Indonesia is urged to ban new palm oil plantations permanently

Published Aug 12, 2021

Tridge summary

Indonesia, known as the world's largest palm oil producer and home to the third-largest tropical forests, has been urged by environmentalists to extend its temporary ban on new palm oil plantation permits beyond the end of its current three-year moratorium. The moratorium, in place since 2018, aims to combat deforestation, land conflicts, and forest fires, and has been credited with contributing to a decline in Indonesia's deforestation rates. However, concerns remain about the lack of data on plantation permits and the potential for the palm oil industry to drive an economic recovery amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The extension of the moratorium is viewed as a crucial step towards achieving Indonesia's climate goals, including the target of net-zero emissions by 2060.

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Original content

Indonesia should make permanent its temporary ban on new permits for palm oil plantations to advance progress on tackling deforestation and meet its climate goals, environmentalists say. Home to the world’s third-largest tropical forests and also its biggest palm-oil producer, Indonesia introduced a three-year freeze on plantation permits that expires in September. The moratorium sought to prevent forest fires, deforestation and land conflicts, help meet emissions reduction targets set under the Paris climate accord, boost oversight and accelerate efforts to increase yields among smaller palm oil producers. Yuyun Harmono, climate justice campaign manager at the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (WALHI), said a three-year ban was not long enough to achieve those goals. “They (government) have to extend it for longer as we still have the same problems,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. “Our main goal would be to have a permanent moratorium.” In 2019, Indonesian President ...

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