One of the “World’s Most Irreplaceable Protected Areas” Under Threat as Aceh Parliament Passes Controversial Spatial Plan

[Jakarta / Indonesia] On 27th December 2013 the Aceh Parliament dismayed local community members, NGOs and scientists around the world by passing a highly controversial new land use plan. If approved by Indonesia’s Central Government later this month, the plan (known locally as Qanun RTRWA) will severely threaten Aceh’s last remaining lowland forests and the life support they provide to millions of Acehnese people. Currently under review by Indonesia’s Central Government, the spatial plan will open up huge areas of Aceh’s ecologically sensitive forests to mining, timber and plantation concessions. Aceh’s people have long recognised the critical ecological services their forests provide. Local communities rely on these forest ecosystems for clean water for downstream irrigation, agriculture and food production, as well as mitigation of environmental disasters.

Mr Muhammad Nur, Director of WALHI Aceh, representing 35 Acehnese environmental NGOs, has warned the deforestation that will result from the spatial plan will lead to more severe impacts from often catastrophic disasters such as flash floods and landslides.
“In the last six years Aceh has experienced more than 1,000 major floods and close to 300 landslides. This plan will significantly increase both the frequency and severity of such disasters, leading to many more human lives being lost and immeasurable impacts on local livelihoods through destruction of crops and infrastructure.” Aceh’s unique biodiversity will also face devastating impacts. Indeed, the plan entirely disregards the existence of the Leuser Ecosystem, one of the most important conservation areas in the world, despite the 2.2 million hectares (of its total 2.6 million ha) that lie within Aceh having protected legal status under National Law on Aceh Governance (11/2006), as well as designation as a National Strategic Area for its Environmental Protection Function, under Indonesia’s National Spatial Planning law (26/2007 juncto Government Regulation 26/2008). Acehnese environmental lawyer, Kamaruddin, declared, “the spatial plan clearly breaches Aceh Governance law no 11/2006. This law obligates Aceh’s Government to protect the Leuser Ecosystem and the fact that the current spatial plan doesn’t even acknowledge its existence opens up all sorts of legal ramifications if it is signed into law.”
Dr Ian Singleton, of the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme, warned, “If the Indonesian Central Government approves Aceh’s spatial plan, the Sumatran elephant, tiger, rhino and orangutan will be pushed to extinction. There is no question that we will see them all disappear in less than a lifetime unless this spatial plan is rejected.”
Ironically, on the same day that Aceh’s Parliament passed the spatial plan, The Jakarta Post (27/12/2013) published an Open Letter written by a consortium of scientists and economists recommending Aceh’s Governor, Dr Zaini Abdullah, nominate the Leuser Ecosystem as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This followed from an article published in the international journal Science (15/11/2013) listing the Leuser Ecosystem as one of the “world’s most irreplaceable protected areas” (Le Saout et al. 2013, p. 803). “Nationally and internationally, the Leuser Ecosystem plays a critical role in carbon storage and climate regulation”, the Open Letter stated. “Aceh is rightly proud of these ecological services that have been valued at over $US 400 million per year.”
If carried out, the new plan will also undermine the effectiveness of a $1 billion REDD deal between the governments of Indonesia and Norway, aimed at reducing carbon emissions from deforestation and degradation. Efendi Isma of KPHA (Coalition of Concern for Aceh’s Forests) stated, “We are calling on the Indonesian Central Government to reject the current Aceh spatial plan. We urge the Aceh Government to revise the plan to account for the Leuser Ecosystem’s legally protected status, and to acknowledge the customary management rights of local communities and the Mukims (read: a uniquely Acehnese traditional institution). Leuser’s critically important forests must remain intact so that the immeasurable environmental services and benefits they provide can continue to support the well-being and livelihoods of Aceh’s people over the long term.”
The Save Aceh campaign is supported by scientists, economists and environmentalists. You can help Save Aceh by: • Tweeting your support for the campaign using #SaveAceh tagging Indonesia’s President @SBYudhoyono.

