emission-track-on-investment

Info Sheet #ClimateJustice

Emission Track on Investment and Corporate Crime

Doc. Hotspot WALHI

F

orest and land fires had occurred at least for 18 years, becoming an important uncontested fact that the monopoly of land and forests in the development of corporate investments was the main cause of forest fires and haze pollution in Indonesia.

Until 2014, four (4) sectors of industry (logging, oil palm plantations, tree plantation, and mining) had mastered about 57 million hectares of forest and land in Indonesia.

The massive and systematic number of land monoply and forest destructions followed by drying peatlands by splitting apart (block) and build canals (drainage) by the company. This bad practice had become the main problem of forest fires and haze which continues occurs. It can be seen from: (1) The decrease of ground water level in the peatland due to the method of canalization by large-scale monoculture plantations, (2) the practice of cost savings (cheapest way) in land clearing and the tactic to slip off the release of forest area. This practice essentially had destroying forests and ecosystem of peat lands until losing its natural balance.

The result of WALHI analysis related to land and forest fires showed the big role of corporations, particularly the forestry and plantation sectors in the tragedy of haze in Indonesia. This analysis showed “traces of fire” of corporate groups in 5 provinces which suffered the worst effects; Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan.

From 2010 to 2015 there were 105,057 hotspots, where in 2015 there were 25,253 hotspots (per 28th September 2015). It can be underlined that for many years, large number of hotspots is found in large-scale monoculture plantation concessions, mainly operating on peat lands. Until September 2015, WALHI found that in the companies’ concession hotspots had been found; 5.672 in Central Kalimantan, 2.495 in West Kalimantan, 1.005 in Riau, South Sumatra, 4.416, and 2.842 hotspots founded in Jambi. The majority of fires in 2015 were in the companies’ concession, especially HTI (Industrial Tree Plantation) were 5.669 hotspots and there were 9.168 hotspots in oil palm plantations.

The results of overlay hotspots with companies’ concession showed that in four provinces (Jambi, South Sumatra, Riau and Central Kalimantan), Wilmar group and Sinarmas were the most contribute to the overall number of fires.

The Friends of the Earth International counted at least there were 1.6 million tons of GHGs (Green House Gasses) emissions released from forest and peat fires in Indonesia in 2015, which the most of hotspots was in the concessions of the big groups which have major control and managed forests and peat land in Indonesia.

The point that the investment of land-based monoculture plantation, not only just causing the tracks of fires. The other crime of corporations was leaving tracks of GHG emissions with a derivative change of climate and its impact on the safety of living beings and the environment in the future.

We know that the largest Indonesian GHGs emissions contributed from Land Use, land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF). Not to improve forestry management and peat, but increase massive extractive industrial expansion. Forest and peat fires that occurred in the 2015’s were an indisputable fact.

In May 2015, Indonesian President approved the extension of the moratorium in granting new licenses and improving governance of primary natural forests and peat lands through the Presidential Instructions No.8 2015 (Instruksi Presiden nomor 8 tahun 2015). The Presidential Instructions aimed at addressing various efforts for improving governance of forest and peat land in terms of reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation of forest. We know that Indonesia’s GHGs emissions come from forest and peat fires.

Commitment and Challenge

The Indonesian government (SBY era) has committed to reduce 26% GHGs emissions by its own efforts and 41% by international aid in 2020. Even the establishments of this percentage are contentious of unclear baseline; many people appreciated this commitment, including civil society organizations. Unfortunately, in the context of domestic policy, the commitment of greenhouse gas emission reduction was contrary with development policy, which still perpetuates high-risk development, which relies on the industrial sector and land-based extractive such as monoculture plantations and mining.

Doc. Condition forest in Riau

The irony, the Presidential Instructions about Moratorium was far from expectations. The research of WALHI with Partnership (Kemitraan) which focused in Central Kalimantan, Jambi, South Sumatra and Riau showed that since the Presidential Instructions implemented in 2011 until 2013 (The Presidential Instruction No.10/2011 until No.6/2013), the area of moratorium continues to decrease year by year, with a revised of Moratorium Map (Peta Indikasi Penundaan Izin Baru/PIPIB) from revision 1st (first) until 7th (seventh) revision.

The fact showed, new licenses continue to be published during the period of the moratorium imposed for industrial tree plantations, forest permit (Izin Pinjam Pakai Kawasan Hutan/IPPKH) for mining sector, and the release of forest area for large-scale plantations. Extensifications of concessions and issuance of permits for tree pantations reached 1,131,165 hectares of forest from 2011 to 2013.

Meanwhile, in the National forestry plan 2011-2030 there were approximately 28.39 million or 21.7% of natural forest and peat land needs protection and 13.5 million hectares of forest area was on critical conditions that need to be rehabilitated.

These figures indicate that the implementation of the moratorium is still far from expectations.

In 2015, we found that partly the spread of hotspots was not only in the concession both oil palm plantations and industrial tree plantations, but also in the moratorium areas (PIPIB area), as the situation found in Central and West Kalimantan. The result of overlay map of hotspot with the moratorium map (PIPIB), there are about 156 fires in the area of the moratorium from July 2015 period. This finding can be an evidance to see a modus of crime which systematic efforts to change the forest area to become a critical land. When the forest burned, it is easy to stated the area as critical land. It will be a good reason for the government to release the forest area became a concession of company.

INDCs Indonesia submitted by government implies that Indonesia just indication to reducing 29% emission by Business as Usual (BAU) scenario in 2030. Regarding to this target, the government should review the baseline emission based on the forest fires and haze tragedy in Indonesia. By this effort, we hope the government will stated the forest fires, haze pollution, and good governance of forest and peat land as the basic consideration in our develpoment plan and policy in addressing climate change.

In this position, a more explicit political will of the government is needed. Not only commitment, but also manifested in the form of regulations and policies to deal with land and forest fires and strengthening the moratorium policy, including a policy that recognizes the efforts of indigenous and local communities in maintaining and managing the area as part of the climate mitigation and adaptation of climate change impact.

Morover, the large number of hotspots with very high ISPU index (The Index Standard of Air Polluter) in Central Kalimantan also become a critical note because this province was the province of pilot project of REDD (Reducing Emmission from Deforestation and Degradation of Forest) in Indonesia. Properly, forest and peat fires becomes an opportunity for the government to improve forestry and peat management, strengthen the moratorium and, rectify the REDD and REDD + mechanism in mitigating climate change.

Forest and peat fires and haze disaster in 2015 was like a bloody blow to remind the Government that “Indonesia free of Haze� was still far from expectation. LAPAN shows 2.089.991 hectares of forest and peatland burned in 3 (three) months (July – October 2015). This number is larger than the total of deforestation in 3 (three years).

Contact Person: Kurniawan Sabar Campaign Manager National Executive of WALHI Mobile Phone: +6281241481868 Email: kurniawan.walhi@gmail.com Skype: kurniawan.sabar