Antara 22 May 10;
Semenanjung Kampar, Riau (ANTARA News) - The people of Teluk Meranti together with Riau NGO Jikalahari, and Greenpeace, have begun rebuilding the torched Greenpeace forest protection camp on the Kampar Peninsula in Sumatra`s Riau Province.
The local community renamed the rebuilt camp "Community Camp for Kampar Protection" to symbolise the community`s spirit to protect the rich peat land forests of the Kampar Peninsula, according to a press statement of Greenpeace Southeast Asia on Thursday.
"We are rebuilding the camp to symbolize the struggle of the Teluk Meranti community to protect the Kampar Peninsula from new clearing by pulp and paper company RAPP. Our community depends on Kampar`s forests and rivers for fishing and farming as did our ancestors, and we will never surrender this forest to the company. We ask the government to revoke all permits for clearing. Before the company came, no one died from hunger." said Deli Saputra, Leader of Community Forum to Save the Kampar Peninsula.
The original camp, built in October last year by Greenpeace to highlight the role of deforestation in driving climate change, in the carbon-rich Kampar Peninsula, was burnt to the ground in March.
Last year Greenpeace activists from all over the world, working with the Teluk Meranti community and local NGOs, staged non-violent direct actions to stop RAPP`s illegal forest clearing operations which resulted in the Forestry Minister suspending the company`s deforestation permits.
However, the minister recently allowed RAPP to resume its operations in the Kampar Peninsula and the company is currently clearing peat forests in the south of the peninsula. As a result RAPP`s Smartwood FSC Certification has been suspended as they do not meet the required environmental and social standards.
Zulfahmi, a forest campaigner for Greenpeace Southeast Asia said: "The people of Indonesia are calling for government action to save the Kampar forests and peatlands. The international community is also calling for action to back up President Yudhoyono`s 2009 commitment to reduce Indonesia?s greenhouse gas emissions by up to 41% by 2020. The government must save Kampar - the largest area of deep peat in Indonesia, as the first step in full peatland protection and must implement a moratorium on deforestation for the rest of the nation`s forests."
Susanto Kurniawan, Jikalahari Coordinator, said that peatland forests had to be fully protected to ensure the future of local communities and endangered species like the Sumatran tiger.
"The government must permanently revoke all the permits in the Kampar Peninsula to show they are serious about protecting this area. As we speak, RAPP is still excavating canals, and releasing carbon."
Recently, Greenpeace met with the ministers of forestry, environment and agriculture. They all publicly stated their commitment to protect peatlands. Yet, at the same time, companies like the Sinar Mas group and RAPP continue to destroy forests and peat lands, Greenpeace said.
"The Minister for the Environment needs to work with the Ministers of Agriculture and Forestry, to create a joint Ministerial Decree on peatland protection as an immediate step to stop ongoing peat land destruction before stronger legislation is issued.
Furthermore, the government must work together with local communities to develop sustainable alternatives for community livelihoods which don`t destroy forests and peat lands," Zulfahmi said. (*)