MEDIA CONTACT: 1. Dr Ian Singleton, Director - Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme. Tel: +62-811650491, Email: mokko123@gmail.com
2. Muhammad Nur, Executive Director - WAHLI Aceh. Tel: +62-8126970494, Email: mnur.walhiaceh@gmail.com
3. Graham Usher, Landscape Protection Specialist, PanEco Foundation. Tel: +62-87766394260, Email: kimabajo1@gmail.com
4. Kamaruddin, Lawyer. Tel: +62-8116700118, Email: kamaruddinaceh@yahoo.co.id
5. Rudi Putra, Conservation Manager – HakA. Tel: +62-8126435929, Email: rhinoleuser@gmail.com

REFERENCE: Soizic Le Saout, Michael Hoffmann, Yichuan Shi, Adrian Hughes, Cyril Bernard, Thomas M. Brooks, Bastian Bertzky, Stuart H. M. Butchart, Simon N. Stuart, Tim Badman, Ana S. L. Rodrigues, 2013. Protected Areas and Effective Biodiversity Conservation. Science, vol 342, 15 November 2013; Pp 803-805

Palm Oil Company fined Millions as Indonesian Court delivers historic ruling against illegal destruction of Tripa Peat Swamp Forests.

PRESS RELEASE - January 9th, 2014



[Banda Aceh / Indonesia] Setting a landmark new precedent, Indonesian courts yesterday found palm oil company PT Kallista Alam guilty of illegally burning forests within the Tripa Peat Swamps, part of the protected Leuser Ecosystem, resulting in a fine of 114 billion Rupiah, approximately 9 million US dollars.

“This is a clear message to companies working in Aceh who think they can destroy protected forests and get away with it” said Muhammad Nur, Chairman of WALHI Aceh (Friends of the Earth Indonesia).

According to Senior Judge, Rahmawati SH, PT Kallista Alam was found in breach of National Law No 32/2009 on Environmental Protection and Management, for illegal use of fire to clear forests, and ordered to pay Rupiah 114.3 billion (approx. USD 9.5 million) as compensation and Rupiah 251.7 billion (almost 21 USD million) for restoration of the affected forests.

Kamaruddin, a lawyer working with communities in the Tripa region reiterated, “This decision should serve as a wake up call to any company thinking of investing within the Leuser Ecosystem, a National Strategic Area, that they could suffer the same fate as PT Kallista Alam. It should also be a reminder to others who deliberately burn forests or allow forest burning within their concessions, regardless of whether or not they are working inside the Ecosystem’s boundaries, that they could also be prosecuted. The Judge’s decision in this case clearly illustrates a move towards improved law enforcement against environmental offenders in the region.” He added.

The company, PT Kallista Alam, first came to international attention in August 2011, when former Governor of Aceh Province, Irwandi Yusuf, issued a new 1,605 ha oil palm concession permit within the legally protected Leuser Ecosystem, an area renowned for hosting the highest densities of orangutans found anywhere on earth, sparking an international outcry.

Subsequently, over 1.5 million people signed online petitions calling for greater protection of Aceh’s Forests, currently under enormous threat due to a controversial new spatial planning law issued by Aceh’s Parliament on December 27th. These petitions are further supported by some of the world’s leading scientists and conservation experts, who have written to Aceh’s present Governor, Zaini Abdullah, urging him to nominate the Leuser Ecosystem as a World Heritage Site, due to its unique and irreplaceable biodiversity. The Leuser Ecosystem is the only place on earth where tigers, elephants, rhinos and orangutans can be found living together in the wild and was listed by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) as one of the ‘World’s Most Irreplaceable Protected Areas’ in an article in the journal Science, in November 2013.

