6th Edition of the JPIK Newsletter

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NEWSLETTER Independent Forest Monitoring Network (JPIK)

Newsletter 6th Edition 2017

MAINTAINING SVLK CREDIBILITY THROUGH INDEPENDENT MONITORING

T

Source: jpik

he Timber Legality

reduce illegal logging, as well as

accordance with the laws and

Verification System

increasing government's income

regulations) do no longer need

(SVLK) started to be

from timber export. After going

to pass any due diligence, as

implemented in 2010 as one of

through a number of processes,

the system is already

the system to implement the

Indonesia has officially become

recognized by the European

Voluntary Partnership

the first country in the world

Union.

Agreement on Law

which received FLEGT License.

Enforcement, Governance, and

This means the timbers exported Altogether with Indonesia's

Trade in Forestry Sector (FLEGT

using V-Legal documents

praiseworthy achievement of

VPA). This agreement between

(Documents notifying that the

receiving the FLEGT License,

the Government of Indonesia

exported timber product has

the Forest Independent

and European Union is one of

conformed with the timber

Monitoring Agency gains

the measures to significantly

legality assurance standards in

stronger role in guaranteeing

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and ensuring the SVLK's

of 2016 and beginning of

sawit-ilegal-dan-kekebalan-huk

credibility. Indonesia's success in

2017, JPIK conducted

um-masih-menggerogoti-refo

obtaining the FLEGT license has

monitoring in Central

rmasi-kayu-di-indonesia-2/).

raised the world's attention on

Kalimantan, in Bereng Malaka During the monitoring, JPIK

SVLK's credibility. Thus, to ensure

Village, Gunung Mas District.

explored information from various stakeholders through

that SVLK is consistently implemented in accordance with

The monitoring was acutally a interviews to surrounding local

the relevant regulations,

part of the follow-up to JPIK

community, workers, and village

supervision is a must, which is

and EIA's finding in 2014

staffs. To strengthen these field

implemented among others

(download the report at

findings, JPIK also requested

through the SVLK monitoring by

http://jpik.or.id/info/wp-cont

some data from the sub-national

an independent monitoring

ent/uploads/2014/12/Permitt government, as well as took

agency.

ing-Crime-Indonesia-language relevant photos and videos using -version.pdf), where alleged

drone (Unmanned Air Vehicle).

The Forest Independent

violation was reported to the

Seven companies were targeted

Monitoring Agency (JPIK) as one

law enforcement agency, yet

in the SVLK monitoring by JPIK in

of the independent monitoring

without any serious response

Bereng Malaka, namely IPK PT

agencies officially registered in the from the latter. Another monitoring conducted by JPIK Ministry of Environmental and

Prasetya Mitra Muda, IUHK Juita, IUPHHK T Jimmy Candra, UD Usaha Baru Maju, UD Family

Forestry has been actively

and EIA found that some

conducting monitoring since the

frauds were still committed by Lambung, and two other

beginning of SVLK

illegal actors which disrupted

unidentified companies.

implementation. Even after the

the reform of Indonesia's

The difficult access toward the

official granting of the FLEGT

timber industry to SVLK

monitoring location, rejection

License, JPIK keeps monitoring the (download follow-up report at from local community and SVLK implementation. At the end http://jpik.or.id/perusahaan- company's workers to give any

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data and information are some of

An independent SVLK

independent assessment

the barriers and challenges

monitoring implementation is

agencies as the SVLK auditors,

encountered in the monitoring

crucial to be conducted in

and also government, to

process. However, it was not an

regular manner, particularly

properly implement supervision

excuse for JPIK to not collecting

on companies and license

and ensure company/license

accurate evidences. Supports from

holders who have obtained

holder's conformity to the

the government and other relevant

the SVLK certificate. Other

relevant laws and regulations.

stakeholders are crucial for

than as a means to maintain

This way, SVLK will maintain its

independent monitoring agencies

and guarantee the SVLK's

credibility before the

to ensure the proper

credibility, it also helps the

international community.

implementation of the monitoring

certification agencies and

activities.

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JPIK Held Capacity Building to Monitor of SVLK for Members

T

he sustainability of SVLK implementation monitoring is crucial to be ensured. This is especially the case since the enactment of FLEGT VPA license, w h i c h r e q u i r e s S V L K implementation continuously monitored in order to secure and maintain its credibility. Capacity building for independent forest monitoring is one of the means to support the sustainable SVLK implementation monitoring. The Independent Forest Monitoring Network (JPIK) which is one of the independent monitoring body in Indonesia organized a threeday capacity building training for its members in Bogor. The training was held in March 2017 and was attended by 16 JPIK members from West Java, Banten, South Sulawesi, WestKalimantan,North Kalimantan, West Sumatera, Central Sulawesi, Lampung, East Kalimantan, East Java, Southeast Sulawesi, and West Papua.

a imed to increase JPIK m embers' capacity in conducting SVLK monitoring, w h et h e r t h ro u g h d e s k research, field monitoring, as well as preparing monitoring reports and complaint reports to the certification bodies or other relevant bodies should there be any discrepancy found against the criteria and indicators in the SVLK certificate. It is expected that in t h e f u t u r e S V L K implementation monitoring, JPIK members would be able to perform more thorough monitoring in desk-research as well as field monitoring. Any discrepancies between the field finding with the prevailing regulations obtained from monitoring will be followed-up and made into complaint report which will enable relevant agencies to take the corresponding measures.

