Press Release A YEAR AFTER MORATORIUM: BOOSTING COORDINATION FOR FOREST MANAGEMENT IMPROVEMENT Jakarta, 21 May – The improvement of governance of primary natural forest and peat land and as stipulated by Presidential Instruction No. 10/2011, widely known as Moratorium Inpres, has been largely instrumental in achieving the goal of a harmonized “One Map,” an integrated map for all forest and peatland areas nationwide. The year following the signing of the Presidential Instruction, “The moratorium has been effective for the One Map development. This is an extraordinary achievement considering that many institutions and ministries previously used different maps as the basis for the issuance of various management permits,” said Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, Head of the President’s Delivery Unit for Development Monitoring and Oversight (UKP4) and Chair of the REDD+ Task Force when talking to the media on Monday, May 21, in Jakarta. The institutions mentioned by Kuntoro include the Ministry of Forestry, Ministry of Agriculture and National Land Agency each of which has their own map and independently issue various permits for peatland and primary forest. As a result, the permits often overlap resulting in disorganized management and may lead to severe tenurial conflicts. “All of these are surely hampering economic development and sustainable development in Indonesia,” Kuntoro added. The Presidential Instruction No.10/2011 includes an indicative map on the suspension of new licenses (PIPIB) for primary forest and peatland set up by the Ministry of Forestry -‐ with some exceptions for concession permits issued prior to the issuance of this Presidential Instruction. PIPIB is regularly revised every 6 months to enhance map accuracy – creating an enlargement or reduction of areas as stipulated in the Moratorium – while boosting coordination among the Ministry of Forestry, Ministry of Agriculture National Land Agency, Geospatial Information Agency and the REDD+ Task Force. “The change of the moratorium area resulted in every revision including the second PIPIB revision has reflected the indicative nature of the map, given the fact that data quality and relevant spatial information on primary forest, protected forest and peatland derived from community, individual, company, right up to ministry/institution are subject to improvement every second,” said Kuntoro. For instance, the second PIPIB revision has excluded a village located in a mineral-‐rich peatland area in Kapuas Regency, Central Kalimantan. On the other hand, a 1,605 hectares plot of land claimed by PT Kallista Alam in Rawa Tripa, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, has been re-‐included. Some concessions issued without conversion license (ijin pelepasan kawasan
hutan) have been re-‐included in the moratorium areas. The permits will be reviewed as part of the improvement in good governance of forest management. Overall, there is an additional expansion of 379,000 hectares deriving from an expansion of 862,000 hectares and shrinkage of 482,000 hectares. Thus, the total area included in the second PIPIB revision is about 65,753,810 hectares. In parallel with the PIPIB improvement process, the government will rectify forest and peatland license registration system. To achieve this, the government is in the process of developing a database for licenses. “An accountable and transparent license issuance process is imperative to develop a fair and sustainable forest and land management. During the imposition of the moratorium decree, we will improve the licensing system through the establishment of an integrated system,” added Kuntoro. In addition, the REDD+ Task Force has also established an Integrated Team for law enforcement in cooperation with the Attorney-‐General’s Office, National Police and Minitry of Forestry. The team aims to ensure consistent law enforcement against the encroachers (particularly within the primary forest and peatland). The latest work conducted by this Integrated Team as a result of harmonious and intensive cooperation involving the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Forestry and National Police, is the alleged irregularity committed in Rawa Tripa. Other plantation and mining cases in different areas are also under intensive investigation process by the team. The government is committed to build a transparent, inclusive, and accountable good governance process for forest and peatland management. For this reason, all parties are invited to provide feedback for the PIPIB revision process through various media such as regular mail, short message service and internet. “Whenever we report PIPIB, the public could make direct track changes and send their queries to us in case they find any inaccuracy,” Kuntoro said. To enhance its preparedness, the REDD+ Task Force in the near future will launch a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to handle public complaints on PIPIB. For further info, please contact: Chandra Kirana Chair of Communication and Stakeholders Engagement Working Group Kirana.chandra@gmail.com