Absolution of Sin for the Forest Demolishers
Translator
Editor
22 May 2024 22:20 WIB
Mahrus Ariyadi, the head of the Provincial Natural Resources Conservation Center, has learned that PT SKIP Senakin Estate broke into the Kelumpang Bay natural reserve. Mahrus acknowledged having written to PT SKIP about the discovery of an oil palm plantation spanning 400–700 hectares, which the company own, within the nature reserve.
The endemic animals in the vicinity of the Teluk Kelumpang Nature Reserve now have different living spaces as a result of the expansion of oil palm plantations in forest areas. The white forehead langur is one of them. The white-browed langur primate is indigenous to Kalimantan, protected under Number P.106/MENLHK/SETJEN/KUM.1/8/2018, and classified as vulnerable (VU) 1 Appendix II CITES by the IUCN Red List. There were only 37 members of the animal species in the population that was discovered during observation.
The animal species that are threatened by illegal oil palm land.
Chief Sustainability and Communication Officer Anita Neville of Sinarmas Agribusiness and Food said that her party has settled land in forest areas in accordance with government directives. When reached on Wednesday, December 13, 2023, Anita stated, "We support regulatory measures and are actively involved in providing the requested information and other required documents."
In West Kalimantan, disputes over oil palm land in forested regions often arise. There are more than 198 palm oil companies in the forest areas there, according to data from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry. Out of these hundreds of companies, 88,000 hectares are included in the forest areas.
PT Riau Agrotama Plantation (PT RAP), a division of the Salim Group, is one of the businesses suspected of possessing oil palm land in forest areas. It is said that PT RAP is encroaching forest areas in Kapuas Hulu Regency's Bukit Penai Village and Silat Hilir District. This company is the only one indicated to be entering the Kapuas Hulu forest area covering an area of 2,171 hectares.
PT RAP is also listed as a palm oil company in conflict with residents of Bukit Penai Village, Silat Hilir District, Kapuas Hulu Regency. It is suspected that this corporation has stolen 573.5 hectares of land from the locals. Even though this company resigned from the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) in 2019 after 15 years of membership, it still holds an RSPO accreditation.
After the company took their land, the locals blocked it up in 2021 and asked that the company to give it back. For a total of 206 families, or 371.5 hectares, the corporation was required to release 1.5 hectares of land from the Bukit Penai Village community for every head of family. In addition, the corporation was requested to give back 62.5 hectares of village treasury land. The company may hold the rest of the land. But the company didn't meet these expectations.
The locals sued the company once more in 2023. The government of the Kapuas Hulu Regency stepped in this time. It was agreed to temporarily suspend the company's operations because PT RAP did not show up for the meeting that was organized by the government of the Kapuas Hulu Regency. PT RAP is only willing to execute a contract to fence the company's main land and assume ownership of it in May 2023.
The dispute between the corporation and the locals is still being worked out, according to Eko Budi Santoso, the head of Bukit Penai Village. "It has been mediated," he declared in October 2023. One of Penai Village's traditional chiefs, Tumenggung Rajang, expects that the locals will be able to reclaim their rights despite the fact that their customary forest is currently being converted into oil palm plantation. "Rather than having nothing," he said.
