Absolution of Sin for the Forest Demolishers

Agustina Arumsari, second deputy of the Oil Palm Task Force, has identified and verified the permits of 1,027 companies whose land is reported to be in forest areas. Next, the Task Force will determine the problem-solving mechanism for each company.

"The regulations are not digitized, so it will take more time to analyze," Agustina told Tempo in October 2023. The Task Force said it would continue to investigate emerging issues, such as the data up to the companies that claimed to have received the SGUs.

The head of the Advocacy Department of the Oil Palm Farmers Union, Marselinus Andry, has a different view. According to him, the existence of HGUs in forest areas points to allegations of fraud in the licensing and granting of land rights. According to Marselinus, the problem is not just an administrative issue but needs to be examined for its potential for corruption.

Achmad Surambo, director of Sawit Watch, echoed the same sentiments. According to him, entrepreneurs who claim to have HGUs but are still being asked to apply for the release of forest land indicates that their permits are not yet complete. "Including not yet having a letter to release the forest area," he said.

According to Surambo, Oil palm land disputes in forest areas should be resolved through criminal law, not just as an administrative matter. Sawit Watch believes that the government should continue to adhere to Presidential Regulation No. 88 of 2017 on the settlement of land tenure in forest areas.

Director General of Plantation Andi Nur Alam Syah, who is also a member of the Oil Palm Task Force, was reluctant to comment on the issue of oil palm land clearing in forest areas. “We’re not eligible to speak, there is Mr. Chief (of the Task Force) in that position (to talk about it),” Andi said when met at the Agriculture Ministry’s office.

Pantau Gambut believes the government's reasons for pardoning illegal oil palm land are not on the side of the environment and the people. Pantau Gambut's Advocacy and Campaign Manager, Wahyu Perdana, asserted the danger of pardoning illegal oil palm land in forest areas. In addition, oil palm plantations in the peat hydrological unit area will worsen the occurrence of land and forest fires.

Based on Pantau Gambut's analysis, of the total 3.3 million hectares of oil palm plantations that the government intends to pardon, 407,267,537 hectares or about 13 percent are located in the Peat Hydrological Unit (PHU). From this figure, 72 percent of the oil palm plantations in the PHU to be pardoned are in the medium fire-prone category. The remainders, approximately 27 percent, are in the high fire risk category.

"It has been proven that most of the fires occurred in illegal oil palm plantations, not the legal ones," Wahyu said.

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