POLICY
JAKARTA (FORESTHINTS.NEWS) - The revocation of forestry, palm oil and mining permits involving huge concession areas, as announced by Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jan 6), is unprecedented in Indonesian history. This move is mainly targeted at providing more equitable access to communities, increasing land productivity and investment effectiveness, and strengthening governance in the granting of land-based permits.
The country's Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya emphasized the great importance of this step as part of efforts to reach the government's Forestry and Land Use (FoLU) net carbon sink target by 2030, as pointed out in two speeches delivered by President Widodo at the recently-held COP26 summit.
The dataset detailed by the minister relates to the revocation of 192 palm oil and forestry permits under the forestry authorities, covering an area of over 3.12 million hectares or almost 43 times the size of Singapore.
The dataset also confirms that virtually all of the revoked permits were granted during former President Yudhoyono's administration, including palm oil permits spanning an area of more than one million hectares across Papua and West Papua.
"The revocation of their permits does not eliminate the major obligations to which the companies concerned are legally bound," Minister Nurbaya cautioned (Jan 6).
137 palm oil permits
Minister Nurbaya pointed out the 1.7 million hectares of revoked palm oil permits, derived from the release of state forest areas and equal to nearly 25 times the size of Singapore, account for over 57% of the total revoked permit areas under her authority.
She added that 1.4 million hectares, or over 79% of the total palm oil permit areas revoked, are situated in the provinces of Papua, West Papua and Central Kalimantan, as shown in the following chart.
"The revocation of the palm oil permits is testament to the success of the President's palm oil moratorium order over the past three years. Why were the permits revoked? This was done after evaluating the landcover situation on a time-series basis since the permits were granted, as well as by looking at the violations that have occurred in the concessions in question," Minister Nurbaya explained.
According to the minister, now that the permits have been revoked, the strategy going forward is primarily aimed at social forestry and community-based agrarian reforms while also seeking to invite the participation of reputable and accomplished investors to help strengthen collaborations with communities.
Furthermore, she continued, areas with good forest cover are also technically classified as high conservation value (HCV) forests to be reincorporated as state forest areas.
“All of these developments involve inter-ministerial efforts and close cooperation with local governments. The overall ambition is to open up as much equitable access as possible to enhance the well-being of communities. This will involve the building of partnerships with experienced and credible new investors, as underlined by President Widodo when announcing the revocation of the permits,” the minister elaborated.
38 logging, pulpwood permits
Minister Nurbaya went into further detail, explaining that permits for logging and pulpwood concession areas covering over 1.32 million hectares, more than 18 times the size of Singapore, had been revoked. These constitute more than 42% of the total concession areas revoked, second in extent to palm oil permits.
The total area of revoked logging concession permits, she continued, exceeds 815 thousand hectares, or equivalent to over 11 times the area of Singapore, mostly in the provinces of Aceh, East Kalimantan, North Maluku and Papua, as depicted in the following chart.
The total area of revoked pulpwood concession permits, meanwhile, stands at over half a million hectares, more than 53% of which are located across the provinces of Aceh and West Kalimantan, as demonstrated in the following chart.
"Social forestry and community-based agrarian reforms are among the main priorities for the logging and pulpwood concession areas whose permits have been revoked," the minister reiterated.
Mining permits
Minister Nurbaya also explained that in addition to more than two thousand revoked mining permits whose authority was under the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, another 14 revoked mining permits were under the forestry authorities.
"Environmental recovery is a top priority for the revoked mining permits, in accordance with the President's order. Legally, the companies involved are still responsible for their revoked mining concessions, including their recovery,” she asserted.
"At least 800 thousand hectares of land have been prioritized for environmental recovery," the minister affirmed.
Further efforts
Following the announcement of the revocation of the more than 3.12 million hectares of palm oil and forestry permits under the forestry authorities, Minister Nurbaya also reaffirmed that her team is currently evaluating an area of nearly 1.37 million hectares - equivalent to nearly 19 times the size of Singapore - also intended for the revocation of permits.
“The potential revocation of additional areas of palm oil and forestry permits is also very significant. The process of evaluating the permits for these more than 1.37 million hectares is still ongoing,” she said.
With reference to the dataset, almost all the additional palm oil and forestry permits under evaluation for possible revocation were also issued during President Yudhoyono's administration.
The minister reminded that efforts to revoke the permits do not stand alone but are part of a series of causal relationships formed thanks to the bold and substantial policies adopted under the leadership of President Widodo.
“The government continues to work in a systematic and conceptual manner. Any free riding in the various processes related to the revocation of permits will be detected, given the solid law enforcement team the government has in place," she warned.
Minister Nurbaya emphasized that the 192 revoked permits covering an area of over 3.12 million hectares were the second phase, while the first phase - which was carried out from September 2015 to June 2021 - spanned an area of more than 812 thousand hectares (106 permits).
Thus, she concluded, the total area of palm oil and forestry permits revoked from September 2015 until today amounts to nearly 4 million hectares, or around 54 times the size of Singapore.
