Jakarta Globe 15 May 13;
Environmentalists have lauded the Indonesian government’s decision to extend a logging ban aimed at protecting rainforests despite fierce industry pressure, but some say there are more steps to take.
“WWF supports this moratorium extension and we applaud the president’s policy to improve the forests and peat lands management to reduce the [carbon] emissions and deforestation,” the chief of the Indonesian chapter of the World Wild Fund, Efransjah, said on Wednesday.
Efransjah said it was more important for the government to complete the integrated map of deforestation in Indonesia and to review the regulations at the regional level, which are often counterproductive to the policies set up by the central government.
Greenpeace forest campaigner Yuyun Indradi said that while the moratorium extension was a step forward, it would not be enough to save the country from rampant illegal logging that would destroy the forest and creatures living in it.
“While it’s good news however, the president did not strengthen the moratorium to cover all forests and peatland. That is what’s really needed if we want to save Indonesia’s remaining tigers and orangutans, which are under threat from relentless palm oil, and pulp and paper expansion,” Yuyun said.
“The government must review existing concessions, increase transparency in the way licences are granted, establish a credible database of low carbon land and undertake clear spatial and land use planning,” he added.
On Wednesday, the government confirmed Yudhoyono had signed a two-year extension on the logging ban, as had been widely expected, and the moratorium would remain in its original form.
“The extension on the moratorium of new permits will be in place for two years from when the presidential instruction is issued,” said a statement from the cabinet secretariat, which deals with presidential decrees.
Yudhoyono signed the extension on Monday, it said.
Under a $1-billion conservation deal with Norway, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono two years ago signed the moratorium, which bans new logging permits for primary, or virgin, forest, defined as forest not logged in recent history.
JG, AFP
Indonesia extends logging ban to protect rainforest
Olivia Rondonuwu (AFP) Google News 15 May 13
JAKARTA — Indonesia has extended a logging ban to protect rainforests despite fierce industry pressure, the government said Wednesday, but green campaigners slammed the move as inadequate.
Vast tracts of the sprawling Indonesian archipelago are covered in trees, including some of the world's most biodiverse tropical rainforest that is home to endangered animals such as orangutans, tigers and elephants.
But huge swathes have been chopped down by palm oil, mining and timber companies in Southeast Asia's top economy, which has become the world's third-biggest carbon emitter as a result.
Under a $1 billion conservation deal with Norway, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono two years ago signed the moratorium, which bans new logging permits for primary, or virgin, forest -- defined as forest not logged in recent history.
On Wednesday the government confirmed Yudhoyono had signed a two-year extension and the moratorium would remain in its original form.
"The extension on the moratorium of new permits will be in place for two years from when the presidential instruction is issued," said a statement from the cabinet secretariat.
Yudhoyono signed the extension on Monday, it said.
The ban applies to new permits for primary forest and peatland with the exception of projects already approved by the forestry minister and others considered vital, such as for power production, it said.
But Greenpeace criticised the government for not taking the opportunity to strengthen the ban.
"That is what's really needed if we want to save Indonesia's remaining tigers and orangutans, which are under threat from relentless palm oil and pulp and paper expansion," said the group's forests campaigner Yuyun Indradi.
Indonesia, the world's top producer of palm oil that is used in many everyday items from soap to biscuits, has faced fierce industry pressure over the ban.
"The moratorium has already had negative effects on the economy, not just in the palm oil industry but the timber industry as well," said Fadhil Hasan, from the Indonesian Palm Oil Association.
The government says the moratorium has drastically reduced logging in a country with the world's third largest amount of tropical forest.
Senior forestry ministry official Hadi Daryanto said that between 2000 and 2010, Indonesia lost around 1.125 million hectares (2.8 million acres) of forest each year.
But he said that at the end of 2011 this figure had been reduced to the equivalent of 450,000 hectares annually.
However, green groups say local authorities are using a murky web of local laws to open up new areas for exploitation despite the national ban, and much logging has continued illegally.
A glaring example is a plan in the province of Aceh on Sumatra island, supported by Jakarta, which activists say could open up a million hectares of protected forest for exploitation despite the moratorium.
The plan, which is likely to be approved soon, is possible because it hinges on Aceh's decision to overturn its own deforestation ban at the local level.
"Countries like mine have a right to develop, but not at the expense of our priceless natural patrimony," said Rudi Putra, an activist who started a petition against the Aceh plan that has gathered almost one million signatures.
Indonesia extends forest-clearing ban for 2 years
Associated Press Yahoo News 16 May 13;
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia has approved a two-year extension to a landmark ban on clearing primary rainforests and peatlands, officials said Thursday. Environmentalists praised the move but said the government must do more to curb the nation's burgeoning production of greenhouse gases.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono signed the decree on Monday to continue the 2011 moratorium, which barred new logging and palm oil plantation permits under a $1 billion deal with Norway, said his environment adviser, Pungki Agus Purnomo.
He said the ban will preserve 64 million hectares (158 million acres) until 2015. It will not affect areas where concessions were granted before the moratorium.
Environmentalists hailed the extension while also urging leaders to better enforce the law. They say some protected areas continue to be exploited because of corruption and illegal fires and logging.
Indonesia's largest environmental group, Walhi, said the government must also work to stop logging permits from being issued at the local level.
"It is just like a presidential instruction to his subordinates ... it has no power to sanction against violators," said Walhi environmentalist Berry Nahdian Furqan, who added that the ban should be made permanent.
Indonesia is one of the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitters, largely because many of the palm oil plantations on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra are planted on carbon-rich peatland that must be drained first, releasing vast amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year.
Rapid deforestation has occurred in recent years in Indonesia as it feeds the world's hunger for palm oil, pulp and paper. The destruction has caused damage ranging from deadly flash floods and landslides to a loss of habitat for endangered species such as orangutans, elephants, tigers and rhinos.
