PRESS RELEASE
RAISING SUPPORT FOR LAND BASED INDUSTRIES FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Jakarta, June 5, 2012 – Indonesia continues to strengthen the coordination and to raise support for the implementation of sustainable development. Good initiatives and practices from various sectors are encouraged and supported to promote even better practices in the future. That spirit was reflected in the seminar entitled “We Care, We Share. A Gallery of Good Practices in Land‐based Industries: Palm Oil, Mining, and Forestry” held by the Task Force for the Preparation of REDD+ Agency, on June 5, 2012 in Jakarta. As the Chairman of REDD+ Task Force, Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, noted “This seminar will be a starting point for a series of dialogues in the future to strengthen the commitment of the business sectors of Indonesia towards sustainable development." Among the good practices discussed in the seminar were initiatives of several land based industries to integrate actions for environmental conservation and good social engagement into the strategies and regulations of their business. In the forestry sector for example, some actors in the forestry business have been proactive in implementing the principles of sustainable forest management which affect the reduction of carbon emissions. Additionally, the plantation sector has initiated the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and Indonesia Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) for the past several years, which is also contributing in emissions reduction from the palm oil plantation in Indonesia. Similar initiatives also exist in other sectors, including the extractive industry, in particular the mining industry. We must appreciate these good practices although it is not without flaws and still needs some improvements. The seminar presented cases from the land based industries representing mining, plantation and forest utilization sectors. The presentations were reviewed, discussed and even criticised, in some cases, by experts and participants at the seminar. Some interesting points came up in the discussion, among others, the cooperation between the plantation business actors such as PT SMART Tbk, the subsidiary of Golden Agri Resources (GAR) and The Forest Trust, which produced the findings of practical methods to identify forest with high carbon stock. “Methods to identify
forest with high carbon stock will bring us closer to the actions to ensure zero foot prints of deforestation in the palm oil plantations. However, we can't implement this policy by working alone, it is highly important that all the relevant stakeholder’s work together to succeed in these actions," said Daud Dharsono, General Director of PT. SMART Tbk. The commitment of GAR elicited a positive response from Senior Scientist in Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Daniel Murdiyarso, who said, “Methods of improvement will increase the credibility, thus, policy in business sector needs to consider credible and transparent methods so that it can be widely adopted by others within the sector." From the mining sector, Rock Funston, Project Director of IndoMetCoal, BHP Billiton, shared their experiences in post mining land reclamation in Petanggis by involving local community at the earliest stage of the process. “Till date, the community continues to benefit, particularly from conservation and eco‐tourism. We hope that the principle of the community's engagement can be replicated in other land based industries,” said Rock. In his closing remarks, Kuntoro emphasized the role that must be taken by various parties to succeed in the implementation of sustainable development in Indonesia. “Every sector should have the same obligation that can be adjusted to the specification of its sector, to implement good practices, and to make it into accepted practices. The government also has an obligation to create enabling conditions. Relevant regulations need to be amended and incentives may have to be increased. Nevertheless, the private sector should not wait for the government to change. We have to work together to encourage each other to create a critical mass.” Furthermore, Kuntoro said that there will be invitations to all relevant parties to sit together in similar workshops within three months and the workshop will be a media to accommodate matters that have been discussed by each sector, to be raised, followed up and solved in a concrete manner. He said that UKP 4 and REDD+ Task Force will continue to oversee the process to succeed. For further information please contact: Chandra Kirana – Chair ‐ Working Group on Communication and Stakeholders’ Engagement REDD+ Task Force Kirana.chandra@gmail.com www.satgasreddplus.org