Stop Peat Land Conversion for Large Scale Monoculture and Palm Oil
National policy with regard based to land allotment and management of forestry for the prevention and adaptation to global climate change is very contradictory with the purpose of reducing the destruction of forests and land to climate rescue (REDD-Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation).
Indonesia Peat swamp forests are only remains about 22 million hectares in the three major islands of Sumatra, Kalimantan and Papua. 30 million poor people in Indonesia live in and still owe its life existence from the presence of one the largest peat swamp forests in the world.
Climate change as a cause of global warming in Indonesia is very dependent on the condition of change, and the designated land use, especially conversion of peat swamp forests into a large scale agricultural areas and palm oil monocultures,. In the last ten years the Government has released 5 million hectares of forest areas (peat swamp) area to be converted into agricultural and plantation areas (Ministry of Forestry, 2008).
Peat swamp forest fires in Indonesia, which ranked first for its of forest and land fires disaster in each year has become a major factor of climate change in Indonesia. Peat swamp forest fires have disturbed the ecological functions of peat swamp forest which is naturally useful as a reservoir of water in the hydrological cycle.
National policy with regard based to land allotment and management of forestry for the prevention and adaptation to global climate change is very contradictory with the purpose of reducing the destruction of forests and land to climate rescue (REDD-Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation).
Minister of Agriculture Regulation No.14 year 2009 about the Utilization of Peat lands for Large Scale Oil Palm Cultivation has encouraged the Government provided 6.7 million hectares of peat land for industrial oil palm plantations in Indonesia. Actually, the opening of peat swamp forests with a depth of 0-1 meters would potentially release carbon dioxide 13-37 tons per hectare per year (R & D Division – Ministry of Forestry, 2009).
Minister of Forestry Regulation No.36 year 2009 on Procedures REDD provides an opportunity to all business license-holders, including developer for Industrial Forest Plantation (HTI) has encouraged the Government to provide a clearance of natural forests (peat swamp) about 200,000 hectares per year with a target of 5 million hectares of pulpwood for pulp-paper achievement on forest production reserves until 2012. Whereas swamp peat forest clearing 1-3 meters depth for HTI will potentially release 167 tons per hectare per year.
Orang Rawa Gambut in Sumatera-Kalimantan
Yana (58), the widow of one son in OKI (Komering Ogan Ilir), South Sumatra said, “Peat is opened and the rubber plantation was burned, suddenly. When we asked the village head, it said that the land have been temporary borrowed use by the PT. Persada Sawit Mas in our sonor fields which we manage hereditary.”
Busil (60 years), a leader of the Anak Nagari farmer groups in Ampiang Parak-Pesisir Selatan, West Sumatra, said, “Since 1993 the government built a canal along 2 km cross tour land, and oil palm plantations from transmigration walk in, the river could not irrigate the fields because of contaminated pesticides and it will cause flood during the rainy season.”
Persada (38 years), Section Chief of Berbak National Park, Jambi, said, “The opening of 150,000 hectares of peat lands for palm by PT. Citra Agroniaga around Berbak National Park Buffer Zone will make Berbak peat leakage. In our calculation, the opening of peat will release 7,000 tons per years. If it is conducted, Berbak will be in threat situation”
Masrun (40 years), Palingkau indigenous community member – Seruyan, Central Kalimantan, told, “The removal of palm oil seeds are conducted above our natai. We’ve managed it dozens of years in our family natai. When we began to work on those natai we found that it has been replaced without our acknowledgement, all of sudden, there was thousands of palm oil plants, PT. Wana Sawit Subur Lestari have came to our land.”
Those are words from several sources, the peat people, which became a victim of development of palm oil plantations in Sumatra and Kalimantan. It already became undeniable fact that, palm oil development on swamp-peat land will obtain social conflict, climate change, and damage to swamp peat forests.
REDD for Orang Rawa Gambut
Currently it is conducted Meetings on Climate Change (September 28 to October 9, 2009) in Bangkok which is a series of talks ahead of the UNFCCC COP-15 in Copenhagen, in December. For that KpSHK (Consortium for Supporting community based Forest System Management) and its network members and indigenous forest communities in Indonesia CALLS on all parties in particular countries and Annex I of the world civil society representatives who attended the Inter-session Meetings on Climate Change in Bangkok in order to:
- Developed countries, independent financial fund of the world, and the world civil society recommend that all parties in Indonesia to STOP THE PEAT CONVERSION for PALM OIL – MONOCULTURE.
- Developed countries, independent financial fund of the world, and world’s carbon trading business who are committed to providing compensation for REDD (debt, grants and carbon trading) in the swamp peat for the Government and NGOs to call its commitment OFF to Indonesia immediately before there is a will for a formal revocation of the Minister of Agriculture Regulation No. 14 year 2009 about peat opening for Palm Oil.
- Developed countries, independent financial fund of the world, and world’s carbon trading business IMMEDIATELY REVOKE the REDD commitments (offset) before any revision of the Forestry Ministerial Regulation No.36 on REDD Procedures which includes all HTI permit holders in the swamp peat as a most important carbon trading actors.
- All the REDD scheme in swamp peat area must ensure guarantees for management authority (tenure security) based on swamp peat historical facts about the land and forest management in Indonesia, ORANG RAWA GAMBUT IS THE MAIN PERPETRATORS.
5. Developed countries, independent financial fund of the world, should ensure that all proposals for the implementation of REDD in the swamp peat by the Indonesian Government and international NGO have to be based that BENEFICIARIES of social-economic-ecology aspects in swamp forest area is ORANG RAWA GAMBUT it-selves.
THIS CALL IS A HOPE FOR ALL PARTIES, especially for the orang rawa gambut in Indonesia so that Indonesia can move forward with the clean governance based on social and ecological justice.
Bogor, September 28th 2009
This Calls Supported by:
- KpSHK – Consortium for Supporting Community Based Forest System Management. Bogor
- 37 Organizations – Members of KpSHK
- Working Group of Indigenous Forest Community in Indonesia (Jaringan Kerja Hutan Adat Indonesia- JHAI) and its 22 organization members in all over Indonesia
- Sumatra’s Orang Rawa Gambut Coalition
- Kalimantan’s Orang Rawa Gambut Coalition
