Rabu, 07 Juli 2010

The moratorium and palm oil

More than five weeks since President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono committed
to a two-year moratorium on the conversion of primary forests and
peatlands into oil palm plantations, related ministries and palm oil
companies have remained confused about how the program will be
implemented.

True, the moratorium Yudhoyono agreed on with the Norwegian government
in Oslo late in May hit the roots of the problem that has prompted
international environmentalists to label Indonesia the world’s
third-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases.

Reckless and uncontrolled deforestation and peatlands conversion for oil
palm plantations have indeed been the primary cause of greenhouse gas
emissions in Indonesia, and the US$1 billion pledged by Norway in
compensation for the moratorium could do a lot of good things for this
country.

But the commitment seems to lack credibility in the absence of support
of palm oil companies, the party that will be affected directly by it.
Last week, the palm oil industry association reiterated its opposition
to the Indonesia-Norway agreement, complaining that it would have
adverse impacts on investment plans in oil palm development.

Confusion and apprehension have persisted even though Coordinating
Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa assured palm oil companies at an
international conference in Yogyakarta last month that the Oslo
agreement would not affect plantation investment projects that had
already been approved by government. But the lack of details made his
assurances less credible.

And to the contrary, the President seemed clear cut on how he would go
about implementing the moratorium. He even announced plans for a special
authority, modeled on the Aceh Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency,
to oversee its implementation by regional governments.

We reckon part of the problem has been caused by a lack of coordination
between policy makers. Even the ministries of forestry, agriculture and
the environment, which are directly related to the moratorium, seemed to
have been caught off-guard by the Oslo deal.

Indonesia, already the world’s largest producer of palm oil, with an
annual output of almost 20 million tons, plans to steadily expand its
oil palm plantations so as to double production within 10 years, and
investors have obtained licenses to immediately open an additional 2
million hectares of plantations.

The blunt fact, however, is that the President has made an international
commitment as part of Indonesia’s participation in the global campaign
to reduce carbon emissions and to fight climate change.

It is urgent and most imperative, therefore, that all related ministries
and regional administrations work together and coordinate to implement
the moratorium properly, not only to defend our credibility in the
international community. Preventing deforestation is primarily for our
own good because Indonesia, as the world’s largest archipelago country,
will be among the hardest hit by the devastating impacts of climate
change.

However, most important is that the President show strong leadership to
ensure that all sectors in government and the public take part in the
program.

We think the remaining six months before the Oslo agreement is due to
take effect are still adequate to make all necessary technical
preparations and formulated regulatory frameworks. After all, the
government is still finalizing regulations for the enforcement of the
2009 Environment Law.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/07/05/editorial-the-moratorium-and-palm-oil.html

Minggu, 11 April 2010

Ekspansi 400 Hektare per Tahun Kebun Sawit Ancam Lingkungan Hidup

Antara/Kasriadi
JAKARTA--MI: Ekspansi sekitar 400 hektare per tahun untuk perkebunan kelapa
sawit di Indonesia dinilai dapat mengancam lingkungan hidup. Terlebih lagi,
kebun sawit di Indonesia yang luasnya mencapai 9 juta hektare sebagian besar
terdiri dari lahan produktif.

Hal tersebut disampaikan Head of Department Campaign and Public Education
Sawit Watch Jefri Gideon Saragih dalam acara jumpa pers dengan lembaga
swadaya masyarakat (LSM) Indonesia tentang perkebunan kelapa sawit
Indonesia, di Jakarta, Selasa (6/4).
"Ekspansi yang kita catat 400 ribu hektare per tahun dan sekarang mulai
makin banyak ke timur," katanya.

Sebaiknya, ekspansi perkebunan sawit di Indonesia bisa menggunakan 7,3 juta
hektare lahan terlantar yang diumumkan Badan Pertanahan Nasional beberapa
waktu lalu. Namun setelah diselidiki, Jefri mengungkapkan bahwa lahan
terlantar tersebut banyak dimiliki perusahaan-perusaha an yang sulit
melepaskan haknya. Maka perusahaan sawit tidak mau susah dengan memilih
lahan produktif yang tersedia.