Dr Ian Singleton, Director of the Sumatran Orangutran Conservation Programme, highlighted the critical importance of the area. “Tripa is one of only 3 remaining peat swamp forests left containing orangutans in Sumatra and its impossible to overstate the importance of protecting every last hectare of each of them. Orangutan densities can reach as high as 8 per square kilometer in these areas, compared to an average of around only 1 or 2 per square kilometer in dryland forests. These peat swamps have justifiably been referred to as the ‘orangutan capital of the world’. The Leuser Ecosystem too, offers the only real hope of survival for Sumatra’s other key iconic megafauna, the Sumatran tiger, rhino and elephant, as well as its orangutans. Yesterday’s ruling is of course extremely welcome, but the level of interest in Tripa and the Leuser Ecosystem worldwide shows clearly just how seriously concerned the international community is right now about the fate of these forests and their globally important biodiversity”, he emphasised.

“The Leuser Ecosystem provides countless locally and globally important environmental services too”, explained Graham Usher, Landscape Protection Specialist with the Swiss based PanEco Foundation. “For Aceh alone these have been valued in excess of 400 million dollars per year, and the region’s contribution to mitigating climate change, through its carbon sequestration function probably stretches into billions of dollars. It is very encouraging that companies and decision makers destroying these services in Indonesia are finally being held accountable for the economic damage their illegal activities cause, and all credit is due to the Ministry of the Environment for their efforts in prosecuting this case. The court’s decision is indeed a huge victory, and represents one significant step in the right direction. But I think many more such steps are needed before we will really see a change in the behaviour of companies and officials.” added Usher.

“Aceh’s Parliament is right now pushing a new spatial land use plan which they recently legalised with a new Provincial Government Regulation, known locally as the Qanun RTRW Aceh”. Explained Muhammad Nur. “The Qanun completely ignores the protected status of the Leuser Ecosystem, simply so they can open up large areas of protected forests for road building, mining, palm oil and timber concessions. This will, in effect, end Aceh’s chances for long-term sustainable development, as it will cause further destruction of critical watersheds, leading to ever more frequent flash floods, landslides, and other environmental disasters. The companies lobbying for this new plan, and the Aceh Government themselves, should be held accountable for all the damage that will ensue. We hope yesterday’s result will serve as a strong warning that if you destroy our forests, we are not afraid to fight back” he stressed. “We thank the judge for delivering a just and fair verdict in this case, and all the people around the world who have been calling for enforcement of National Laws protecting the Leuser Ecosystem. This will be a long battle, but it is one we simply cannot afford to lose, no matter what the cost.” He concluded.

Yesterday’s groundbreaking verdict is the result of just one of several civil and criminal prosecutions underway against PT Kallista Alam and four other oil palm companies with concessions in Tripa, namely PT. Surya Panen Subur II, PT. Dua Perkasa Lestari, PT. Gelora Sawita Makmur and PT. Cemerlang Abadi. Each faces the possibility of serious financial consequences as a result of their illegal clearance, burning and drainage of Tripa’s unique peat swamp ecosystem. Some of the company Directors and senior management also face the prospect of prison terms in cases against them for their actions on the ground.







[END]

MEDIA CONTACTS:
1. Dr Ian Singleton, Director - Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme. Tel: +62-811650491, Email: mokko123@gmail.com
2. Muhammad Nur, Executive Director - WAHLI Aceh. Tel: +62-8126970494, Email: mnur.walhiaceh@gmail.com
3. Graham Usher, Landscape Protection Specialist, PanEco Foundation. Tel: +62-87766394260, Email: kimabajo1@gmail.com
4. Kamaruddin, Lawyer. Tel : +62-8116700118, Email: kamaruddinaceh@yahoo.co.id

REFERENCE:

Soizic Le Saout, Michael Hoffmann, Yichuan Shi, Adrian Hughes, Cyril Bernard, Thomas M. Brooks, Bastian Bertzky, Stuart H. M. Butchart, Simon N. Stuart, Tim Badman, Ana S. L. Rodrigues, 2013. Protected Areas and Effective Biodiversity Conservation. Science, vol 342, 15 November 2013; Pp 803-805

PHOTOGRAPHS:

- attached showing illegal fires within the Tripa peat swamps, Leuser Ecosystem in June 2012 (copyright SOCP). Filenames are self explanatory.

