Indonesia: President Jokowi imposes moratorium on palm oil plantations

Marguerite Afra Sapiie The Jakarta Post 20 Sep 18;

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has instructed ministers and regional administrations to halt the issuance of new permits for palm oil plantations.

The President also ordered a review of the existing permits amid deforestation concerns, said Prabianto Mukti Wibowo, an official from the Office of the Coordinating Economic Minister, on Thursday.

“From ministries to regents, [they all] have been ordered to review the forest permits for [palm oil] plantations.”

Prabianto said the moratorium had been imposed to reduce conflict, especially on plantations owned by smallholders and corporations inside natural forests.

“We are aware that many palm oil plantations are located within the natural forests according to [an Environment and Forestry Ministry] map.”

The presidential instruction, he said, was expected to boost the productivity of palm oil plantations and clarify the rights of smallholders.

A recent Greenpeace report claimed that 25 major palm oil producers supplying the world's largest brands were "known to have destroyed more than 130,000 hectares of forest and peat land since 2015, an area almost twice the size of Singapore”.

Responding to the report, the Indonesian Palm Oil Producers Association (Gapki) deputy chairman Togar Sitanggang said Gapki had ensured that each of its member obeyed the law and prevented further environmental damages.

"In converting land into oil palm plantations, it has to be converted from a forest area to a non-forest areas, or areas for other use [APL]. Therefore, companies are allowed to do it legally. On whether to cut down trees, that is each company's [choice]," Togar said. (ahw)


Groups welcome Jokowi’s palm plantation moratorium
Dyaning Pangestika The Jakarta Post 21 Sep 18;

Environmental groups welcomed President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s instruction to halt the issuing of permits for palm plantations, calling it a long-awaited step towards sustainability.

However, they raised several concerns.

The Indonesian Environmental Forum (Walhi) said in a statement on Thursday that it welcomed Presidential Instruction No. 8/2018, which “had been on the President’s desk for a long time”.

“This is a good initial step towards revamping natural resource management, especially the palm plantation sector,” the group added.

The President ordered a review of the existing permits amid deforestation concerns, said Prabianto Mukti Wibowo, an official from the Office of the Coordinating Economic Minister, on Thursday.

“From ministries to regents, [they all] have been ordered to review the forest permits for [palm oil] plantations.”

Greenpeace Indonesia, which released a report on deforestation caused by palm plantations on Wednesday, welcomed the instruction, although it was quick to note that a presidential instruction would not be enough.

Arie Rompas, a Greenpeace Indonesia forest campaign team leader, told The Jakarta Post on Thursday that a presidential instruction would not carry any weight and therefore the subjects of the instruction could just ignore it.

Jokowi had promised to issue the moratorium since April 2016 and environmental groups had been waiting for it since then.

Walhi had sent a policy paper, suggesting a 25-year moratorium because “environmental rehabilitation needs a long time”. The instruction, however, would only be effective for “a maximum of three years since the date of the release”, which is Sept. 19.

The instruction, entitled Postponement and Evaluation of Palm Plantation Permits and Increasing Productivity of Palm Plantations, ordered five ministries, the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), governors, regents and mayors to halt new permits, evaluate the existing permits and increase the productivity of palm plantations.

The rationale behind the instruction is increasing sustainability, giving legal certainty, decreasing greenhouse gas emissions, farmer empowerment and increasing the productivity of palms.

Environmentalists have argued that increasing the productivity of plantations on existing fields would prevent the opening up of new areas.

Both Walhi and Greenpeace have urged transparency and public participation during the reviewing process.

The instruction allows the continuation of forested areas that had been turned into palm plantations before it was issued and ordered the Agriculture Ministry to make sure that 20 percent of those areas were allocated to smallholders. Greenpeace, however, said the recipients were often times not really smallholders.

Walhi closed the statement by saying the transition period should focus on “justice for the people and the environment as well as ecosystem rehabilitation”.