Jefri menyarankan agar Indonesia lebih baik mengoptimalkan perkebunan sawit
yang sudah ada daripada memperluasnya lagi.
"Kenapa kita ngotot ekspansi? Malaysia saja yang luas kebunnya cuma 4,9 juta
hektare bisa menghasilkan 18 juta ton. Kita dengan 9 juta hektare hanya bisa
menghasilkan 21 juta ton," jelasnya.

Selain itu, ia khawatir dengan banyaknya penguasaan asing di perkebunan
sawit Indonesia. Jefri melihat Indonesia hanya sebagai penyedia tenaga kerja
dan lahan. "Masalahnya kita bangga dengan luas kebun kita, hasil produksi
tiap tahun kita, padahal sebenarnya itu bukan punya kita sendiri," ujarnya.

Tidak hanya lingkungan hidup, ekspansi perkebunan sawit juga meninggalkan
masalah lainnya, seperti konflik dengan masyarakat adat sekitar daerah
perkebunan sawit setempat.

Director of International Advocacy and Foreign Affairs Aliansi Masyarakat
Adat dan Nusantara (AMAN) Mina Susana Setra menilai ekspansi perkebunan
sawit yang dilakukan perusahaan produsen crude palm oil (CPO) tidak
menghormati kepemilikan tanah adat di daerah sekitarnya. "Tidak ada
pengakuan tanah yang dimiliki masyarakat adat," katanya.

Ditambah lagi, pemerintah tidak mengawasi tata ruang lingkungan sehingga
perusahaan CPO bisa seenaknya menggunakan lahan.
"Pemerintah tidak pernah menegur Taman Nasional Danau Sentarum dilepas jadi
perkebunan sawit. Perbatasan Kalbar (Kalimantan Barat-Malaysia) juga sudah
carut marut tata ruang dan pertahanan TNI-nya," cetus Mina.

Sementara itu, buruh perusahaan produsen CPO selama ini mendapat perlakuan
tidak adil. Mereka memperoleh skema upah rendah dan tidak memiliki kenaikan
gaji secara berkala.

Berdasarkan pengamatan Direktur Pengawasan dan Perlindungan Hak Buruh
Kelompok Pelita Sejahtera Medan, Gindo Nadapdap, buruh perusahaan produsen
CPO di Sumatra Utara hanya menerima upah Rp 8-15 ribu per hari. "Jumlah ini
jauh di bawah upah minimum provinsi yang seharusnya Rp 965 ribu per bulan,"
jelasnya. (*/OL-7)
http://www.mediaind onesia.com/ read/2010/ 04/06/134196/ 89/14/Ekspansi- 400-Hektare-per-Tahun- Kebun-Sawit- Ancam-Lingkungan -Hidup

Audit result on SMART due in June

Mustaqim Adamrah , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Thu, 04/08/2010 9:04 AM
| Business
Crude palm oil producer PT Sinar Mas Agro Resources and Technology (SMART)
expects the verification work on allegations that it illegally destroyed
forests would be finished by the end of this June.
“We have delivered the terms of reference [for the verification] to the two
consulting firms … we still need to arrange some details,” SMART president
director Daud Dharsono told reporters on Wednesday following a meeting with
Trade Ministry officials and executives of the Netherlands- based consumer
goods producer Unilever.
“Therefore, we hope the verification will be completed within the next eight
to 12 weeks — by the end of June,” he added.
For the verification process, SMART has appointed two independent
consultants, Control Union Certification (CUC) of the Netherlands and the
British Standards Institute Group (BSI) through their representative offices
in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and in Singapore, respectively.
Results of the verification are expected, as SMART says, to help “clarify”
environmental issues raised by the environmental group Greenpeace.
In a 2008 Greenpeace report, the organization indicated that CPO producers
had converted peat lands, natural forests and habitats of Indonesia’s
indigenous orangutan into oil palm plantations. The report was later
supported by a field investigation and satellite data.
Greenpeace has since urged CPO buyers, such as Switzerland- based food
producer NestlĂ©, the Unilever group and the US-based company Cargill —
producer and marketer of food, agricultural, financial and industrial
products and services — to stop buying CPO from producers disregarding
sustainable plantation practices required by the Roundtable on Sustainable
Palm Oil (RSPO) sponsored by producers and buyers.
After this report Unilever suspended in December last year all future
purchases of 47,000 tons of CPO per year worth approximately US$33 million
from SMART and decided two months later to no longer source palm oil from
Indonesian supplier Duta Palma.
Following the decision of Unilever, Nestle, which consumes 4,000 tons of CPO
a year, joined the move last month, deciding also to stop buying CPO from
SMART.
Local producers now fear other large international CPO buyers such as
Cargill, Loders Croklaan, Kraft and Shell could also terminate their
contracts with SMART.
Meanwhile, Unilever Indonesia corporate secretary Sancoyo Antarikso said
Unilever would wait for the results before deciding whether to resume
buying CPO from SMART.
Indonesia is the world’s largest CPO producer and exporter, with total
production reaching 20.2 million tons last year.
http://www.thejakar tapost.com/ news/2010/ 04/08/audit- result-smart- due-june. html