Global sustainability forum tells Indonesian paper giant: end deforestation or else

Jakarta, 12 April 2013: The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), which claims to be the "world’s foremost business association dedicated to sustainable development", today warned Asia Pacific Resources International (APRIL), Indonesia’s second largest pulp and paper producer, to clean up its act. The move is a result of APRIL’s ongoing large-scale destruction of Indonesia’s rainforest.

“Being put on probation by this organisation is a humiliating blow to APRIL’s claims to practice sustainable forest management,” said Zul Fahmi, Forest Campaigner at Greenpeace South East Asia.

“The reality is that APRIL is now the largest driver of deforestation for pulp and paper in Indonesia. If it wants to stay in the WBCSD and needs to clean up the destruction we have documented time and time again.”

Such a move to crack down on its members is a first for the WBCSD, which this week prominently profiled Nestle zero deforestation policy and guides to help other companies avoid deforestation in their commodity sourcing on its home page.

Greenpeace investigations have shown that APRIL is clearing many thousands of hectares of peatland forests. These carbon-rich rainforests are vital not just for climate stability, but also as habitat for critically endangered Sumatran tigers and an internationally protected tree species, ramin. APRIL also has a long history of social conflicts with local communities.

Recent government data reveal that 60% of fibre supply to APRIL's Riau Andalan Pulp & Paper (RAPP) pulp mill in Indonesia – one of the largest mills in the world – is rainforest wood. In 2012, APRIL planned to feed its Sumatran pulp mill by clearing another 60,000 hectares of rainforest – an area nearly the size of Singapore.

“Earlier this year APP, the largest pulp and paper company in Indonesia, committed to end its role in deforestation in Indonesia. It’s time for APRIL to recognise how out of step it is with the rest of the global business community and immediately join APP to end its involvement in deforestation,” said Zul.

Greenpeace International approached WBCSD in February with findings from investigations exposing the conflict between APRIL’s deforestation and WBCSD’s environmental principles. This is in addition to requests from a significant number of peer companies in the WBCSD and from NGO groups who pushed for a review of APRIL.

Media contact:

Tristan Tremschnig, Indonesia Forests Communications Coordinator, Greenpeace International, email: tristan.tremschnig@greenpeace.org, phone: +31 6 43 78 7393

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Indonesia: Rescue of starving orangutans highlights conservation plight

Footage of the rescue operation shows the shocking condition of the starving orangutans.



Footage of starving orangutans in West Kalimantan on Indonesian Borneo shows the wanton destruction of the great ape’s dwindling habitat in the pursuit of wealth.

In related news, conservation officials rescued two Sumatran orangutans in a village in Aceh. Many orangutans have been pushed out of their habitat in the Rawa Tripa peatland region of Aceh due to the construction of palm oil plantations.

From the Jakarta Globe:

"Under such conditions, the orangutans can’t find sufficient amounts of food, so they starve to death. Sometimes, they are even murdered by locals or plantation workers."

–Ian Singleton, director, Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Program



Despite being a member of the RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil), Bumitama Gunajaya Agro violated the rules of the organization by depriving orangutans and other endangered species of their homes and food through deforestation. International Animal Rescue and conservation staff from the Indonesian government have already rescued four starving orangutans from the palm oil plantation. They will be moved to areas of forest with more food.

"We know that there are more orangutans isolated in small patches of forest in this plantation along with other protected wildlife such as proboscis monkeys. All the animals in this plantation are under threat and therefore this company should stop all land clearing immediately, carry out habitat assessments and develop strategies to protect all the endangered wildlife in their estate."