Interestingly, in the The activity was entitled training, JPIK featured Bapak “Advanced Training for SVLK ( Mr.) Komarudin as the Implementation Monitoring and Reporting for JPIK Members�, and representative of Directorate

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of Forest Product Retribution and Circulation as the resource person for forest product administration, Ibu (Ms.) Laksmi Banowati and Bapak Sigit Pramono from the D irecto rate of Sustainable Production Forest Management as the resource person for FLEGT VPA update, and Bapak Hendy Saputra from Certification Bdoy as the resource person on auditor's work mechanism and critical points to meet the a s s e s sm e n t and verification standards in certification. Also during this o p p o r t u n i t y, p a r t i c i p a n t s expressed their hope to get right to access the SIPUHH portal, so that during monitoring, observers can conduct real-time checking. JPIK expects that the training would contribute to the enhancement of knowledge and determination of JPIK members in conducting m o n i t o r i n g o f S V L K implementation in the future.


DKP'S IMPLEMENTATION MAY HARM SVLK'S CREDIBILITY by: Hendy Saputra (PT TRIFOS International Sertifikasi)

(SVLK assessment standards and guidance are governed in the Director General's Regulation (Perdirjen P.14 of 2016). Firstly, to ensure compliance to the standards through certification schemethat will be imp l em ented by a th i rd independent party (LP&VI, Independent Assessment & Verification Agency) to obtain the Sustainable Production Forest Management Certificate (SPHPL), and/or Timber Legality Source: jpik

T

Certificate (S-LK). PHPL assessment only comprises state

he Timber Legality

revisions and changes of

Verification System (SVLK)

regulation, and currently is

is a mandatory system

governed through the

applied to timber business

Minister of Environmental and

owners, which was firstly

Forestry's Regulation Number

governed through the Minister of

P.30/Menlhk/Setjen/PHPL.3/3

Forestry's Regulation (Permenhut)

/2016, which was stipulated

P.38/Menhut-II/2009 on Standards

and started to take into effect

and Guidance for Assessment on

on 1 March 2016.

Sustainable Production Forest

The regulation that governs

Management Performance and

SVLK consists of 2 concepts to

Timber Legality Assurance on

ensure compliance to the

License Holder or in forest rights.

timber sustainability and/or

This system, which has been going

legality which is set forth in the

for 8 years has undergone five

implementation regulations

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forest objects which are managed by license holders (except IPK (Timber Utilization L i cense)) or KPH ( Forest Management Unit), while the Timber Legality Assurance has broader coverage, which is from the upstream (both state forest and forest rights) to downstream (primary industry, continued industry, holders of TDI [Notice of Industry Registration], IRT [HomeIndustry],TPT [Registered Timber Storage], and


Source: jpik

Non-Producer Exporter). Until

as well as to clarify the party

in accordance with the

March 2017, 3,660 forest-based

responsibleforthe

applicable standards. In other

industries and businesses have

comformity and declaration.

words, it is a self-declare scheme.

been SVLK-certified. (Source: SILK

Meanwhile, according to the

Any license holder who has

Online, 8 March 2017)

Minister of Environment and

received the SVLK certificate

Secondly, ensuring the compliance

Fo re st ry 's Regulation

(both SPHPL [Sustainable Forest

to standards through Declaration

(PermenLHK P.30 of 2016),

Product Management

of Supplier Conformity (DKP). The

the Declaration of Supplier

Certificate] or SLK [Timber

scheme refers to the international

Co nfo rm ity ( DKP) i s a

Legality Certificate]) is obliged to

standards ado pted as the

statement of conformity from

use the V-Legal Mark on its

Indonesia's National Standard

the supplier based on the

transport document or on the

(SNI), which is SNI ISO/IEC

evidence showing its

timber/timber product to mark

17050 : 2010 on conformity

conformity to requirements.

that the timber is SVLK-certified.

assessment - Declaration of

In brief, it can be interpreted

The same applies on log and

Supplier Conformity - (the standard

that the Declaration of

processed timber product which

consists of 2 parts, namely ISO/IEC

Supplier Conformity (DKP) in

already has DKP; they are

17050:2010-1, with Part 1: General

the SVLK scheme i s a

entitled to be attached with the

Requirements and SNI ISO/IEC

declaration issued by a timber

same V-Legal mark.

