President Jokowi Imposes Moratorium on New Palm Oil Plantations
President Joko Jokowi Widodo instructs Minister of Environment and Forestry to postpone the release or the exchange of forest areas for palm oil plantations.
The instruction was stated in the second dictum of Presidential Instruction (Inpres) Number 8 of 2018 on Moratorium and Evaluation of Licensing for Palm Oil Plantations and Increasing Productivity of Palm oil Plantations. The Presidential Instruction was enacted in Jakarta on 19 September 2018.
The moratorium applies to: a. new proposal for palm oil plantation; b. proposal for the plantation that has been submitted but has not completed the requirements or has fulfilled the requirements but the prospective plantation is located in productive forest area; or c. proposal for the plantation that has received principle approval but has not been demarcated and is located in a productive forest area.
“The moratorium does not apply to proposal for release or exchange of forest areas for palm oil plantations that have been planted and processed in accordance with the provisions of Article 51 of Government Regulation Number 104 of 2015 on Procedures for Changing the Allotment and Functions of Forest Areas,” the second dictum point 2 of the Instruction reads.
President Jokowi also instructs Minister of Environment and Forestry to acquire and verify data of released and exchanged forest areas. The aforementioned data shall include: name and number, location, size, function and date of issue.
The President further instructs the Minister of Environment and Forestry to use the aforementioned data to evaluate: a. the release or the exchange of forest areas for palm oil plantations that have not been planted, that is still in the form of productive forests, and/or does not comply with the purpose of the release or the exchange and is transferred to other parties.
President Jokowi also instructed the Minister of Environment and Forestry to evaluate:
- Palm oil plantation that is in forest area but has not gotten any replacement for the released forest area; and
- The use of the High Conservation Value Forest (HCVF) from the released forest areas for palm oil plantations.
The Minister shall report the evaluation to Coordinating Minister for the Economy.
The Presidential Instruction also stipulates that Minister of Environment and Forestry shall identify palm oil plantations located in forest areas.
The President, through the Presidential Instruction, also instructs Minister of Environment and Forestry to follow up the results of the meeting with the Coordinating Minister for the Economy by conducting reforestation of the released/exchanged forest areas as well as by taking legal action pursuing compensation for the forest areas used for palm oil plantations in accordance with the provisions of law, based on data verification of the released or exchanged forest areas.
The Presidential Instruction also stipulates that the Minister of Environment and Forestry shall implement the provisions to allocate 20% of the released forest for community plantations.
The Presidential Instruction further stipulates that Minister of Agriculture shall evaluate the process of Plantation Permits and Registration Certificate of Palm oil Plantation as well as evaluate the compliance of plantation companies to provide 20% of the total area of plantation for community plantation. The Minister of Agriculture shall report the evaluation to Coordinating Minister for the Economy.
President Jokowi, through the Presidential Instruction, also instructs Minister of Agrarian and Spatial Planning / Head of the National Land Agency to evaluate: a. Compatibility of Palm oil plantation license with spatial planning; b. Implementation of palm oil plantation license; c. transfer of plantation license to other parties without registration to National Land Agency (BPN); and d. protection of High Conservation Value Forest (HCVF) from palm oil plantations. The Minister of Agrarian and Spatial Planning /Head of the National Land Agency shall report the evaluation to Coordinating Minister for the Economy.
The President further instructs Minister of Agrarian and Spatial Planning to accelerate the issuance of land rights for public in accordance with the provision stipulating that 20% ??of the plantation should be given to communities. The President also instructs the Minister to accelerate the issuance of land rights on small palm oil plantations.
The Presidential Instruction comes into force on the issuance date and was issued in Jakarta on 19 September, 2018.
(Pusdatin/ES) (RI/MMB/Naster)