–Adi Irawan, Program Director, IAR Indonesia

Read full story

True friendship transcends Species and survives time

Conservationist Damian Aspinall had brought up the gorilla Kwibi in England. When Kwibi was 5 years old, Damian returned him to the jungles of Gabon in order to live free in the wild. 5 years later, he has returned with hopes of meeting his old friend. Undeterred by reports of Kwibi's aggressive behavior, Damian seeks out the now 10 year old Kwibi How did this reunion go ? See for yourself!

Governor of Aceh: Save 1.2 Million Hectares of Aceh Rainforest

Aceh is preparing to open over 1.2 million hectares of protected forest for the development of mines, plantations, roads, logging and palm oil expansion.



Sign Petition here

This has been confirmed by The Chairman of the Aceh Parliament's spatial planning committee, Mr Anwar, who told the Sydney Morning Herald that the proposed plan would reduce the total forest cover of Aceh from its existing coverage of about 68 per cent of Aceh's total land area, to just 45 per cent, representing the destruction of more than 1.2 million hectares, including the entire area known as Tripa, and other currently protected areas inside of the Leuser Ecosystem, a National Strategic Area for its Environmental Protection Function that is protected by National Spatial Planning Law 26/2007, and Government Regulation 26/2008.

This planned destruction is the result of a 'prefect storm' of planning failures. Firstly, the end of the 'Norway Moratorium on Primary Forests, secondly the end of the former Governor of Aceh, 'Irwandis Moritorium on logging' addressed by Mr Anwar in his interview with the Sydney Morning Herald on Jan 15, 2013 ''The nature of the logging moratorium is that it's temporary, so it can be revoked any time,'' and these two events, combined with huge planned changes in 'forest function' meaning, areas previously protected for their natural ecological services, such as preventing land slides and floods, will now be opened as mines, plantations, roads, logging and palm oil expansion. Alarmingly, areas that previously held the protected status of 'wildlife corridor' are being planned to become 'community plantation' which is set to escalate human wildlife conflict as the last of Sumatras Tigers, Elephants, Rinos and Orangutans will be surely pushed to extinction.

The petition is asking the Governor, and Vice Governor of Aceh, Zaini and Muzakir to reconsider pushing such destruction onto their province, and to ask the donor representatives of the world, who have invested so much already to the protection of Acehs forests, to assist with the funding and technical support for the Aceh Government to revisit and revise this potential disaster.

To:
His Excellency Juniarta Sastrawan, Duta Besar Indonesia untuk Swedia
Zaini Abdullah, Govenor of Aceh
Zulkifli Hasan, Minister of Forestry
Djoko Kirmanto, Minister of Public Work
Gamawan Fauzi, Menteri Dalam Negeri
Stig Traavik, Ambassador of Norway
Martin Billie Herman, Ambassador of Denmark
HE Mrs Ewa Polano, Ambassador of Finland
Giovanni Seritella, Head of EU Representatives in Aceh
DR.Ir. Mochamad Basoeki Hadimoeljono, Msc., Direktur Jenderal Penataan Ruang
Ir. Iman Soedradjat, MPM, Direktur Penataan Ruang Wilayah Nasional
Ir. Iman Soedradjat, MPM, Direktur Penataan Ruang Wilayah Nasional
Agus Purnomo, Ketua DNPI
Ms. Elina Dakash, Second Secretary, Embassy of Finland
Soesilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Presiden Republik Indonesia
Muzakkir Manaf, Wakil Gubernur Aceh

With Great Respect,

To the Governor of Aceh, Zaini Abdulah, Vice-Governor of Aceh, Muzakkir Manaf, and other relevant stakeholders. I am writing with regard to the pressing issue of an impending massive escalation in deforestation within Aceh Province. It has come to my attention through various media articles, that the great province of Aceh is at risk of losing several enormous tracts of protected forest due to the ending of the PIPIB process, and the currently proposed Aceh Provincial Spatial Plan being agressively promoted by the Aceh Parliament.
In concetion to this, I would like to highlight some highly suspect comments made by some of the leading advisors involved in the Provincial Spatial Planning Process:

''The nature of the logging moratorium is that it's temporary, so it can be revoked any time,'' Saminuddin, Sydney Morning Herald Jan 15, 2013, suggesting that the moratorium on logging in Aceh should be revoked and logging concessions re-opened once again.