17050 - 2 : 2010 , and Part 2 :

supplier which contains

Then, is this DKP scheme which

Supporting Documents). Based on

guarantee that a timber or

uses self-declare scheme

the standard, the declaration aims

timber product to which the

effective to provide timber

to provide guarantee on the

DKP is attached has met the

legality guarantee just like the

conformity of an identified object

requirements of the timber

one provided by an

to certain referred requirements,

legality assurance standards

independent third party through

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Sample of DKP issuance: The farmer/management of forest rights can issue a DKP for the log from cultivation of forest rights which will be sent to buyer/sawing mill industry. Thus, that particular farmer/management of forest rights has guaranteed that the log is compliant with the standards and criteria on timber legality for forest rights. This standard is exactly identical with the one used to conduct assessment on timber legality for forest rights which is conducted by independent parties (LP&VI). Another example is that a primary industry with production capacity under 6,000 m3/year which only process timber from forest rights can issue a DKP for its processed products, which is sawn timber, to be sent to a continued industry. With such a DKP, the owner or management of a primary industry has guaranteed that the sawn timber processing industry is compliant with the timber legality standards for IUIPHHK (Forest Timber Exploitation License) with capacity under 6,000 m3 (among others, having complete license, complete raw material documents, implementing OHS, complying with labor regulation, etc.).

a certification scheme?

Regulation/Permenhut P.43 of

arranged through random

Referring to the SNI ISO/IEC

2014) until today, and yet is

inspection and specific

17050:2010 standard, the issuance

still far below the referred

inspection remains

of a declaration of conformity shall

standards when the DKP

unimplemented until now.

be based on the result of the

concept was developed. In

There is no sufficient

appropriate assessment activity

general, the DKP issued by a

information on whether a

(such as testing, measuring,

supplier, altogether with the

general or specific inspection

auditing, inspection, or

DKP inspection evidence

on DKP conformity has been

examination) conducted by one

conducted by the receiver,

implemented in accordance

party or more, whether a first party, have been more of

with the guidance provided in

second party, or third party. The

administrative formality

the regulation. Furthermore,

entire assessment activities must

documents. Evidences of

information on monitoring by

be properly documented and can

conformity assessment that

an Independent Forest

be tracked at anytime needed.

truly reflect the

Monitoring on the

The implementation of the

implementation of timber

implementation and use of DKP

Declaration of Supplier Conformity

legality standard in

is also seriously lacking (rarely

(DKP) in the SVLK has been going

accordance with the DKP

becomes the object of

for more than 3 years (since

issuing agency is hard to find.

monitoring).

stipulated for the first time in the

In addition, the controlling

This is especially taking place

Minister of Forestry's

mechanism which has been

when the DKP for the timbers

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from forest rights are attached to

originating from harvest of

from such an SLK

the transport document of forest

forest rights, until other

ownership. Initially,

rights timber (transport note). This processed products which are produced by industry or matter starts to be addressed in the Minister of Environmental and

artisans as well as registered

forest managements expected that the logs they produced could get

Forestry's Regulation (PermenLHK) timber storage which stores P.21 of 2015 on the Forest Products logs and processed timber

better access than the

Administration originating from

from forest rights. However,

forest rights which had

forest rights, until the currently

with the arising impacts of DKP

no SLK. This was

applicable regulation, which is the

application to the SVLK

especially the case when

Minister of Environmental and

credibility as a timber legality

there was a plan that

Forestry's Regulation (PermenLHK) system in Indonesia which has been internationally P.85 of 2016 on Transporting of

logs originating from

IUIPHHK may only receive logs that had

Cultivation Timber Forest Products

recognized, there is a need to

been certified (SPHPL

originating from Forest Rights.

conduct a review on this

and SLK). However, the

The initial aim of the DKP system

system.

efforts later turned out

was to make it easier to obtain

The extension of DKP

to be in vain, as the later

guarantee for timber legality for

implementation may harm the

policy set forth that

cultivation timbers from forest

SVLK's credibility as it causes

IUIPHHK was allowed to

rights, both the logs and timbers

direct negative impacts. Some

receive uncertified logs

processed by industry without

of the impacts are as follows:

so long as it was

having to go through costly

1. The decline of sales

accompanied with DKP. 2. Thus lost the hope of the

certification process. Considering

value of logs from

that the management and

private forest/forest

SLK forest rights

administration of the forest rights

rights which has

management to get

timber need to be made easier,

received SLK. Most of

direct access to IUIPHHK

while the guarantee of timber

the forest rights

without

legality must also still be enforced,

management of

collector/intermediary,

the DKP concept is therefore

cultivation which have

as currently the latter

applied in that specific scope. Up to

received the SLK do

can issue DKP.

now, DKP can be used as a

not extend their SLK as

guarantee for timber legality for log

there is no incentive

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3. The sustainable forest rights/private forest


management which is

verified objects only

available options is to apply the

evidenced through

if the sawmills apply

timber receipt quota policy with

certification instruments

for an SVLK

multi-layered DKP for industries

will dramatically lose its

certification.

processing people's timber. In

popularity, as it won't be

However, by using

certain period (such as 5 years),

able to compete with the

DKP, nobody checks

the annual percentage of the

facilities given to the DKP.

the truth or existence

industrial raw material received

of such documents.

from DKP will have to decline, so

4. Supports for sawmill owners who process

To prevent this phenomenon

that by the sixth year since the

timber originating from

into becoming a threat to the

policy is rolled out, the industry

private forest/forest rights

SVLK credibility, DKP shall be

will only receive raw materials

to obtain complete license

only allowed as a part of

which have been SVLK certified

such as IUIPHHK, SIUP

transitional policy, which

(SPHPL and/or SLK). This method

(Business License), TDP

aims to allow forest rights

will ensure that SVLK is still

(Company Registration

managements, IKM (Small-

implemented while retaining its

Certificate), Environment

Medium Industry), and

full credibility, as well as reduce

Document as well as other private forest sawmills to

the chance for illegal timber

legality documents

prepare themselves to apply

smuggling.

