POLICY
JAKARTA (FORESTHINTS.NEWS) - The Indonesian Environment and Forestry Ministry has revealed startling legal evidence that the Hutan Harapan concessions (PT REKI) do not have 10-year legally-approved work plans (RKU).
The PT REKI ecosystem restoration concessions referred to by the company as "Hutan Harapan” consist of two concessions covering an area of more than 1.3 times that of Singapore which lie in the provinces of South Sumatra and Jambi.
The ministry disclosed that the Hutan Harapan concession in South Sumatra has not had an annual work plan for the past 3 years (2018-2020), bearing in mind that PT REKI's 10-year work plan ended in 2017.
As of now, according to Indonesian forestry authorities, the PT REKI concession in South Sumatra still does not have a new legally-approved work plan for the 2018-2027 period, meaning that the company has no legal basis for its operations in this concession.
"I have reported to our minister (Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya) that neither of the PT REKI concessions has a 10-year work plan. I have also proposed that an environmental audit should be performed,” Bambang Hendroyono, the Ministry's Acting Director General of Sustainable Production Forest Management, explained (Aug 11).
“A forestry company that does not have a 10-year and annual work plans is not allowed to operate legally,” he added.
Hendroyono, who is the ministry's secretary general as well, also revealed that the 10-year work plan of the PT REKI concession in Jambi ended in May this year, yet there is no newly-approved work plan for the 2020-2029 period.
"This means that neither of the REKI concessions in South Sumatra and Jambi currently has a 10-year work plan approved by the ministry," he said.
As shown in the following Sentinel Hub images, the PT REKI concessions in South Sumatra (first image) and Jambi (second image) do not have legally-approved work plans to date. The third image is a combination of the two concessions.
Encroachment level
Referring to a recent evaluation report on the PT REKI concessions, Hendroyono pointed out that the equivalent of more than 26,000 football fields have been encroached in the two ecosystem restoration concessions.
"An area of 25,142 hectares has been encroached in the PT REKI concession in Jambi, while the corresponding figure for the concession in South Sumatra is 1,204.5 hectares, thus totaling 26,346.5 hectares,” he said.
According to the ministry, the equivalent of nearly 20,000 football fields of natural forests have disappeared over the last 10 years in the two PT REKI concessions.
"There is, in fact, a set of evidence indicating that PT REKI is not in legal compliance by not having legally-approved work plans in its operations," he asserted.
Ministry data also reveals that several other legal obligations have not been met by PT REKI in its two concessions, such as the need for adequate human resources, facilities and infrastructure, as well as work plans based on a regular forest inventory.
On its website, PT REKI states that “Hutan Harapan is the first formal initiative in Indonesia for ecosystem restoration. This is a global and unique collaboration led by Burung Indonesia, The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and Birdlife International.”
FORESTHINTS.NEWS has asked for a response from PT REKI to the several questions it has submitted concerning the data disclosed by the ministry. However, by the time this news report was posted, no response had been received.
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POLICY
JAKARTA (FORESTHINTS.NEWS) - The Indonesian Environment and Forestry Ministry has revealed startling legal evidence that the Hutan Harapan concessions (PT REKI) do not have 10-year legally-approved work plans (RKU).
The PT REKI ecosystem restoration concessions referred to by the company as "Hutan Harapan” consist of two concessions covering an area of more than 1.3 times that of Singapore which lie in the provinces of South Sumatra and Jambi.
The ministry disclosed that the Hutan Harapan concession in South Sumatra has not had an annual work plan for the past 3 years (2018-2020), bearing in mind that PT REKI's 10-year work plan ended in 2017.
As of now, according to Indonesian forestry authorities, the PT REKI concession in South Sumatra still does not have a new legally-approved work plan for the 2018-2027 period, meaning that the company has no legal basis for its operations in this concession.
"I have reported to our minister (Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya) that neither of the PT REKI concessions has a 10-year work plan. I have also proposed that an environmental audit should be performed,” Bambang Hendroyono, the Ministry's Acting Director General of Sustainable Production Forest Management, explained (Aug 11).
“A forestry company that does not have a 10-year and annual work plans is not allowed to operate legally,” he added.
Hendroyono, who is the ministry's secretary general as well, also revealed that the 10-year work plan of the PT REKI concession in Jambi ended in May this year, yet there is no newly-approved work plan for the 2020-2029 period.
"This means that neither of the REKI concessions in South Sumatra and Jambi currently has a 10-year work plan approved by the ministry," he said.
As shown in the following Sentinel Hub images, the PT REKI concessions in South Sumatra (first image) and Jambi (second image) do not have legally-approved work plans to date. The third image is a combination of the two concessions.
Encroachment level
Referring to a recent evaluation report on the PT REKI concessions, Hendroyono pointed out that the equivalent of more than 26,000 football fields have been encroached in the two ecosystem restoration concessions.
"An area of 25,142 hectares has been encroached in the PT REKI concession in Jambi, while the corresponding figure for the concession in South Sumatra is 1,204.5 hectares, thus totaling 26,346.5 hectares,” he said.
According to the ministry, the equivalent of nearly 20,000 football fields of natural forests have disappeared over the last 10 years in the two PT REKI concessions.
"There is, in fact, a set of evidence indicating that PT REKI is not in legal compliance by not having legally-approved work plans in its operations," he asserted.
Ministry data also reveals that several other legal obligations have not been met by PT REKI in its two concessions, such as the need for adequate human resources, facilities and infrastructure, as well as work plans based on a regular forest inventory.
On its website, PT REKI states that “Hutan Harapan is the first formal initiative in Indonesia for ecosystem restoration. This is a global and unique collaboration led by Burung Indonesia, The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and Birdlife International.”
FORESTHINTS.NEWS has asked for a response from PT REKI to the several questions it has submitted concerning the data disclosed by the ministry. However, by the time this news report was posted, no response had been received.
RELATED STORIES