The Chairman of Aceh’s spatial planning committee, Tgk. Anwar, confirmed that the proposed plan would “reduce the total forest cover of Aceh from its existing coverage of about 68 per cent of Aceh's total land area, to just 45 per cent.” This represents a loss of more than 1,200,000 hecatres of forests, and would include the destruction of areas inside of the Leuser Ecosystem, a National Strategic Area for its Environmental Protection Function that is protected by National Spatial Planning Law 26/2007 and Government Regulation 26/2008.

"We checked the boundary of the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve on the ground and found a discrepancy between the Ministry of Forestry map, and the actual conditions in the field,"

- Saminuddin, admitting in Mongabay.com (January 28, 2013) that changes in the new proposed spatial plan are clearly being used to legitimise illegal plantations and other illegal activities already operating in Aceh.

Dr Irfan, Jan 15, 2013 in Sydney Morning Herald “under the new plan there are more areas given for the people''. Yet GIS analysis clearly shows areas to be allocated for community uses are woefully insignificant when compared to areas that will be opened for plantations, mining and other large scale extractive industries.

Furthermore, the proposed spatial plan has not included community representatives at any stage of its development process. This fact alone has upset numerous community members and Mukim and may also violate Aceh Governance Law Number 11, 2006, article 143. It also seems to belittle the role of Aceh’s people in determining their own future, despite the fact that they represent the very people who voted you yourselves into Government.

Governor Zaini, and Vice-Governor Muzakkir, the above statements could be construed as seemingly reasonable to anyone not familiar with the complexities of spatial planning issues. But given these people are all senior aides and advisors to the provincial government, these statements can only be taken as being of major concern, since they clearly indicate that senior players in the spatial planning process either do not fully understand and appreciate the consequences of their decisions, or that they simply do not care about the implications their decisions have for others.

I would also like to ask you why the previous Aceh Spatial Plan that was “approved in principle” by the Minister of Public Works on January 4th, 2012, has been replaced by a far less competent document. The previous plan was based on sound, verifiable and measurable data and extensive scientific analysis and consideration. It recommended many new areas for enhanced protection, for the purpose of mitigating floods and landslides.

The new Spatial Plan, however, ignores these recommendations and on the contrary, opens up many previously protected forests for highly destructive mining, commercial logging, or large scale plantation concessions. These changes will result in numerous, entirely avoidable disasters following the proposed deforestation and landclearing. Disasters such as landslides, flash floods etc already cause considerable loss of life in Aceh each year, and incur considerable economic losses on local people and local governments (loss of agricultural produce, costs of reconstruction etc). These disasters are entirely preventable, expensive, and should be avoided at any cost, but will only increase in both freqnuecy and severity under the Spatial Plan that Aceh’s Government is proposing right now..

With respect, Bapak Governor Zaini, and Wagub Muzakkir, given that the current version of Aceh’s spatial plan is indeed so backward, lacking in science and common sense, and so obviously tailored for the benefit of only a very few powerful people, I must admit I am seriously worried that the advice you have been and are being offered by such people as Dr Irfan, Dr Raviq, and others, is both biased and extremely poor quality. In fact it is likely only to cause tremendous new damage to the province and place an increasingly heavy burden on Aceh’s people and local governments to pick up the peices it will leave behind. Instead of creating a legacy of sound management and good governance for yourselves, as Aceh’s current leaders, it is far more likely to undermine your good reputations and leave a legacy as the time when Aceh’s forests and natural resources were truly plundered for the very last time.