Plantation firms to produce biodiesel for Pertamina

Nani Afrida , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Fri, 04/09/2010 10:53 AM |
Business

Three state plantation firms - PT Perkebunan Nusantara (PTPN) III, IV and V
- will begin the construction of three biodiesel plants in Dumai, Riau
province, before the second half of the year starts.
The three plants are expected to absorb Rp 400 billion in total investment.
"The plants will be finished in the next 18 months. In 2012 the plants will
start producing biodiesel," PTPN IV president director Dahlan Harahap said
on the sidelines of the signing of an MoU between the three firms with state
oil and gas producer PT Pertamina on Thursday.
Pertamina has agreed to purchase the biodiesel from the plants and to
prepare a storage facility for the biodiesel at the port in Dumai.
Dahlan said each of the plants has a capacity to process 100,000 tons of oil
palm fruit bunches (TBS) annually. The capacity is expected to be doubled by
2014.
"If the demand keeps increasing, the capacity may jump to 1 million tons of
TBS every year," he said.
Dahlan said about 30 percent of the investment needed to construct the
plants would come from the companies' internal cash flow and the rest from
bank loans.
Biofuel is currently being sold to retail customers. In 2008, Pertamina had
279 petrol stations selling biofuel while PLN has also used biofuel to help
power nine of its power stations. These nine stations have a total capacity
of 96 megawatts (MW).
Currently Indonesia has produced two types of biofuel: bioethanol - made
from cassava, sugarcane and sweet sorghum, and biodiesel - made from castor,
crude palm oil and jatropha.
By 2015, Indonesia plans to have 10 million hectares of palm oil
plantations, up from 7.9 million today.
According to studies by state plantation companies, there are 44 million
hectares of land in the country ideal for palm oil plantation. Using
conservative yield estimates, this area of oil palm plantation could produce
145 billion liters per year of biodiesel, or 10 percent of current fossil
diesel demand.
Besides planning to produce biodiesel, the state plantation firms also plan
to produce electricity from biomass-generated power plants and sell it to
state electricity company PT PLN.
To produce electricity power in the CPO factories, one factory will require
between Rp 30 billion and Rp 40 billion in investment. Dahlan said PTPN IV
currently operates 50 factories, with each one potentially able to generate
3 MW of power from biomass, mostly from the Empty Fruit Bunches (EFB) and
any other available biomass waste.
PLN will be obtaining electric power from CPO plantations from power
generated from biomass (EFBs) while Pertamina will obtain biofuel processed
from the CPO itself.
"At the present, only two factories are ready to produce 6 MW in total of
electricity power," he said.
CPO is playing an increasingly important role in Indonesia today with the
demand for the product increasing which not only for food consumption and
other uses but also as an energy supply crop.
The Indonesian Palm Oil Producers Association (GAPKI), consists of about 370
CPO producer firms making use of about 2.4 million hectares of oil palm
plantations. They, along with many smaller farmers, are aiming to produce
at least 25 million tons of CPO this year, up by 25 percent from last year's
production target of 20 million tons.
http://www.thejakar tapost.com/ news/2010/ 04/09/plantation -firms-produce- biodiesel-pertamina. html

