Land Acquisition Governance and Its Implications for Renewable Energy Development in Indonesia and the Philippines.

This article examines the role of multilateral social and environmental safeguards in land acquisition for renewable energy (RE) development in Southeast Asia through comparative case studies of two large-scale wind projects: the Eastern Indonesia Renewable Energy Project (EIREP) in Indonesia and the Burgos Wind Farm in the Philippines. It finds that the influence of safeguards, specifically those of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), depends on the timing of multilateral funding relative to project development and the ease with which developers can acquire land through non-safeguard-compliant means, such as eminent domain or negotiated settlements. The study highlights significant differences in land acquisition modes, compensation, project footprint, and affected landowners between the two cases, emphasizing the critical role of local land use policies and planning in mediating the social and environmental impacts of RE infrastructure. The findings suggest that while safeguards provide a framework for minimizing adverse impacts, their effectiveness is shaped by local governance contexts and developer strategies, underscoring the need for integrated policy approaches to support equitable and sustainable energy transitions.