Absolution of Sin for the Forest Demolishers
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22 May 2024 22:20 WIB
According to Bambang, the number of companies and individuals applying for land pardons will continue to increase in line with the accelerated efforts of the Oil Palm Task Force. The Task Force aims to complete the process of granting legality to oil palm land in forest areas by September 20, 2024.
The release of oil palm land in forest areas has been implemented since July 2012 through the issuance of Government Regulation No. 60 of 2012 on Amendments to Government Regulation No. 10 of 2010 on Procedures for Changing the Designation and Function of Forest Areas. This amendment gives companies six months to apply for a permit to release forest land.
The second pardon took place in 2015, through Government Regulation No. 104 of 2015 on Procedures for Changing the Designation and Function of Forest Areas. This time, the period for companies to propose the release of forests was extended to one year. In addition, the government allowed companies to operate in protected forests and conservations for one planting cycle. The planting cycle for oil palm can be around 30 years.
The third program began in 2020 and continues to this day. This time it is carried out under the Job Creation Law, which provides a longer time limit, while also changing the criminal sanctions to administrative sanctions.
The government established the Oil Palm Task Force in June 2023 for implementation. The Task Force consists of representatives from several ministries and all working groups to restore government revenue from taxes rather than the palm oil industry tax, including setting fines.
At the time, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said the government had decided to pardon millions of hectares of palm oil plantations that had been planted in forest areas. "Yes, (it has been pardoned). What else should we do? Do we have to remove (the plant)? "Just use your logic, we're forced to pardon (them)," Luhut said.
The pardon of oil palm land in forest areas has become a red carpet for hundreds of palm oil companies - including Best Agro Group, Sinarmas Group, Salim Group, and Darmex Group - to control the land and escape their responsibility for the destruction of millions of hectares of forests in Indonesia.
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However, the pardon mechanism is still not enough to satisfy palm oil entrepreneurs. The chairman of the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (IPOA, or GAPKI in Indonesian), Eddy Martono, said that the mechanism for pardoning oil palm plantations is still being debated among the entrepreneurs. Several entrepreneurs admitted that they already have HGUs or permits, so they should not be classified as being in a forest area and should not have to pay fines.
Gapki believes that the release of forest land for palm oil companies that have received HGUs must be done through a special mechanism. "The government needs to use a mechanism of continuity because there is a lack of synchronization in spatial planning between the central and regional governments," it said. Gapki has already submitted the matter to the Indonesian Ombudsman, hoping for a solution to the maladministration of the policy.