Selasa, 30 Maret 2010

Sumut Fokus pada Pengembangan Produk Hilir CPO

Senin, 29 Maret 2010 | 03:26 WIB
Medan, Kompas - Pengembangan produk industri hilir minyak sawit mentah
menjadi salah satu tema sentral dalam Musyawarah Perencanaan Pembangunan
Daerah untuk penyusunan Anggaran Pendapatan dan Belanja Daerah Provinsi
Sumatera Utara tahun 2011. Selain itu, peningkatan mutu produk agroindustri
dataran tinggi Bukit Barisan juga dibahas secara khusus dalam forum
tersebut.
Musyawarah Perencanaan Pembangunan Daerah (Musrenbangda) Provinsi Sumut akan
digelar 30 Maret-1 April. Rencananya, Musrenbangda Provinsi Sumut dihadiri
10 menteri Kabinet Indonesia Bersatu, antara lain Menteri Keuangan Sri
Mulyani Indrawati, Kepala Badan Perencanaan Pembangunan Nasional Armida S
Alisjahbana, dan Menteri Perdagangan Mari Elka Pangestu.
Menurut Kepala Badan Perencanaan Pembangunan Daerah (Bappeda) Provinsi Sumut
Riadil Akhir Lubis, Musrebangda Provinsi Sumut tahun ini memang fokus pada
tema sentral peningkatan mutu dan daya saing produk asal Sumut. "Salah satu
yang diangkat jadi pembahasan adalah produk industri hilir minyak sawit
mentah atau CPO. Sumut harus segera menurunkan volume ekspor CPO murni,
tetapi sudah dalam bentuk industri hilir. Ada 170 industri turunan CPO yang
bisa dikembangkan di Sumut. Nantinya produk CPO Sumut untuk memenuhi
kebutuhan industri hilir di sini saja," ujar Riadil di Medan, Minggu (28/3).
Untuk pengembangan industri hilir, pemerintah pusat telah menetapkan Sumut
sebagai salah satu kluster industri hilir CPO di Indonesia. Ada dua lokasi
kluster industri CPO tengah dikembangkan di Sumut, yakni di Sei Mangke di
Kabupaten Simalungun dan Deli Serdang.
"Untuk kluster industri hilir CPO di Sei Mangke, kawasannya terintegrasi
dengan Pelabuhan Kuala Tanjung, Kabupaten Batubara. Sedangkan kluster
industri hilir di Deli Serdang nantinya terintegrasi dengan Pelabuhan
Belawan dan Bandara Kuala Namu," katanya. (BIL)
http://cetak.kompas.com/read/xml/2010/03/29/03261468/sumut.fokus.pada.pengem

Kamis, 25 Maret 2010

18 Perusahaan CPO Melawan

Greenpeace dinilai lakukan kampanye hitam
JAKARTA: Sedikitnya 18 perusahaan bersama pemerintah siap pasang badan
melawan desakan isu negatif yang belakangan ini gencar menyerang bisnis
minyak sawit mentah (crude palm oil/CPO) Indonesia

Pukulan bertubi-tubi dari salah satu lembaga swadaya masyarakat (LSM) peduli
lingkungan berafiliasi internasional, Greenpeace, dikhawatirkan menurunkan
volume ekspor CPO nasional setelah sejumlah pembeli besar memutus kontrak.

Harga CPO di bursa komoditas berjangka Malaysia untuk pengapalan hingga
Agustus 2010 terus mengalami penurunan dengan fluktuasi 200 ringgit per ton.

Untuk menangkal isu negatif yang berpotensi berdampak sistemik terhadap
target ekspor dan pendapatan devisa negara, pemerintah akan merapatkan
kekuatan nasional dengan memanggil 18 perusahaan besar pemangku bisnis CPO.

"Kami dan petinggi 18 perusahaan akan membicarakan langkah apa yang perlu
ditempuh untuk menghadapi kampanye hitam dari LSM seperti yang dilakukan
Greenpeace," ujar Dirjen Perkebunan Kementerian Pertanian Achmad Mangga
Barani, kemarin.

Perusahaan tersebut a.l. PT Astra Agro Lestari, PT Sinarmas Agro Resources
and Technology, PT London Sumatera, Wilmar, PT Musi Mas, PT Sampoerna Agro,
Bakrie Sumatera Plantations, dan PTPN.