significantly decrease. The

for timber legality

documents become

certification. One of the

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Timber, Business, and Fear that Befalls Indigenous Community by: Wengki Purwanto (FP JPIK Sumbar/PBHI Sumbar) & Yuafriza (YCMM)

Source: jpik

H

Forest is the sustainer and source of life. Indonesian people has always been aware of this fact, as well as the fact that forest as a God's blessing must be protected and managed in the best manner possible for the people's prosperity. This awareness and commitment are expressed in article 33 of the country's 1945 Constitution. To achieve people's welfare, forest management and use shall not only based upon

economic calculation, but instead need to be synergized with ecological and socialcultural values and functions, as well as the local wisdom of the Indonesian indigenous community. Article 23 of Law 44/1999 on Fo restry,whichwas substituted by Law 19/2004 sets forth that the use of forest (forest timber) aims to generate optimum benefit to create prosperity of the entire

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society in just and sustainable manners. As such, in order to penetrate the European Union market, on 30 September 2013, the Government of Indonesia signed a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the European Union Government on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade/FLEGT). The partnership was ratified through Presidential Regulation No. 21/2014 on Legitimization of Voluntary Partnership A g re e m e nt b et we e n t h e Republic of Indonesia with European Union on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade of Timber Products to European Union. The goal, commitment and/or all conditions described in the above apply for all Indonesia's territory, including West Sumatera. In West Sumatera context, on 19 October 2004, the Indonesian Minister of Forestry issued Decree Letter SK.413/MenhutIV/2004 on License for Forest Timber Utilization in Natural Forest (IUPHHK-HA) for PT. Salaki Summa Sejahtera (PT. SSS) covering the area of 48,420 (forty-eight thousand four hundred twenty thousand) hectares in Kepulauan Mentawai District, which is effective for 45 years. In 2013, the Minister of Forestry issued the Decree Letter SK No. 502/Menhut-II/2013 on Forest Timber Utilization in Natural Forest (IUPHHK-HA) for PT. Minas Pagai Lumber (PT. SSS)


Table 1. Total Timber Production of PT. Salaki Summa Sejahtera and PT. Minas Pagai Lumber's IUPHHK-HA,

Timber Type

Number of Production (piece) MPL SSS

2015 Meranti Mix Tropical Hardwood Total production 2016 Meranti Mix Tropical Hardwood Total production

10.293 203 10.496

11.912 645 12.557

8.330 77 8.407

7.046 1.035 8.081

(source: sipuhh online)

covering the area of 78,000 (seventy-eight thousand) hectares which is also effective for 45 years. The log produced by both companies is predominantly the meranti group. PT. SSS has obtained the PHPL certificated number 05.Rev.3/ASERT-PHPL/XI/2013 which is valid from 11 November 2013 to 10 November 2018. PT. SSS was certified by PT. Ayamaru Sertifikasi, and has undergone three inspections which resulted GOOD and described as “Well-Maintained and Sustainable�. Meanwhile, PT. MPL has already obtained the timber legality certificate (S-LK) number 12.r2-SIC-04.02, which is valid from 06-12-2014 until 05-122017 from PT. Sarbi International C e r t i f i cat i o n . PT. M P L h a s undergone two inspections and was declared as pass as it met the inspection norms of each verifier based on the applicable law. Pursuant to the Minister of Environment's Regulation No. P.71/MenLHK/Setjen/HPL.3/8/201 6 on Procedure for Charging,

Collection and Submission of Provision of Forest Resources, Reforestation Fund, Forest Coverage Remedy, Penalty for Violation in Forest Exploitation and Retribution of Forest Utilization Business License, PT. SSS and PT. MPL, which are IUPHHK-HA holders are obliged to pay the NonTax State Income (PNBP), namely the Provision of Forest Resources (PSDH) and Reforestation Fund (DR) to the government. Based on the total production of PT. SSS and PT. MPL (Table 1), in 2015, PT. SSS was obliged to pay the Non-Tax State Income (PNBP) in form of Provision of Forest Resources (PSDH) amounting IDR 4,320,948,400,- dan DR amounting US$ 980,834.76. The oustanding PSDH was IDR 4,320,948,400,-, while the outstanding DR was amounting US$ 980,834.81. Meanwhile, from the total production of log timber in 2016, PT. SSS's outstanding

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PNPB consisted of PSDH amounting IDR 2,754,170,320,-, while the outstanding DR was amounting US$ 626,351.70. The outstanding paid by PT. SSS was respectively the PSDH which amounted IDR 2,436,352,060,-, and the outstanding DR which amounted US$ 544,322.44. Meanwhile, in 2015, PT. MPL was obliged to pay the PNBP in form of PSDH amounting IDR 3,960,630,510,-, and the outstanding DR, which amounted US$ 900,725.76. The oustanding PSDH was IDR 3,673,515,490,-, and the outstanding DR amounted US$ 835,610.71. Meanwhile, in 2016, PT. MPL's outstanding PNPB consisted of PSDH amounting IDR 2,681,011,400,-, and outstanding DR which amounted US$ 607,672.49. The outstanding paid by PT. MPL was respectively the PSDH amounting IDR 2,681,011,400,-, and outstanding DR which amounted US$ 607,656.20.


