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		<title>Conservation news</title>
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		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
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	<title>News on Indonesia^s Forest Moratorium</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/indonesias-forest-moratorium/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>Indonesian ban on clearing new swaths of forest to be made permanent</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/06/indonesian-ban-on-clearing-new-swaths-of-forest-to-be-made-permanent/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/06/indonesian-ban-on-clearing-new-swaths-of-forest-to-be-made-permanent/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Jun 2019 08:59:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2019/06/11184326/kalbar_DJI_0420-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=219010</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Jokowi Commitments]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Climate Change, Deforestation, Dry Forests, Environment, Fires, forest degradation, Forest Destruction, Forests, Illegal Logging, Indigenous Peoples, Indonesia^s Forest Moratorium, Logging, Palm Oil, Peatlands, Plantations, Politics, Protected Areas, Pulp And Paper, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Selective Logging, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
											<grant>
							<![CDATA[2018-67916, G-1801-55636]]>
						</grant>
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — A provisional moratorium on issuing forest-clearing permits for plantations and logging is expected to be made permanent, Indonesian officials have announced. The moratorium prohibits the conversion of primary natural forests and peatlands for oil palm, pulpwood and logging concessions, and was introduced in 2011 by then-president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as part of wider [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — A provisional moratorium on issuing forest-clearing permits for plantations and logging is expected to be made permanent, Indonesian officials have announced. The moratorium prohibits the conversion of primary natural forests and peatlands for oil palm, pulpwood and logging concessions, and was introduced in 2011 by then-president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as part of wider efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation. It was initially slated to run for two years, but has been extended three times since then, most recently in July 2017 by Yudhoyono’s successor, President Joko Widodo. Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar told Mongabay that when it comes up for renewal again this July, the policy will be made permanent. “[The proposal] is in the final stage now, signed by other ministers,” Siti said. An official in her ministry added that the proposal was now awaiting the president’s approval. Abetnego Tarigan, an environmental adviser in the office of the president’s chief of staff, confirmed that the ministry had proposed making the moratorium permanent. The move dovetails with the current administration’s development model of reining in agricultural and forestry expansion and boosting productivity from existing concessions. “Massive expansion isn’t our priority anymore,” Abetnego told reporters in Jakarta. “It’s different from in the 1980s, when industrial [logging and pulpwood] plantations wanted to expand, and in the 1990s and the 2000s, when palm oil plantations wanted to expand as well.” In addition, the government also wants to shift away from a heavy reliance on exports of raw&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2019/06/indonesian-ban-on-clearing-new-swaths-of-forest-to-be-made-permanent/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/06/indonesian-ban-on-clearing-new-swaths-of-forest-to-be-made-permanent/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-219010</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesian minister blasted over palm permit for graft-tainted concession</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/02/indonesian-minister-blasted-over-palm-permit-for-graft-tainted-concession/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/02/indonesian-minister-blasted-over-palm-permit-for-graft-tainted-concession/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Feb 2019 06:40:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2018/01/04111306/indonesia_sulawesi_171067-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=215274</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Jokowi Commitments]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and Sulawesi]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Conflict, Corruption, Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Law, Forestry, Forests, Governance, Indonesia^s Forest Moratorium, Land Conflict, Palm Oil, Plantations, Politics, Rainforests, Threats To Rainforests, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
											<grant>
							<![CDATA[G-1801-55636, 2018-67916]]>
						</grant>
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Indonesia’s anti-corruption agency has joined a growing chorus of criticism against a government decision to permit deforestation in a concession at the heart of a bribery scandal. It was revealed earlier in February that Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar last year approved a permit to convert, or clear, 100 square kilometers [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Indonesia’s anti-corruption agency has joined a growing chorus of criticism against a government decision to permit deforestation in a concession at the heart of a bribery scandal. It was revealed earlier in February that Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar last year approved a permit to convert, or clear, 100 square kilometers (39 square miles) of rainforest in the district of Buol, on the island of Sulawesi. The land in question lies within a concession held by the palm oil firm PT Hardaya Inti Plantations (HIP), owned by business tycoon and politician Hartati Murdaya Poo. Indonesian business tycoon and politician Hartati Murdaya Poo. Image by KPK. Hartati was arrested in 2012 by Indonesia’s Corruption Eradication Commission, or KPK, for bribing the Buol district chief, Amran Batalipu, to grant her the concession. Both Hartati and Amran were convicted and jailed for the bribery, but the concession remained with PT HIP. KPK commissioner Laode M. Syarif said the recent move by the forestry