Dia mengatakan pemerintah berupaya untuk mengantisipasi dan mencegah agar
kampanye hitam dari Greenpeace tidak meluas dan berdampak sistemik terhadap
industri sawit nasional.

Menurut Menteri Perdagangan Mari Elka Pangestu, penyelesaian yang paling
adil dalam kasus pemutusan kontrak CPO oleh perusahaan asing harus
diselesaikan dengan melibatkan pihak ketiga yang dianggap kredibel,
independen, dan bisa diterima semua pihak.

Menurut Mari, langkah tersebut merupakan jalan penyelesaian yang paling adil
untuk menemukan persoalan dan kebenaran fakta di lapangan.

Presiden Direktur PT SMART Tbk, unit Bisnis Grup Sinarmas yang mengelola
perkebunan kelapa sawit, Daud Dharsono menyatakan pihaknya masih akan
melakukan verifikasi atas laporan sepihak dari Greenpeace yang belum dapat
dipastikan kebenarannya.

Perusahaan ini akan menunjuk lembaga independen untuk melakukan verifikasi
tersebut.

Namun, Mangga Barani menyatakan apa yang dilakukan oleh pemerintah ini bukan
berarti membela kepentingan satu perusahaan saja, tetapi lebih pada
kelangsungan sawit di dalam negeri.

Tindakan tegas yang akan diambil ada dua yakni menghentikan ekspor ke Uni
Eropa dan membawa masalah sawit menjadi isu di World Trade Organization
(WTO). "Ini dua kartu truf yang akan dikeluarkan jika sudah tidak ada jalan
keluar untuk masalah ini."

Kampanye putih

Menteri Pertanian Suswono menuturkan pada Mei delegasi dari Indonesia akan
datang ke Uni Eropa dan memberikan kampanye putih mengenai produk CPO
Indonesia.

"Kami akan menjelaskan mengenai sawit lestari yang telah diterapkan di Tanah
Air. Upaya ini merupakan counter balik atas kampanye hitam yang selalu
dilakukan oleh LSM. Kami [Indonesia-Malaysia ] akan memantau perkembangannya
sebelum mengambil langkah penghentian ekspor," ujarnya.

Dia menjelaskan isu negatif yang menghantam perkebunan sawit karena
efisiennya komoditas ini dibandingkan dengan minyak nabati lainnya seperti
kedelai dan rapesheed. Suswono mengatakan masukan apapun dari LSM jika
terbukti akan ditindaklanjuti oleh pemerintah.

Mangga Barani menegaskan pemerintah tidak akan melakukan moratorium sawit di
dalam negeri. "Mereka [LSM] tujuannya kan moratorium sawit di dalam negeri.
Artinya kan sama saja sawit tidak boleh berkembang. Jika negeri ini sengsara
apakah LSM itu mau memberikan uang pada negeri kita," tegasnya.

Menurut dia apa yang dilakukan oleh pemerintah berdasarkan undang-undang.
Dengan demikian, katanya, jika ada perusahaan yang terbukti melanggar maka
akan mendapatkan hukuman. Namun demikian, katanya, pemerintah tidak akan
tunduk pada keinginan LSM, apalagi yang memiliki agenda tertentu di balik
masalah lingkungan.

"Pemerintah ini berdaulat dan wajib melindungi kesejahteraan warga
negaranya. Itu yang penting," tegas Mangga Barani.

Ketua Umum Gapki Pusat Joefli Bahroeni meminta agar Sekretariat RSPO
menjelaskan mengenai pembangunan perkebunan kelapa sawit berkelanjutan.

"Gapki sudah meminta agar mengeluarkan statement mengenai pembangunan
perkebunan kelapa sawit berkelanjutan, sehingga tudingan pihak ketiga di
luar RSPO mengenai pembangunan perkebunan kelapa sawit dapat
diminimalisasi, " ujarnya di Medan, kemarin.

Kalau RSPO tetap diam dan tidak memberikan reaksi atau komentar, maka
keberadaan RSPO patut dipertanyakan. "Kalau ada tudingan miring mengenai
pembangunan perkebunan kelapa sawit sebaiknya dibicarakan di RSPO, bukan
diselesaikan secara parsial antarperusahaan, " tuturnya.