Ÿ

The Non-Tax State Income (PNBP) is the entire income of the National Government from nontax sources. Ÿ Provision of Forest Resources (PSDH) is a levy which is a substitute to the intrinsic value of the forest products that are harvested from the state's forest and/or from the forest products located in forest area which status as forest area and/or state's forest area is cancelled and is designated for development outside forestry sector. Ÿ Reforestation Fund (DR) is the fund allocated for reforestation and rehabilitation of forest along with its supporting activities which are levied from the IUPHH-HA holders which harvest timber.

PT. SSS and PT. MPL have been implementing their obligations to pay the PNBP to the government. However, does the timber, as a high economic value forest product, has optimally contributed to the justice and welfare for the people, p a rt ic ul ar ly those residing surrounding or within the forest? And, has the utilization of forest timber produtc been implemented in accordance with the law (legal aspect)? According to the Presidential Regulation (Perpres) No. 131/2015 ontheDesignationof Disadvantaged Area for 2015-2019, the Kepulauan Mentawai District was categorized as one of the three disadvantaged areas in West Sumatera. It turned out that the utilization of forest timber since the 1970s in Mentawai has not brought any significant change to the local people's welfare. The online media MentawaiKita.com published the following news on 21-12-2016, entitled: Living in Poverty in Timber Producing Area, which highlighted the poverty suffered by the locals of Taikako Hulu Timur Sub-village (which is located in PT. MPL's concession), which was inhabited by 64 heads of household. The subvillage head, Satriman Sabalat, said,

“thereisnosignof development whatsoever in our village. The roads are muddy during the rain, and students on their way home have to carry their shoes to prevent from dirt so that they can be used on the next day.” Efendi Sapalakkai (Head of BPD of Taikako), during the meeting between Sikakap community with the West Sumatran Provincial Government (7/12/2016) demanded that “the Provincial Government of West Sumatera facilitate the exclusion of Taikako Village from the HPH location, as at that time, PT. MPL has planted borders for their HPH area in the locals' field and dwelling areas. “We don't want to stay within the HPH location. We are worried that someday, there would be a policy to evict us under the pretext of protecting state's asset, and they would destroy our homes, just like whatyouseeon TV,” he said. Meanwhile, the f indings collected by Yayasan Citra Mandiri Mentawai (YCMM) show that PT. MPL committed violations in its operations. These include the construction

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of roads outside the legitimate road path corridor declared in its Annual Work Plan (RKT) 2016, namelyinManganjo, Saumanganya Village, and Pagai Utara Sub-district, which stretch 400 meters long and 6 meter wide. Meanwhile, according to the Annual Work Plan (RKT) 2016 Number 522.1/3084/PH-2015 dated 21 December 2015, the road construction should have been conducted in Taikako Hulu area, which i s located at coordinate S:02.72°56'6 E:100°1'05.00. However, field finding shows that there was a road construction outside of the designated corridor in the company's Annual Work Plan (RKT) 2016. YCMM also found logging activities within the prohibited radius or distance, which is based upon article 50 paragraph (3) of Law on Forestry, namely the Simanoppou and Simangaik river riparians, where a stump from logging remnants was found within less than 50 meters from the river and within the radius of less than 8 meters from the tip of cliff with 4 m depth. In addition, PT. MPL was also suspected as violating the deadline for the rennovation of


concession borders which should have been completed one year after the license had been issued. In the Annual Work Plan (RKT) 2015, Chapter II page 3 on the realization of scope of work area is specified to be 0.00% until December 2015, and in the Annual Work Plan (RKT) 2016 Chapter II page 6 it is specified that u nt i l N ove m b e r 2 0 1 5 , t h e realization of scope of work area for IUPHHK-HA only reached 77.44%. It was not until August 2016 that the border reconfiguration of the Sau man ganyak V i l l age was conducted. PT. Furthermore, MPL did not collaborate with local community cooperative, despite the fact that in its Annual Work Plan (RKT) 2016 it is specified that the company shall collaborate with cooperative at the latest one year after the license is issued. YCMM also suspected that PT. MPL does not implement proper management of forest timber product (in measurement, testing, m arking, t ranspo rting, and production reporting) on all of its logs. The suspicion was raised upon finding of a log that was not transported to the log collection location (TPn) nor marked. The findings also show that some logs were used as foundation and body of bridge on the rivers cutting the route for timber transport. The idle logs and those used as bridge foundation and body were not marked, and hence most likely wouldn't be reported in the production report, so that no Provision of Forest Resources (PSDH) will be charged nor any compensation for the forest stand value. Meanwhile, PT. SSS is involved in a conflict with Samongilailai tribe