minister to accept the company’s request for a forest conversion permit, knowing that it had obtained the concession through bribery, was unacceptable. “I’ve just heard that the land whose [license] was issued through bribery has already been converted from forest area in the past few months. That’s not acceptable in the eyes of the KPK,” Laode told reporters in Jakarta. He called on the forestry minister to review the issued permit, stressing that an application made by a company implicated in such a bribery case shouldn’t&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2019/02/indonesian-minister-blasted-over-palm-permit-for-graft-tainted-concession/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/02/indonesian-minister-blasted-over-palm-permit-for-graft-tainted-concession/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-215274</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia&#8217;s Aceh extends moratorium on new mining sites</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/01/indonesias-aceh-extends-moratorium-on-new-mining-sites/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/01/indonesias-aceh-extends-moratorium-on-new-mining-sites/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Jan 2018 08:57:45 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Junaidi Hanafiah]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
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					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=202890</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Aceh, Asia, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Coal, Conservation, Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Policy, Indonesia^s Forest Moratorium, Law, Mining, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Saving Rainforests, and Solutions]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
											<grant>
							<![CDATA[2018CSTF]]>
						</grant>
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BANDA ACEH, Indonesia — The government of Indonesia’s Aceh province will reject applications for new mineral and coal-mining projects in the region for another half year, in a bid to protect some of Sumatra’s rich rainforests and natural resources. Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf last month signed off the freeze on new mining deals until June [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BANDA ACEH, Indonesia — The government of Indonesia’s Aceh province will reject applications for new mineral and coal-mining projects in the region for another half year, in a bid to protect some of Sumatra’s rich rainforests and natural resources. Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf last month signed off the freeze on new mining deals until June this year, after the previous moratorium ended last October. The province has maintained a series bans on such permits since 2014. The administration said it would continue to review and improve the management of the mining sector in Aceh during the ban. “This is also to keep protecting our environment as a source of life for our people, and to prevent any disasters from happening,” said provincial administration spokesman Edrian, who, like many Indonesians, goes by one name. “We hope everyone will support the governor’s policy.” New applications for mineral and coal exploration activities will also be denied by the administration; however, it will process and evaluate requests for extensions up to three months before an existing exploration permit ends. Rainforests in the Mount Leuser ecosystem, which straddles the provinces of Aceh and North Sumatra. Photo by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay. Askhalani, an activist with the anti-corruption NGO GeRAK, welcomed the renewal of the moratorium, saying it had saved hundreds of thousands of hectares of forests in Aceh, home to some of Indonesia’s last biodiversity and natural resources hotspots. “The government of Aceh must keep evaluating all permits and check in person what’s happening on the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/01/indonesias-aceh-extends-moratorium-on-new-mining-sites/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/01/indonesias-aceh-extends-moratorium-on-new-mining-sites/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-202890</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia to miss carbon emissions target under existing climate policies: study</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/10/indonesia-to-miss-carbon-emissions-target-under-existing-climate-policies-study/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/10/indonesia-to-miss-carbon-emissions-target-under-existing-climate-policies-study/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Oct 2017 12:35:22 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2016/08/01193031/Peat-forest-fire-damage.-Photo-by-Rhett-A.-Butler--495x330.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=200028</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Jokowi Commitments]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Carbon Dioxide, Carbon Emissions, Climate Change, Climate Science, Deforestation, Emission Reduction, Energy, Environment, Fires, Forest Carbon, Forestry, Forests, Governance, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Impact Of Climate Change, Indonesia^s Forest Moratorium, Plantations, Politics, Protected Areas, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Indonesia, a top carbon polluter, has a plan to cut its emissions. But unless it takes more drastic measures, it will miss the target it has set for itself, according to a new analysis by the World Resources Institute, a think tank. Indonesia has pledged to reduce its emissions growth by at least 29 percent [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Indonesia, a top carbon polluter, has a plan to cut its emissions. But unless it takes more drastic measures, it will miss the target it has set for itself, according to a new analysis by the World Resources Institute, a think tank. Indonesia has pledged to reduce its emissions growth by at least 29 percent over business-as-usual levels by 2030. That means it can emit no more than 2 gigatons of carbon dioxide that year. But even if it follows through on existing policies aimed at reducing emissions, Indonesia will emit 2.3 gigatons of carbon in 2030, just a 19 percent drop, according to the WRI. Indonesia produced an estimated 1.8 gigatons in 2005, and 1.4 gigatons in 2000. “We need mitigation actions that are more ambitious than the current ones,” Arief Wijaya, climate and forests senior manager at WRI