President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo has signed a moratorium and instructed ministers and regional administrations to halt the issuance of new permits for palm oil plantations.
According to the policy document, the presidential instruction, signed on Sept 19, will remain in place for no more than three years. This was expected to boost the productivity of palm oil plantations and clarify the rights of smallholders.
A recent Greenpeace report claimed that 25 major palm oil producers supplying the world's largest brands were "known to have destroyed more than 130,000 hectares of forest and peatland since 2015, an area almost twice the size of Singapore”.
Environmentalists previously called on Jokowi to impose no limit on the duration of the moratorium, arguing it should remain in place until it achieves its goals.
The policy appears to constitute a freeze on the entire licensing process for oil palm plantations in Indonesia, the world’s top producer of palm oil, a ubiquitous commodity found in everything from chocolate to laundry detergent.
It explicitly applies not just to new requests for licenses but also to projects that have obtained some but not all of the permits needed to begin operating.
Responding to the report, the Indonesian Palm Oil Producers Association (Gapki) deputy chairman Togar Sitanggang said Gapki had ensured that each of its members obeyed the law and prevented further environmental damages.
"In converting the land into oil palm plantations, it has to be converted from a forest area to non-forest areas, or areas for other use [APL]. Therefore, companies are allowed to do it legally. On whether to cut down trees, that is each company's [choice]," Togar said as cited from The Jakarta Post.
Sources: thejakartapost.com, mongabay.com