The world watched with hope in the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami as former Governor, Irwandi Yusuf positioned Aceh to receive huge financial benefits for the province, but was frustrated when he failed to deliver the beauracratic reform necessary to bring long lasting investments. The world was alarmed when he proceeded to issue an illegal palm oil permit to PT Kallista Alam for 1,605 hectares inside the protected Leuser Ecosystem, and loudly applauded your decisive action and strong leadership in revoking the same permit.

Regarding the current Spatial Plan and its proposal to destroy over 1,200,000 hectares of protected forest, I wait in hope that you will show the strength of leadership you demonstrated in the above case, and remove poorly performing advisors from your Government, as you have with former Head of BP2T, M. Yahya, to reaffirm that you are indeed still able to take decisive action based on the best information available to you.

As ever, the world is always ready to recognise and support strong leadership aimed at providing long term sustained econonic and environmental benefits for the betterment of all of Aceh’s people.
I am basically writing to you as its seems clear you are still receiving poor advice and information from advisors whose motives appear to conflict with the long-term interests of Aceh, and of your own tenures as Governor and Vice Governor of Aceh. I urge you to immediately review all of the the technical assistance you have been provided in the development of the new proposed Provincial Spatial Plan.

I also encourage donor countries and organisations to support you with financial assistance for low carbon development in Aceh, and I hope that you will quickly implement the beauracratic reforms necessary to facilitate this. Poor quality staff within the provincial government seem to be jeopardising this at the moment. A far more conducive environment is needed to allow new international and institutional investment aimed at strengthening and developing the great province of Aceh. I also write to support you and provide you with the strength to take a bold stance when addressing some of these major institutional issues that seriously threaten good governance of natural resources in Aceh. I have seen in the media, highly questionable technical information and advice even from some of your closest advisors, such as the BP2T and Dishutbun.. News coverage also strongly indicates that some personnel within Aceh’s various government departments, such as M. Yahya, former Head of BP2T, who are supposed to uphold the law and respect your leadership as Governor and Vice-Governor, have taken a highly questionable stance in regard to the handling of the high profile Tripa case causing much embarassment to Aceh in the eyes of the International community. I canunderstand that being surrounded by poor quality advisors can be difficult, but only you are in a position to address the problem. I therefore commend you for taking quick action to deal with M. Yahya, and encourage you to review the rest of your current advisory team in a similar manner.

Governor Zaini, and Vice Governor Muzakkir, I encourage you to take the following steps:-
1. I stongly urge and respectfully request, that the plan to destroy more than 1,200,000 hectares of currently protected forests in Aceh is immediately and resoundedly rejected.

2. To undertake an immediate independent review of the currently proposed Aceh spatial plan, with a particular focus on the legal process it has followed, to avoid any legal conflicts that could arise for you or the Government of Aceh.

3. To develop a working group, together with local, national and international experts, to develop a new legally abiding spatial plan that maximises long-term and sustained, low carbon economic growth opportunties for the province.

4. To throughly review the spatial planning process followed to date and ensure it has followed correct procedures in accordance with local and national laws, and is based on the best available scientific data identifying areas that are both suitable, and unsuitable for low carbon development, both socially, and environmentally.

5. To deal swiftly and decisively with any advisors or governmental staff who have interferred with the planning process thus far, or have manipulated the process in favour of their own personal businessagendas, with total disregard for community safety, environmental integrity, and the global reputation of Aceh. It would indeed be a disaster at all levels of society if the existing spatial plan was approved.