"Apa benar sawit yang dihasilkan PT Sinarmas dengan merusak hutan? Karena di
Indonesia sudah ada ketentuan yang ketat mengenai pembukaan perkebunan
kelapa sawit," kata Joefli.

Sekjen Gapki Pusat Joko Supriyono menambahkan tahun ini Indonesia
menargetkan produksi CPO sebesar 23 juta ton atau meningkat antara 1,5 juta
ton dan 2 juta ton dari produksi 2009.

Permintaan meningkat

Adapun, permintaan CPO di pasar internasional meningkat antara 4 juta ton
dan 4,5 juta ton per tahun. Jadi, kata dia, pembatalan produksi CPO
Indonesia oleh Nestle dan Unilever tidak besar pengaruhnya.

"Hanya saja citra Indonesia di mata dunia sedikit tercoreng akibat kampanye
negatif dari LSM internasional. Mengembalikan citra ini yang sulit," tegas
Joko.

Aktivis Greenpeace gencar melancarkan aksinya menyerang perusahaan yang
ditengarai merusak hutan dan melakukan penanaman di kawasan gambut yang
memicu emisi karbon.

Pekan lalu, lembaga ini mendesak Nestle untuk memutus kontrak pembelian CPO
dari Grup Sinarmas.

Tidak hanya dengan Sinarmas, Greenpeace pun mendesak Nestle menghentikan
pembelian dari dua trader besar, yaitu Cargill dan IOI.

"Pembatalan kontrak langsung dengan Sinarmas oleh Nestle belum cukup. Mereka
harus menghentikan pembelian produk Sinarmas dari pihak ketiga seperti
Cargill dan IOI," tegas Bustar Maitar, Team Leader Kampanye Hutan Greenpeace
Asia Tenggara.

Indonesia, ujarnya, mempunyai laju deforestasi tercepat dibanding
negara-negara yang masih mempunyai hutan di dunia.

Sejak lebih dari setengah abad lalu, sudah 74 juta hektare hutan alam
Indonesia-atau dua kali lebih besar dari wilayah negara Jerman-telah hancur
atau dibakar.

"Greenpeace tidak anti-industri kelapa sawit, kampanye kami bertujuan untuk
menghentikan perusahaan seperti Sinarmas merusak hutan alam Indonesia yang
masih tersisa," ujar Bustar.

Greenpeace akan all out menghadapi kampanye tandingan yang dilakukan
pemerintah dan pengusaha sawit sampai tujuan moratorium komoditas perkebunan
ini dilakukan.

Dia menuturkan upaya pemerintah untuk mengancam menghentikan ekspor CPO ke
Eropa dan mengalihkan ke pasar lain tidak akan mudah.
http://web.bisnis. com/edisi- cetak/edisi- harian/1id170874 .html

Kamis, 18 Maret 2010

Nestle Drops Indonesian Company after Greenpeace Demos

Jumat, 19 Maret 2010 | 07:17 WIB
JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Indonesian palm oil giant Sinar Mas rejected claims of environmental vandalism Thursday after Nestle, the world’s biggest food company, dropped it as a supplier following protests by Greenpeace. It was the second embarrassing blow to Sinar Mas in three months after Anglo-Dutch company Unilever severed ties with it in response to Greenpeace claims it is destroying rainforests.

Greenpeace activists held protests Wednesday at Nestle’s headquarters and factories in Britain, Germany and the Netherlands, linking the company’s Kit Kat confectionery to the destruction of orangutan habitats. “Considering its size and influence, it should be setting an example for the industry and ensuring its palm oil is destruction free,” Greenpeace said in a statement.

“Instead, Nestle continues to buy from companies, like Sinar Mas, that are destroying Indonesia’s rainforests and peatlands.” Rampant deforestation in Indonesia makes it one of the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases in the world and threatens habitats of endangered species like orangutans, tigers and rhinos.

Nestle responded immediately to the protests, dropping Sinar Mas and repeating its commitment to using only Certified Sustainable Palm Oil by 2015, “when sufficient quantities should be available”. “Nestle has replaced the Indonesian company Sinar Mas as a supplier of palm oil with another supplier for further shipments,” it said.

“We confirm that Nestle has only bought from Sinar Mas for manufacturing in Indonesia, and no palm oil bought from Sinar Mas has been used by Nestle for manufacturing in any other country.” Sinar Mas Agro Resources and Technology (SMART) president director Daud Dharsono denied that its palm oil plantations were damaging the environment.

