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