(Siberut Utara concerning the payment of t imber fee. Although the 3rd audit result by PT. Ayamaru Sertifikasi on the certification ofPHPL performance assessment of PT. Salaki Summa Sejahtera page 22 states that the conflict with the local community has been setled by PT. Salaki Summa Sejahtera through a joint agreement which favors both parties and hence prevents further conflict. However, reality in the field shows different result. Quoting Pinda Tangka Simanjuntak (Head of YCMM Organization Division) which was published on www.mentawaikita.com on 9 June 2017, entitled Samongilailai Land Conflict in Tobilanggai, Malancan Village, Siberut Utara, on 9 November 2016, dozens of people of Sirilanggai launched an action of cutting the 30 meter wooden bridge in Tobilanggai. The bridge was used by the company to transport timber. The community cut down the bridge to express their frustration as the cooperative and company have not paid any timber fee to their tribe (Samongilailai). Due to the action, thousands of cubic timberscouldnot be transported by the company. The conflict was then mediated by the Muspida (Local Leaders D e l i b e r a t i o n ) Te a m o f Mentawai on 12 November 2016 at the Malancan village head's house. Eventually, it was agreed that cooperative (the company) needs to pay timber fee to the Samongilailai tribe

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amounting IDR 37,500/cubic, and that the payment was to be made at the latest two weeks since the signing of the minutes of agreement. However, until June 2017, the agreement was not yet implemented. This means, the legal aspect of timber forest product utilization still encounters problems in the field. It is the time, therefore, that the granting of license for timber forest product utilization in Mentawai to be more thoroughly evaluated. The audit result by any assessment agency does not fully guarantee that the IUPHHKHAholderoperatesin compliance with the law. It is time to ensure that utilization of timber forest product optimally benefits the people in just and sustainable manners. Let's hope so.


DEVELOPMENT OF 'PERIODIC EVALUATION' (PE) OF FLEGT-VPA EU-IDN Arbi Valentinus, who is also the National FLEGT Expert/Consultant for Indonesia at EFI FLEGT Facility

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he 'PERIODIC EVALUATION' (ref: Annex VI VPA EU-IDN) is one of the 3 existing monitoring/evaluation instruments in the FLEGT-VPA Agreement entered into between the EU (European Union) and its each partner country. Up to now, the FLEGT-VPA Agreements (VPA) that have been signed, ratified by both parties, and implemented are: between EU and Indonesia (IDN) (signed on 30 September 2013, ratified by both parties in April 2014, and started to be effective on 1 May 2014), Ghana (signed on 19 November 2009 and started to be effective on 1 December 2009), and most recently Vietnam (agreed on 11 May 2017). The two other instruments are the Impact Monitoring (IM) ref: Article 12 VPA EU-IDN and Independent Market Monitoring (IMM) ref: Annex VII VPA EU-IDN). The Periodic Evaluation (PE) aims to 'provide guarantee that the SVLK truly functions as specified in the FLEGT VPA, which in turn will

increase the credibility of the issued FLEGT license'. For the FLEGT-VPA EUIndonesia, this Periodic Evaluation (PE) was firstly conducted (PE#01: 20162017) in the end of 2016 and is expected to be completed by the middle of 2017, which will afterwards be reported in the JIC which will be held approximately one year after the agreement on preparation for implementation process (and the implementation itself) of 'FLEGT license' is achieved. The agreement on the PE time frame was achieved in the fifth 'Joint Implementation Committee' (JIC #5) in Yogyakarta on 15 September 2016, upon consideration that (i) VPA between EU and Indonesia was just completed with the implementation of 'Joint Assessment' (ref: VPA Annex VIII) in August 2016, as well as the fact that (ii) the

middle of September 2016 was the time when JIC decided to initiate the preparation process for 'FLEGT license' implementation, and it was also estimated that one month afterward (mid-November 2016) was the beginning of 'FLEGT license' implementation. This first PE (PE#01: 2016-2017) was organized by 'Sucofindo SBU-LSI' (an independent consultant agency, in compliance with the qualifications/pre-requisites set forth in Annex VI VPA). Side note: Sucofindo SBU-LSI is a business unit which provides separate services, which is independent from the Sucofindo SBU-SERCO unit which is the KAN accredited LVLK as 'other' independent agency which is determined as one of the LVLK by the Ministry of Environmental and Forestry in the SVLK element. The absence of 'conflict of interest' is further iterated with a written

The term 'Periodic Evaluation' (PE) is an official/formal term in the VPA with Indonesia. As for the VPA with Ghana and other partner countries (other VPAs that have been signed or in negotiation process), the same instrument has/can be recognized under the name of 'Independent Audit' or 'Independent Monitoring'. The different naming/term aims to prevent confusion in the VPA with Indonesia, since in SVLK, a similar term has been earlier known/used/associated to refer to the role/activity of a verification or assessment bodies (re: independent audit/verification) or that of independent (forest) monitoring agency. Note: In order to distinguish and prevent confusion, the 'independent forest monitoring' is shortened to 'IFM' in the VPA's notes, minutes (MoM=minutes of meeting), as well as in the RoD (record of discussion); 'IM' is more associated with 'impact monitoring' of VPA, and thus: IMD= Impact Monitoring Design.

