In Indonesia, seeing the forest for the oil palm trees
Forest use moratorium must be extended until rampant violations of land concession permits cease, say activists.
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The men have heard an oil palm plantation would be built in the forest despite their outcry.
The resistance had, just a few months ago, triggered a clash in which 21 villagers ended up behind bars charged with damaging the oil palm company’s property.
The site the men were headed to was a canal newly built by the company to dry out the peat land. The canal had polluted the main source of drinking water in the area.
Upon arriving, the men were unpleasantly surprised to see the new canal.
Trees, including the rare gonystylus bancanus, known locally as Ramin, have been cut and felled. Ramin trees are now so rare the government has issued a ban on cutting them down.
The forest near the canal has disappeared. Dead trees and logs are lying around on the vacant peat land.
“Oh my God!” Rasidi, one of the villagers exclaimed in English in utter shock. “It’s all gone, our springs, our livelihood has been destroyed.”
The villagers got off their kayaks to inspect the newly bulldozed peat land. Two excavators were parked but no operator was in sight.
“They knew we were coming, maybe they are hiding nearby right now, they will be back doing their jobs when the night comes,” another villager said.
The villagers have been voicing their opposition to the palm plantation operation over fears of forest destruction.
Growing frustrated, the villagers even wrote a letter to President Joko Widodo, asking him to take an action to stop the palm oil companies from destroying the environment.
Land dispute
Pungkat village, reached from Riau’s capital of Pekanbaru after a seven-hour drive and two hours on a speedboat, has been entangled in a dispute with Setia Agrindo Lestari (SAL), a palm plantation company and subsidiary of First Resources, which has been listed on the Singapore stock exchange since 2007.
The conflict began when villagers were made aware of SAL’s plan to open a palm plantation stretching over 17,000 hectares of peat land in several villages in the Gaung subdistrict where Pungkat is located.
Locals argued that the land was inside the moratorium area where no production activity is permitted. The community was concerned the palm oil plantation would destroy their livelihood. More than 80 percent of villagers make their living making wooden boats — and the forest is the source of raw material.
Asmar, a boat maker, said the villagers have been making boats since 1940 but there had never been a problem with the ecosystem until the company has started the land clearing.
Villagers began their protest by sending their complaint to the local government and legislators, to no avail.
The locals complained that not only had the SAL operation has made it difficult for them to find the wood needed to make the boats, it also polluted the river, forcing the community to rely on rainwater to drink.
The district head of Indragiri Hilir, HM Wardan, issued three letters ordering the temporary suspension of SAL operations until the dispute about the permit and legality could be settled. His warnings were ignored and SAL continued the project.
Tensions escalated as angry villagers took matters into their own hands in June of last year. Dozens of Pungkat villagers torched heavy equipment and excavators used by SAL to bulldoze the land.
Villagers claimed they were provoked as the company had refused to comply with the government’s instructions.
One early morning in August, 240 police mobile brigade officers stormed into the village and raided dozens of homes. Those involved in the arson were lined up in a field and 40 men were arrested.
“We deeply regretted the arrest, not only because it was done only a week after Idul Fitri (Eid al-Fitr) but also the procedures were flawed,” Riko Kurniawan, the executive director of Riau chapter of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi).
Riko said the police did not bring any warrants for the arrests.
“They [the police] read an SMS text and those whose names were in the text were arrested,” Riko said.
After the arrest, the whole village was closed for 10 days. Schools and mosques were closed because the villagers were too scared to go out in case the police returned to make further arrests.
The police released 19 men after days of questioning but 21 men were declared guilty and sentenced to nine months in prison, including Rasidi, who was recently released on probation.
Rasidi said he was lucky to be treated well while in prison. Some other villagers claimed the police abused them during the investigation.
Asmar, who was detained for four days before he was released, said the villagers resorted to arson because they were desperate after their numerous protests remained unheard.
“Why didn’t those officials pay any attention? What made us even more furious is that there was no talk about it, suddenly the company invaded our village,” Asmar said.
“Our forest has been robbed, our environment has been polluted,” he said.
Asmar said some people have sold the land and made a deal with the company on behalf of the villagers. He refused to name the person but other villagers indicated the perpetrator was the village head.
Riko said the whole operation of SAL in the area was problematic. The concession permit for the company was issued by former Indragiri Hilir district head, Indra Mukhlis Adnan, a month before his tenure ended in 2013. Indra issued 27 land concession permits despite the forest moratorium still in effect.
“Even though the permit was issued by the former district head, the current district head could put the brakes on it if he wants to,” Riko said.
To ease tensions after the attack, the district head issued another instruction for SAL to halt its operation in October. The order was once again ignored and SAL is still operating to clear the land.
The village, assisted by Walhi and several other environmental groups such as the Riau Forest Rescue Working Network (Jikalahari), reported the case to the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM).
Riko said SAL did not have the right of cultivation, or HGU — the final permit required of commercial oil palm planters — and only has the location permit.
SAL has not obtained the necessary permit from the Environment and Forestry Ministry to begin work on the land, said Riko.
The land belonging to SAL overlaps with land owned by companies Mutiara Sabuk Khatulistiwa and Bina Keluarga.
Walhi has expressed its intention to bring the dispute between Pungkat village and SAL to the next Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) summit.
“RSPO has expressed its commitment to fight against forest fire and First Resources is a RSPO member,” Riko said.
SAL spokesman Thomas did not respond to the Jakarta Globe’s repeated attempts to contact him for comment.
The dispute in Riau has attracted much attention as the province has the largest peat land in Sumatra. More than 50 percent of Sumatra’s peat land area is found in Riau.
The province has more than seven million hectares of forest but less than two million hectares remain intact.
Forest and peat land use moratorium
Riko said that rampant violations of land concession permits have proven that the forest use moratorium, first imposed by former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in 2011, must be extended.
The moratorium was first imposed until 2013 and was extended for another two years until May 12 this year.
“Forest destruction in this country is unimaginable, [and] the forest management is so messy,” Riko said, adding that a “moratorium gives nature a time to breathe”.
The forestry minister, Siti Nurbaya, last week announced the moratorium would likely be extended for another two years in the near future.
However, many activists have said that the short forest use moratorium could not save the environment if the government continued issuing forest use permits for major corporations, which would be valid for decades. Some companies even managed to obtain a permit that is valid for 100 years.
“Moratoriums should not be limited to a yearly period, it must be regulated based on the specific intention because every place has a different problem,” Riko said.
Jikalahari activist Muslim Rashid said the moratorium use should also be strengthened by providing more access to the public for active involvement in the forest protection schemes.
“Social forestry and traditional forest schemes can be a basis for the public’s right to be actively involved and it will strengthen the moratorium itself,” he said.
Source: Jakarta Globe
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