plantation
Nearness to roads and palm oil mills a key factor in peatland clearing by smallholders
JAKARTA — Smallholder farmers in Sumatra who cultivate oil palms are more likely to expand their farms into carbon-rich peat forests the closer they are to roads and palm oil mills, a new study finds. The study by researchers from the University of Maryland in the U.S. and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore looked at […]
No permit? No problem for palm oil company still clearing forest in Papua
JAKARTA — More than 100 Indigenous people in Indonesia’s Papua region are calling on the local government to revoke all the permits of a palm oil company that’s continuing to clear land despite being ordered to halt all activities by officials. The order was issued after the company, PT Permata Nusa Mandiri (PNM), had one […]
Palm oil producer mired in legal troubles still razing Sumatran forest
JAKARTA — A part of the only forest on Earth where rhinos, tigers, orangutans and elephants coexist is seeing a resumption of deforestation for an oil palm concession. Indonesian company PT Cemerlang Abadi (CA) restarted clearing forests and peatlands in September last year in its concession in the Leuser Ecosystem on the island of Sumatra, […]
Plantations threaten Indonesia’s orangutans, but they’re not oil palm
JAKARTA — The vast majority of orangutan habitat in Indonesia is located outside of protected areas. That can be bad news for orangutans living in corporate concessions, where a new report finds many companies lack safeguards and commitments to protect these critically endangered apes. The report, by Amsterdam-based sustainability consultancy Aidenvironment, found that Indonesia has […]
As dry season starts in Indonesia, risk of fires — and haze — looms
JAKARTA — A new analysis warns of the potential for forest fires in Indonesia that could spread smoke to neighboring countries as this year’s dry season sets in, following two years of haze-free skies across this part of Southeast Asia. In their “Haze Outlook 2022” report, researchers at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA) […]
Indonesian palm oil audit a chance to clean up ‘very dirty’ industry
JAKARTA — Activists have welcomed the Indonesian government’s announcement to carry out a nationwide audit of all palm oil companies operating here, in response to a shortage of cooking oil that has wracked the world’s top producer of palm oil. “What’s happening in the cooking oil industry is very dirty, because it’s filled with many […]
Second Indonesian province moves to retake forests from palm oil companies
JAKARTA — Authorities in Indonesia’s Papua province have recommended the revocation of licenses for 35 out of the 54 oil palm concessions operating there. The move follows an evaluation of the licenses carried out by the provincial government since 2019, and mirrors a similar spate of revocations in neighboring West Papua province. The affected concessions […]
Draining tropical peatlands for oil palms isn’t just bad — it’s unnecessary, study shows
JAKARTA — For decades, oil palm farmers in Indonesia have drained — and destroyed — tropical peatlands on the basis that the crop doesn’t grow well in the boggy soil. But now, a new study shows that oil palms grown in rewetted peatlands show no drop in productivity. The findings shore up environmental activists’ case […]
Sumatra palm plantations the usual suspects as unusual burning razes peatlands
JAKARTA — Fires in areas of carbon-intense peatland forest on the island of Sumatra appear to have been set in and around oil palm plantation concessions and could signal the start of another season of forest-razing burns in Indonesia. The fires burned 6,168 hectares (15,241 acres) of peatlands — an area 18 times the size […]
Legal defeats pile up for palm oil companies stripped of permits in Papua
JAKARTA — A court in Indonesia has dismissed lawsuits filed by two palm oil companies against a district head who revoked their permits over various violations. The May 23 rulings mark the latest in a string of legal defeats for palm oil companies who lost their licenses to operate in Indonesia’s West Papua province. PT […]