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2017), East Java (3-6 May 2017), Jambi (9-13 May 2017), Bali (1720 May 2017), and Jakarta Greater Area (April-June 2017).

statement from PT. Sucofindo, which was accepted by the PE Tender Selection Panel (multistakeholders representation) and also represented both parties in the Agreement, namely EU & Indonesia). Evaluation was conducted with the objective/target of evaluating the functioning of each element in the SVLK implementation (which comprises elements such as: Ministries/government agencies, accreditation agencies, verification/assessment agencies, as well as licensing agencies, independent monitoring agencies, and business units). Evaluation is conducted regularly (once a year), by referring to the evaluation standards developed by multi-stakeholders. There are 23 evaluation standards that have been developed and serve as the basis to implement evaluation for each 'target' of the SVLK element being evaluated. The formulation and development of PE evaluation standards by the multistakeholders formulation team (PE Assistance Team) together with the PE Sucofindo SBU-LSI formulation team was conducted throughout February 2016 -

The Sucofindo SBU-LSI PE Team currently (July 2017) is in the process to compile/consolidate all records from the evaluation and is working on its PE#01 results: 2016-2017. The temporary pointers (including the notes on the process and inputs/recommendations based on the entire process of the first evaluation - for future October 2016, which included PE evaluation) will be reported broader public consultation to the technical meeting forum on 28 June 2016 (at Bidakara, of VPA (or JWG = Joint Working Jakarta). Group, or JEM= Joint Expert Meeting; note: it will take place The PE was implemented by in the second week of August the Sucofindo SBU-LSI PE 2017 (8-10 August 2017)) and Evaluator Team (assisted by report its final result to the the PE Assistance Team) upcoming JIC (Joint during April - June 2017. The Implementation Committee) PE was conducted in (i) census Forum (planned to be held in format through the entire September 2017). part of each (i.a) verification/assessment agency (LVLK/LPPHPL) and license issuing agency (V-Legal Document Issuing Agency), and (i.b) relevant national government agencies (and relevant government agencies in evaluation sector), as well as (ii) sampling on (ii.c) business unit (by considering the representativeness of the entire business unit typology/category covered in the SVLK), and (ii.d) independent forest monitoring agency (IFM). The first PE was conducted in several provinces, namely Yogyakarta(3-9 April 2017), Central Java (10-15 April 2017), Central Kalimantan (18-22 April 2017), East Kalimantan (24-30 April

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REDESIGNING ISPO FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF INDONESIA'S PALM OIL INDUSTRY GOVERNANCE

I

indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) Initiative is a policy of the Ministry of Agriculture which aims to ensure the enforcement of laws and regulations relating to palm oil and thus ensure the sustainable palm oil production. Some other objectives of this initiative are enhancing Indonesian palm oil competitiveness in the world market as well as participating in reducing green house gas emission and pay more attention on environmental issues.

SAs the basis of the policy to implement this initiative, in 2011, the Ministry of Agriculture issued a Minister of Agriculture's Regulation (Permentan) No. 19/Permentan/OT.140/3/2011 on Guidance for Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil/ISPO dated 29 March 2011 in Medan, North Sumatera, which coincides with the anniversary of the “One Hundred Years of Indonesian Palm Oil Industry�. The Minister of Agriculture's Regulation consists of 7 principles, 41 criteria, and 128 indicators. The seven ISPO principles are: (1) plantation licensing and management system, (2) implementation of technical guidelines for palm oil cultivation and processing, (3) environmental management and monitoring, (4) responsibility toward workers, (5) social and community responsibility, (6) community economic activities empowerment, (7) sustainable business development.

After the Minister of Agriculture's Regulation No. 19/Permentan/OT.140/3/201 1, in 2015, the Ministry of Agriculture issued another Minister of Agriculture's Regulation No. 11/Permentan/OT.140/3/201 5 on Indonesia Sustainable Palm Oil Certification System/ISPO. The newer Minister of Agriculture's Regulation accommodates the previous Minister of Agriculture's Regulation Number 98/Permentan/OT.140/9/201 3 on Guidelines for Plantation Business License, Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 39/2014 on Plantation (article 62), and Presidential Instruction No. 6/2013 on Suspension of New License and Refinement of Governance of Primary Natural Forest and Peatland. ISPO certification is mandatory for any estate company which operates a plantation cultivation business which is integrated with processing business, estate company which conducts plantation cultivation business, and estate company which conducts plantation products processing business. Oppositely, it is voluntary for Smallholding which land originates from government's

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land allocation, Estate Company , smallholder plantation, as well as smallholder's land which receive facility from an Estate Company, Independent Smallholdings which plantation is built and/or managed independently by the Smallholder, or Estate Company which produces palm oil for renewable energy which comply with the requirements. The data from the Ministry of Agriculture until June 2017 shows that 266 ISPO certificates have been issued, 264 of which were given to estate companies, one for smallholding, and another one for independent smallholders. However, the data collected by the ISPO Commission Secretariat differ, as it shows that until May 2017, there were 225 ISPO-certified companies. These consist of 142 certificates issued for companies in Sumatera island, 75 certificates for Kalimantan island, while other 8 for Sulawesi island.