For Aceh’s people , in the districts and communities, it will increase the frequency and severity of natural disasters, and significantly increase the severity of human-wildlife conflicts. Aceh as a province alone will rapidly become one of the worlds leading regions for deforestation. This will almost certainly prevent Indonesia from reaching its National goals and promised for Reducing Carbon Emmissions from Forest Destruction and Degredation by 2020. Globally it would be a tragedy to see such a disaster unfold, even more so knowing that that there is still time avoid it and that by working together now it could all be prevented from happening. Do you really want to be remembered as the government that approved the trashing of Aceh’s natural resources and the extinction of species such as the Sumatran tiger, rhino, elephant and orangutan? Please immediately STOP the fast-track process currently underway to push through the new version of Aceh’s Provincial Spatial Plan and recruit better quality advice in order to produce a replacement.I stand by to support you in any way I can and I hope you share my vision to see Aceh as the leading Province in Indonesia for low-carbon economic development.

Mr Governor and Vice Governor, the great province of Aceh does indeed have the support of the world to tackle these important challenges, and we stand ready to celebrate your great leadership if you are willing to take them on.

Yours sincerely,

Sincerely, [Your name]

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Greenpeace welcomes forest conservation pilot from Indonesian palm oil producer

Jakarta, 13 March 2013 - Greenpeace Indonesia today welcomed the launch of a forest conservation pilot project by Indonesia’s largest palm oil producer, Golden Agri-Resources (GAR), to protect High Carbon Stock (HCS) forests and called on other palm oil producers to take similar action.

“Greenpeace commends GAR for putting its Forest Conservation Policy commitment into action. GAR’s initiative is crucial for finally breaking the link between palm oil and deforestation,” said Bustar Maitar, Head of Greenpeace South East Asia’s Indonesia Forest Campaign.

After developing a methodology for defining HCS forests with Greenpeace and global forestry non-profit group The Forest Trust (TFT), GAR will roll out its Forest Conservation Policy to work with local communities and government to conserve forested areas in all concessions that it is currently developing, beginning with PT Kartika Prima Cipta (KPC) in West Kalimantan. This is a global GAR policy, which will also be implemented in the company's investment in Liberia (GVL) and, providing it is successfully implemented, would set a strong example for future oil palm development in Africa.

”The future of Indonesia’s rainforests hangs in the balance. In less than three months time the moratorium on new concessions in forested areas will expire. The government of Indonesia should see today’s announcement as a strong signal that government, industry and civil society together can turn the tide and protect Indonesia’s forests for the sake of the people and biodiversity that depend on them and for the global climate,” said Bustar.

GAR committed to an ambitious Forest Conservation Policy to prevent deforestation from taking place in its palm oil operations in February 2011 following Greenpeace’s campaign and consumer pressure against deforestation and peatland clearance for palm oil in Indonesia. This policy entails a commitment to not develop areas identified as High Conservation Values (HCV) and peat regardless of depth, and not to develop areas with High Carbon Stock (HCS). Identifying HCS forests required an innovative and robust methodology that has been developed by GAR in collaboration with TFT and Greenpeace and was first presented in June 2012.

Greenpeace calls on other palm oil producers to follow GAR’s initiative rather than hide behind weak legislation and certification systems, such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). If the palm oil industry is to erase the bad reputation it has acquired among consumers and financial institutions, it needs to be clear which plantation companies are truly committed to protecting Indonesia’s remaining forests, and those which will continue their destructive practices.

“Consumer product companies that buy palm oil need to support industry leaders that are willing to take bold measures to protect forests and peatland and not simply depend on certification systems that have been struggling unsuccessfully for years to design and implement measures needed to do the same thing,” said Bustar.

Media Contact:

Bustar Maitar, Head of Greenpeace South East Asia’s Indonesia Forest Campaign, tel: +62 81344666135

Martin Baker, Communications Coordinator - Indonesia Forests, Greenpeace Global Forest Network, tel: +62 81315829513

Notes:
(1) GAR announcement: http://www.goldenagri.com.sg/sustainable_overview.php
(2) High Carbon Stock Briefing: http://www.greenpeace.org/international/Global/international/briefings/forests/2013/HCS-Briefing-2013.pdf
(3) Greenpeace Scorecard on Palm Oil Producers: http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/publications/Campaign-reports/Forests-Reports/Palm-Oil-Scorecard/
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