RELATED STORIES
POLICY
JAKARTA (FORESTHINTS.NEWS) - The revocation of forestry, palm oil and mining permits involving huge concession areas, as announced by Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jan 6), is unprecedented in Indonesian history. This move is mainly targeted at providing more equitable access to communities, increasing land productivity and investment effectiveness, and strengthening governance in the granting of land-based permits.
The country's Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya emphasized the great importance of this step as part of efforts to reach the government's Forestry and Land Use (FoLU) net carbon sink target by 2030, as pointed out in two speeches delivered by President Widodo at the recently-held COP26 summit.
The dataset detailed by the minister relates to the revocation of 192 palm oil and forestry permits under the forestry authorities, covering an area of over 3.12 million hectares or almost 43 times the size of Singapore.
The dataset also confirms that virtually all of the revoked permits were granted during former President Yudhoyono's administration, including palm oil permits spanning an area of more than one million hectares across Papua and West Papua.
"The revocation of their permits does not eliminate the major obligations to which the companies concerned are legally bound," Minister Nurbaya cautioned (Jan 6).
137 palm oil permits
Minister Nurbaya pointed out the 1.7 million hectares of revoked palm oil permits, derived from the release of state forest areas and equal to nearly 25 times the size of Singapore, account for over 57% of the total revoked permit areas under her authority.
She added that 1.4 million hectares, or over 79% of the total palm oil permit areas revoked, are situated in the provinces of Papua, West Papua and Central Kalimantan, as shown in the following chart.
"The revocation of the palm oil permits is testament to the success of the President's palm oil moratorium order over the past three years. Why were the permits revoked? This was done after evaluating the landcover situation on a time-series basis since the permits were granted, as well as by looking at the violations that have occurred in the concessions in question," Minister Nurbaya explained.
According to the minister, now that the permits have been revoked, the strategy going forward is primarily aimed at social forestry and community-based agrarian reforms while also seeking to invite the participation of reputable and accomplished investors to help strengthen collaborations with communities.
Furthermore, she continued, areas with good forest cover are also technically classified as high conservation value (HCV) forests to be reincorporated as state forest areas.
“All of these developments involve inter-ministerial efforts and close cooperation with local governments. The overall ambition is to open up as much equitable access as possible to enhance the well-being of communities. This will involve the building of partnerships with experienced and credible new investors, as underlined by President Widodo when announcing the revocation of the permits,” the minister elaborated.
38 logging, pulpwood permits
Minister Nurbaya went into further detail, explaining that permits for logging and pulpwood concession areas covering over 1.32 million hectares, more than 18 times the size of Singapore, had been revoked. These constitute more than 42% of the total concession areas revoked, second in extent to palm oil permits.
The total area of revoked logging concession permits, she continued, exceeds 815 thousand hectares, or equivalent to over 11 times the area of Singapore, mostly in the provinces of Aceh, East Kalimantan, North Maluku and Papua, as depicted in the following chart.
The total area of revoked pulpwood concession permits, meanwhile, stands at over half a million hectares, more than 53% of which are located across the provinces of Aceh and West Kalimantan, as demonstrated in the following chart.
"Social forestry and community-based agrarian reforms are among the main priorities for the logging and pulpwood concession areas whose permits have been revoked," the minister reiterated.
Mining permits
Minister Nurbaya also explained that in addition to more than two thousand revoked mining permits whose authority was under the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, another 14 revoked mining permits were under the forestry authorities.
"Environmental recovery is a top priority for the revoked mining permits, in accordance with the President's order. Legally, the companies involved are still responsible for their revoked mining concessions, including their recovery,” she asserted.
"At least 800 thousand hectares of land have been prioritized for environmental recovery," the minister affirmed.
Further efforts
Following the announcement of the revocation of the more than 3.12 million hectares of palm oil and forestry permits under the forestry authorities, Minister Nurbaya also reaffirmed that her team is currently evaluating an area of nearly 1.37 million hectares - equivalent to nearly 19 times the size of Singapore - also intended for the revocation of permits.
“The potential revocation of additional areas of palm oil and forestry permits is also very significant. The process of evaluating the permits for these more than 1.37 million hectares is still ongoing,” she said.
With reference to the dataset, almost all the additional palm oil and forestry permits under evaluation for possible revocation were also issued during President Yudhoyono's administration.
The minister reminded that efforts to revoke the permits do not stand alone but are part of a series of causal relationships formed thanks to the bold and substantial policies adopted under the leadership of President Widodo.
“The government continues to work in a systematic and conceptual manner. Any free riding in the various processes related to the revocation of permits will be detected, given the solid law enforcement team the government has in place," she warned.
Minister Nurbaya emphasized that the 192 revoked permits covering an area of over 3.12 million hectares were the second phase, while the first phase - which was carried out from September 2015 to June 2021 - spanned an area of more than 812 thousand hectares (106 permits).
Thus, she concluded, the total area of palm oil and forestry permits revoked from September 2015 until today amounts to nearly 4 million hectares, or around 54 times the size of Singapore.
RELATED STORIES
