.

But it sourced wood linked to deforestation and the destruction of orangutan habitat in Borneo, a new investigation by The Gecko Project and AFP found.

We tracked pulp from a mill in Borneo to a factory run by Royal Golden Eagle’s China paper arm, Asia Symbol.

The pulp mill is supplied by several companies that have cleared rainforest to plant timber plantations — including one of Indonesia’s worst deforesters.

Multinational healthcare company Haleon, which used the “carbon-neutral” cardstock, said it would cut ties with Asia Symbol as a result of this investigation.

Read our investigation in full to find out more.
🔗 Link in the comments.

22/04/2026

🚨NEW: Paper giant Royal Golden Eagle manufactures “carbon-neutral” cardstock for packaging in China and has claimed to be “100% deforestation-free”.

But it sourced wood linked to deforestation and the destruction of orangutan habitat in Borneo, a new investigation by The Gecko Project and AFP found.

We tracked pulp from a mill in Borneo to a factory run by Royal Golden Eagle’s China paper arm, Asia Symbol.

The pulp mill is supplied by several companies that have cleared rainforest to plant timber plantations — including one of Indonesia’s worst deforesters.

Multinational healthcare company Haleon, which used the “carbon-neutral” cardstock, said it would cut ties with Asia Symbol as a result of this investigation.

🔗 Link in comments.

19/03/2026

🏡 The threat of landslides looms large in the minds of the Freetown, Sierra Leone’s residents, after deforestation and torrential rain caused a slip on the edge of the Western Area Peninsula National Park that killed more than 1,000 people in 2017.

But at least 50 luxury homes have been built or are under construction within the national park on land that was rainforest as recently as 2019.

About a mile from these mansions, the Guma Dam cradles a reservoir providing 90 per cent of the water for Freetown’s 1.4 million inhabitants.

A government investigation found that deforestation and other human activities in the national park could lead to a “water shortage crisis” in Freetown, which it described as a “looming disaster”.

Just inside the park boundaries, Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, where rescued primates are rehabilitated, is among the country’s leading tourist attractions. But it too is under threat from encroachment.

Find out more “ROGUE MINISTER”
🔗 Link in our bio.

Photos: Misper Apawu/Associated Press, Ed Davey/The Gecko Project

This investigation is part of a series on West Africa’s disappearing rainforests by The Gecko Project and The Associated Press, funded by the Pulitzer Center .

25/02/2026

🏘️ A controversial government minister facilitated destruction of rainforest inside a national park in Sierra Leone, enabling political elites to construct luxury homes.

The national park is home to chimpanzees and has been proposed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but is threatened by rampant deforestation.

An investigation launched by the president found officials helped people obtain land inside the park for personal gain. But years on, the minister at the heart of the scandal remains in office and homes are still under construction. The results of the government probe were buried — until now.

The Gecko Project and The Associated Press obtained a copy of the report that arose from it. The report branded the deforestation of the park “an environmental time bomb that has to be nipped in the bud”.

Our own investigation confirms that some of Sierra Leone’s most powerful and well-connected people, including a senior diplomat and a general, are among those with homes in the illegal settlement.

Deforestation is threatening a major dam and imperilling water supply to Sierra Leone’s capital, while chimpanzees struggle to survive in the shrinking forests.

Just inside the national park boundaries, Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, where rescued primates are rehabilitated, is among the country’s leading tourist attractions.
But it is threatened by landgrabbers and fires, according to its founder, Sri Lankan national Bala Amarasekaran.

Amarasekaran described the deforestation as “alarming”, with illegal developments bearing down upon the sanctuary and risking landslides.

@“This is not an area [where] you want to poke holes in the hill to build a house. This is like digging graves for our children,” he said.

🔗 Find out more “ROGUE MINISTER”
https://thegeckoproject.org/articles/the-rogue-minister/

Photos: Misper Apawu/Associated Press, Ed Davey/The Gecko Project

This investigation is part of a series on West Africa’s disappearing rainforests by The Gecko Project and The Associated Press, funded by the Pulitzer Center

18/02/2026

❗REVEALED: At least 50 houses have been built or are under construction within the Western Area Peninsula National Park in Sierra Leone, on land that was covered in rainforest as recently as 2019.

A long-serving government minister facilitated the illegal encroachment on the national park, allowing political elites to acquire leases for land inside its borders, our latest investigation reveals.

The national park is home to chimpanzees and has been proposed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but is threatened by rampant deforestation.

An investigation launched by the president found officials helped people obtain land inside the park for personal gain. But years on, the minister at the heart of the scandal remains in office and homes are still under construction. The results of the government probe were buried — until now.

The Gecko Project and The Associated Press obtained a copy of the report that arose from it. The report branded the deforestation of the park “an environmental time bomb that has to be nipped in the bud”.

Our own investigation confirms that some of Sierra Leone’s most powerful and well-connected people, including a senior diplomat and a general, are among those with homes in the illegal settlement.

Deforestation is threatening a major dam and imperilling water supply to Sierra Leone’s capital, while chimpanzees struggle to survive in the shrinking forests.

Find out more “ROGUE MINISTER”:
🔗 Link in our bio.

Photos: Misper Apawu/Associated Press, Ed Davey/The Gecko Project

This investigation is part of a series on West Africa’s disappearing rainforests by The Gecko Project and The Associated Press, funded by the .

18/02/2026

❗REVEALED: At least 50 houses have been built or are under construction within the Western Area Peninsula National Park in Sierra Leone, on land that was covered in rainforest as recently as 2019.

A long-serving government minister facilitated the illegal encroachment on the national park, allowing political elites to acquire leases for land inside its borders, our latest investigation reveals.

The national park is home to chimpanzees and has been proposed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but is threatened by rampant deforestation.

An investigation launched by the president found officials helped people obtain land inside the park for personal gain. But years on, the minister at the heart of the scandal remains in office and homes are still under construction. The results of the government probe were buried — until now.

The Gecko Project and The Associated Press obtained a copy of the report that arose from it. The report branded the deforestation of the park “an environmental time bomb that has to be nipped in the bud”.

Our own investigation confirms that some of Sierra Leone’s most powerful and well-connected people, including a senior diplomat and a general, are among those with homes in the illegal settlement. Deforestation is threatening a major dam and imperilling water supply to Sierra Leone’s capital, while chimpanzees struggle to survive in the shrinking forests.

Find out more “ROGUE MINISTER”:
🔗 Link in comments.

Photos: Misper Apawu/Associated Press, Ed Davey/The Gecko Project

This investigation is part of a series on West Africa’s disappearing rainforests by The Gecko Project and The Associated Press, funded by Pulitzer Center.

A senior politician facilitated illegal encroachment on a national park in Sierra Leone so elites could build mansions. The president sat on the evidence.