Vision for Improvement and Multi-Stakeholders Roles

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he ISPO Certificate currently owned by the palm oil companies have not brought any significant impact to the sustainability and preservation of plantation management. Various problems remain in relation with legality aspect, which causes deforestation of natural forest and peatland, which endangers biodiversity (flora and fauna), causes fire and land fire, as well as trigger human rights violation and conflict in local/indigenous community. This problem has costed the Government of Indonesia billions of rupiahs. The aforementioned problems lead to a serious question on the effectiveness of ISPO implementation, and in response, in June 2016, the Government of Indonesia through the Coordinating Ministry of Economic Affairs formed the ISPO Strengthening Team which aims to implement fundamental improvements in certification and standardization for Indonesia's sustainable palm oil industry. This momentum is a big opportunity for environment and human rights observers and practitioners to give feedbacks pertaining to improvement of palm oil industry governance in Indonesia, including JPIK, which has been experienced in advocating for the SVLK issues. Jointly with the Indonesia's Civil Society Group, currently JPIK is actively invoved in a series of discussions with other stakeholders to promote and formulate the re-designing of ISPO. Until the end of December 2016,

the ISPO Strengthening Team has organized a series of closed discussions with various stakeholders to promote and formulate the ISPO re-designing focus. In addition, a series of meetings have been also implemented by various parties to discuss about the Draft Presidential Regulation (Perpres) on Indonesia's Sustainable Palm Oil. The Draft Presidential Regulation aims to substitute the Minister of Agriculture's Regulation Number 11/Permentan/Ot.140/3/201 5 on Indonesia Sustainable Palm Oil Certification System/ISPO. In order to gather feedbacks, the government held public consultations on the strengthening of the Presidential Regulation on Indonesia Sustainable Palm Oil in five regions, namely Sumatera, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Papua, and lastly in Jakarta. The same activity was also held by JPIK and Kaoem Telapak, which consolidated different CSOs at sub-national level to allow them to give feedbacks and recommendations pertaining to the discussions on scoring standard and the body of the Presidential Regulation. Currently, the CSO consolidation and public consultation have been conducted in three regions.

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They were, respectively, in Sumatera (Pekanbaru, Riau Province), Kalimantan (Palangkaraya) in May 2017, and in Sulawesi in June 2017. The consultations for two other regions are planned to be held by August 2017. Feedbacks and recommendations from the CSO consolidation resulted in three Position Papers which contents include the call for resolution for fundamental problems that had been delayed in palm oil sector, moratorium of license for large scale plantation, as well as comprehensive improvement in ISPO principles and criteria as a certification system. In addition, the agency in charge with administering the ISPO certification shall have prominent credibility and accountability as well as transparency, so as to ensure that improvement in palm oil industrial governance might be achieved as expected by all stakeholders.


BOX: Various products by JPIK and Kelompok Masyarakat Sipil Indonesia (Indonesia Civil Society Group) on ISPO and palm oil can be accessed on the following link: 1. Position Paper of Indonesia Civil Society Group Skema Sertifikasi Sawit Berkelanjutan Harus Dirancang Ulang (The Need for Re-Designing of the Sustainable Palm Oil Certification Scheme) http://jpik.or.id/skema-sertifikasi-sawit-berkelanjutan-harusdirancang-ulang/ 2. Position Paper of Indonesia Civil Society Group - Sumatera Chapter Menuju Praktek Perkebunan Kelapa Sawit yang Berkelanjutan Secara Ekologis, Ekonomi dan Sosial (Toward Ecologically, Economically, and Socially Sustainable Palm Oil Plantation Practices) http://jpik.or.id/menuju-praktek-perkebunan-kelapa-sawit-yangberkelanjutan-secara-ekologis-ekonomi-dan-sosial 3. Position Paper of Indonesia Civil Society Group - Kalimantan Chapter Sistem Sertifikasi Bukan Sekedar Label Sawit Berkelanjutan (Certification System Is Not Just a Sustainable Palm Oil Label) http://jpik.or.id/sistem-sertifikasi-bukan-sekedar-labelsawit-berkelanjutan/ 4. Policy Paper: Mengapa Pembahasan RUU Perkelapasawitan Harus Segera Dihentikan (Why the Discussion on Palm oil Bill Must Be Stopped Immediately)http://jpik.or.id/kertas-kebijakan-mengapa-pembahasan-ruuperkelapasawitan-harus-segera-dihentikan/ 5. Position Paper of Indonesia Civil Society Group - Kalimantan Chapter Sistem Sertifikasi Bukan Sekedar Label Sawit Berkelanjutan (Certification System Is Not Just a Sustainable Palm Oil Label) http://jpik.or.id/kertas-posisi-cso-region-sulawesi-sistemsertifikasi-bukan-sekedar-label-sawit-berkelanjutan/

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Editor: Nike Arya Sari Penulis: Dhio Teguh Ferdyan, M. Kosar, Nike Arya Sari, Yoyon Mujiono , Arbi Valentinus, Hendy Saputra, Wengki Purwanto, Yuafriza

Jaringan Pemantau Independen Kehutanan Jl. Sempur Kaler No 30 Bogor INDONESIA Telp. 0251 8574842 Email: jpikmail@gmail.com www.jpik.or.id


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