“We are committed to applying responsible land clearing and best practices in our plantations. We’ve been implementing best practices since the early 1980s,” he told AFP.

“We’re ready to have a dialogue with Greenpeace to clarify their report. However, we haven’t received any official notification from Nestle that it has dropped us as their supplier of palm oil,” he added.

Greenpeace Southeast Asia campaigner Bustar Maitar said Nestle must also stop buying Sinar Mas’s palmoil from third parties. “Despite their announcement cancelling their direct orders with Sinar Mas, Nestle will still be using palm oil from Sinar Mas in Kit Kats because they’ll still be getting it from their other suppliers,” he said.

“The Greenpeace campaign will continue until Nestle cuts the Sinar Mas group from its supply chain completely.” Indonesia is the world’s biggest producer of palm oil, which is used in the manufacture of products including margarine, soups, ice-cream, chocolates and beauty products.
Indonesian officials have said they aim to more than double the country’s crude palm oil output to 40 million tonnes by 2020 through increased yields and more plantations.

The plans have been opposed by environmental groups, who say the nation’s forests are vital carbon sinks in the fight against climate change and an irreplaceable source of biodiversity. Of the 45 million tonnes of annual, global crude-palm-oil output, only 2.3 million tonnes has been certified by the palm oil watchgroup Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil as having been produced through sustainable methods. Of the 2.3 million tonnes, Indonesia accounts for only 400 tonnes.

Didemo Greenpeace, Nestle Putus Kontrak CPO dari Sinar Mas

Didemo Greenpeace, Nestle Putus Kontrak CPO dari Sinar Mas
Economy Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:17:00 WIB
Jakarta - Setelah Unilever, kini giliran Nestle yang memutus kontrak pasokan CPO dengan Sinar Mas. Penghentian kontrak dilakukan menyusul protes dari para aktivis Greenpeace yang menuding Sinar Mas telah melakukan perusakan hutan.

Aktivis Greenpeace pada Rabu (17/3/2010) kemarin melakukan protes di kantor pusat Nestle dan juga pabrik di Inggris, Jerman dan Belanda. Protes digelar karena produsen cemilan terbesar di dunia itu masih menjalin kerjasama dengan perusahaan yang dinilai Greenpeace merusak hutan.

"Dengan mempertimbangkan ukuran dan pengaruhnya, maka Nestle mestinya menjadi contoh bagi industri dan menjamin pasokan CPO-nya bebas dari pengrusakan. Namun Nestle terus membeli dari perusahaan seperti Sinar Mas yang telah merusak hutan dan habitat binatang," kritik Greenpeace dalam pernyataannya seperti dikutip dari AFP, Kamis (18/3/2010).

Nestle pun dengan cepat merespons protes tersebut dengan menyatakan pihaknya telah menghentikan Sinar Mas sebagai pemasok CPO-nya. Nestle juga mengulang komitmennya untuk hanya menggunakan CPO yang bersertifikasi hingga 2015.

"Nestle telah menggantikan perusahaan Indonesia, Sinar Mas sebagai pemasok CPO dengan pemasok lain untuk pengapalan selanjutnya. Kami dapat mengkonfirmasi bahwa Nestle hanya membeli dari Sinar Mas untuk pabrik di Indonesia dan tidak ada CPO yang dibeli dari Sinar Mas yang digunakan Nestle untuk pabrik di negara lain," jelas Nestle dalam pernyataannya.

Presiden Direktur Sinar Mas Agro Resources and Technology (SMART) Daud Dharsono membantah kebun sawitnya telah merusak lingkungan. Menurutnya, SMART selalu berusaha menerapkan aturan-aturan untuk perkebunannya.

"Kami berkomitmen untuk menerapkan best practices di kebun kami. Dan kami telah mengimplementasikannya sejak awal 1980-an. Kami siap untuk berdialog dengan Greenpeace untuk mengklarifikasi laporan tersebut," ujarnya.

Daud mengaku pihaknya belum menerima surat resmi dari Nestle terkait penghentian pasokan CPO tersebut. (qom/dnl)

Sumber: detikcom