as Modi’s government revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s semi-autonomous
status. The Indian government claimed this would bring economic and
social development to the Valley.121
Also in India, the Forest Conservation (Amendment) Bill was introduced
in 2023, which amends the 1980 Forest Conservation Act (FCA), with
experts noting that the Bill is “shot through with broad exemptions, lack
of definitions and a centralizing tendency,” leaving the government with
plenty of access to national forests and the ability to hand them over
to private contractors, or use them for “national security” purposes.122
The amendment excludes gram sabhas – elected village councils –
and Indigenous people from forest clearance processes, despite them
safeguarding and protecting these regions for generations.123
EXTRACTIVISM
AND PRIVATIZATION
IN THE PHILIPPINES, APPROXIMATELY
3.1 MILLION HECTARES OF LAND HAVE
BEEN TARGETED BY MULTINATIONAL
CORPORATIONS AND FOREIGN
GOVERNMENTS.
The World Economic Forum reports that “Nineteen of the 25 cities
most exposed to a one-metre sea-level rise are in Asia, seven in the
Philippines alone”.124 This is the heavy cost of large scale land-grabbing
through corporate investments and trade policies. In the Philippines,
approximately 3.1 million hectares of land have been targeted by
multinational corporations and foreign governments.125
In Indonesia, agrarian conflicts increased under current President Jokowi,
where private investors were heavily prioritized over local communities
and ecological protection.126 In West Papua, deforestation acts as the
121
Scroll.in. (2020, August 5). What exactly did the August 5 decisions achieve in Jammu and Kashmir? https://scroll.
in/article/969452/what-exactly-did-the-august-5-decisions-achieve-in-jammu-and-kashmir
122
Hasan, Z. (2023). The amended green law is full of red flags: Forests (Amendment) Act 2023.” Supreme Court
Observer. https://www.scobserver.in/journal/the-amended-green-law-is-full-of-red-flags-forests-amendment-act-2023/
123
Ibid.
124
Hicks, R. (2021). Southeast Asia to bear the brunt of worsening global climate, IPCC warns. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/08/southeast-asi-weather-extremes-global-warming-2030-ipcc-report/
125
Spheres of Influence. (n.d.). The Struggle Over Territorial Sovereignty: Land Grabbing in the Philippines. https://
spheresofinfluence.ca/the-struggle-over-territorial-sovereignty-land-grabbing-in-the-philippines/
126
ng, H. N. (2024). Jokowi’s land reform agenda stalls as conflicts nearly double, report shows. Mongabay. https://
news.mongabay.com/2024/01/jokowis-land-reform-agenda-stalls-as-conflicts-nearly-double-report-shows/
40