Indonesia, told reporters in Jakarta. Indonesia’s prolific output of greenhouse gases is due less to the burning of fossil fuels than to the conversion of its rainforests and peatlands for agriculture. At the same time, coal consumption is rapidly increasing in the archipelago country. Together, the land-use and energy sectors account for four-fifths of Indonesia’s emissions. To cut emissions, Indonesia has declared a moratorium on new licenses to clear “primary” forests and peat swamps; made plans to restore some 2 million hectares of degraded peat swamps; and taken other measures to conserve these carbon-rich environments. It has also set various renewable-energy goals. While these policies are a decent starting point,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2017/10/indonesia-to-miss-carbon-emissions-target-under-existing-climate-policies-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/10/indonesia-to-miss-carbon-emissions-target-under-existing-climate-policies-study/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-200028</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>The year in tropical rainforests: 2016</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/12/the-year-in-tropical-rainforests-2016/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/12/the-year-in-tropical-rainforests-2016/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Dec 2016 20:40:49 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2016/12/31204320/indonesia_1610231-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=192051</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Amazon, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Cameroon, Colombia, Congo Basin, Democratic Republic Of Congo, Ecuador, Gabon, Global, Guyana, Indonesia, Latin America, Liberia, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Guinea, Nigeria, Peru, Republic of Congo, South America, and Suriname]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Cattle, Certification, Coal, Commodity Roundtables, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Dams, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Ecology, Energy, Fires, Forests, Gold Mining, Governance, Hydroelectric Power, Indigenous Rights, Indonesia^s Forest Moratorium, Land Rights, Law Enforcement, Logging, Mining, Palm Oil, Peatlands, Plantations, Pulp And Paper, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Ranching, Remote Sensing, Rubber, Saving Rainforests, Solutions, Soy, Traditional People, Wildtech, Year-end review, and Zero Deforestation Commitments]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Massive forest fires in the Congo and Amazon, surging deforestation in Brazil, and tentative steps toward reform in Indonesia and Myanmar: there were no shortage of major happenings in tropical forests around the world in 2016. Here&#8217;s a laundry list of some of the biggest rainforest stories from the past year. Please note that this [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Massive forest fires in the Congo and Amazon, surging deforestation in Brazil, and tentative steps toward reform in Indonesia and Myanmar: there were no shortage of major happenings in tropical forests around the world in 2016. Here&#8217;s a laundry list of some of the biggest rainforest stories from the past year. Please note that this post does not cover developments in sub-tropical, temperate, or boreal forests. Additionally, this list is by no means exhaustive, so feel free to highlight stories we missed via the comment section at the bottom of the post. Reviews from past years: 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2009 The big picture | Latin America | Africa | Asia | Commodities | Rights and governance | Conservation and ecology THE BIG PICTURE After 2015&#8217;s radical advancements in transparency around tropical forests between improved forest cover monitoring systems and corporate policies on commodity sourcing, progress slowed in 2016 with no major updates on tropical forest cover, resistance from several governments in releasing forest data, and some notable backtracking on zero deforestation commitments. But even without the pan-tropical updates, we know that deforestation increased sharply in the Brazilian Amazon, which accounts for world&#8217;s largest area of tropical forest. Whether that trend was mirrored in other countries is presently unclear, but low commodity prices may have bought some relief for forests. The global commodity price index in 2016 was the lowest since 2004 and several commodities often produced at the expense of rainforests — beef,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2016/12/the-year-in-tropical-rainforests-2016/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/12/the-year-in-tropical-rainforests-2016/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-192051</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Green groups raise red flags over Jokowi&#8217;s widely acclaimed haze law</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/12/green-groups-raise-red-flags-over-jokowis-widely-acclaimed-haze-law/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/12/green-groups-raise-red-flags-over-jokowis-widely-acclaimed-haze-law/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Dec 2016 13:11:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay Haze Beat]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2016/06/01201618/haze-indonesia_20152468-495x330.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=191603</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Jokowi Commitments]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Borneo, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Carbon Emissions, Climate Change, Conservation, Deforestation, Economics, Environment, Environmental Policy, Fires, Forest Carbon, Forestry, Forests, Governance, Indonesia^s Forest Moratorium, Law Enforcement, Palm Oil, Peatlands, Plantations, Politics, Protected Areas, Pulp And Paper, Rainforests, Saving Rainforests, Solutions, Tropical Forests, and Wetlands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A crucial new government regulation on peatland management in Indonesia is spurring debate over whether the country is going far enough to prevent a repeat of last year’s disastrous forest fires. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo signed into law on Dec. 1 a new regulation intended to call time on untrammeled commercial development of the archipelago’s [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A crucial new government regulation on peatland management in Indonesia is spurring debate over whether the country is going far enough to prevent a repeat of last year’s disastrous forest fires. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo signed into law on Dec. 1 a new regulation intended to call time on untrammeled commercial development of the archipelago’s vast peat swamp zones, which have been widely drained and dried — rendering them highly flammable — by the palm oil and paper industries. The new Presidential Regulation No. 57 of 2016 amends Presidential Regulation No. 71 of 2014 on the Protection and Management of Peatland Ecosystems. The move sees Indonesia’s executive following through on a pledge made at the end of 2015 to crack down on permissive and opaque development in Indonesia’s carbon-rich hinterlands. At issue is perhaps more than 22 million hectares of potentially combustible peat spread across three time zones, the source of much of the acrid pollution emitted in the 2015 Southeast Asia haze crisis. The World Resources Institute says draining one hectare of peat is equivalent to burning 6,000 gallons of gasoline. Emissions from decomposition and combustion of peat contributes almost half of Indonesia’s total emissions, conferring pivotal importance on the country of 250 million in the global fight against climate change. Art by Prabha Mallya Some observers have praised the signing of the regulation, which enshrines into law a moratorium on new peatland development that was previously only mandated by a presidential guideline. It says the ban will stay&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2016/12/green-groups-raise-red-flags-over-jokowis-widely-acclaimed-haze-law/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/12/green-groups-raise-red-flags-over-jokowis-widely-acclaimed-haze-law/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-191603</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Company poised to destroy critical orangutan habitat in breach of Indonesia&#8217;s moratorium</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/10/palm-oil-company-poised-to-destroy-critical-orangutan-habitat-in-breach-of-indonesias-moratorium/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/10/palm-oil-company-poised-to-destroy-critical-orangutan-habitat-in-breach-of-indonesias-moratorium/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Oct 2016 22:25:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Erik Meijaard]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2016/10/01145057/otong-orangutan-766x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=190393</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Great Apes]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Borneo, Indonesia, Kalimantan, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Analysis, Apes, Biodiversity, Conservation, Deforestation, Endangered Species, Forests, Great Apes, Indonesia^s Forest Moratorium, Orangutans, Palm Oil, Peatlands, Plantations, Primates, Rainforests, Remote Sensing, Satellite Imagery, Tropical Forests, Wetlands, and Zero Deforestation Commitments]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Try to get your head around this one. There is this beautiful natural forest area in West Kalimantan, called Sungai Putri, which roughly translates as the River of the Princess. At about 57,000 hectares (141,000 acres), it is a sizable piece of forest enough to provide a home to between 750 and 1750 orangutans. This [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Global Forest Watch image of Sungai Putri, including recent forest cover loss (pink and gold), with Urthcast images as a base layer. Courtesy of World Resources Institute. Try to get your head around this one. There is this beautiful natural forest area in West Kalimantan, called Sungai Putri, which roughly translates as the River of the Princess. At about 57,000 hectares (141,000 acres), it is a sizable piece of forest enough to provide a home to between 750 and 1750 orangutans. This makes it the third largest population of this Critically Endangered species in the province. Sungai Putri has extensive deep peat areas, up to 14.5 meters (48 feet) deep in places. And it is covered with forest. Given that the Indonesian government is committed to protecting peat, forests, and orangutans one would assume that this area is safe. Well, as it turns out, it is not. I was in the area in October 2016 and some local people in the area told me there is a plan for much of the forest area to be cut down. A company named PT Mohairson Pawan Khatulistiwa apparently plans to clear more than half of their license area for conversion into an industrial tree plantation. This is unusual because when they obtained the IUPHHK-HA or HPH license for selectively logging in June 2008, and that license cannot be used for plantation development (Hutan Tanaman Industri). The company would need to give back the existing HPH license to the Ministry of Environment and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2016/10/palm-oil-company-poised-to-destroy-critical-orangutan-habitat-in-breach-of-indonesias-moratorium/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/10/palm-oil-company-poised-to-destroy-critical-orangutan-habitat-in-breach-of-indonesias-moratorium/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-190393</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia to rezone 3.8m of protected peat that was damaged or converted</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/06/indonesia-to-rezone-3-8m-of-protected-peat-that-was-damaged-or-converted/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/06/indonesia-to-rezone-3-8m-of-protected-peat-that-was-damaged-or-converted/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Jun 2016 17:03:14 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Fidelis E. Satriastanti]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2015/12/02231431/animals_02483-495x330.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=187065</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Jokowi Commitments]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Community Forests, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corruption, Environment, Environmental Policy, Forestry, Forests, Indonesia^s Forest Moratorium, Law Enforcement, Palm Oil, Peatlands, Plantations, Rainforests, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In May, the Indonesian government announced that nearly half of the peatlands protected under a 2011 forestry moratorium have actually been damaged or converted. Last week, the forestry ministry said it would issue a regulation to provide legal status for these areas, which amount to 3.8 million hectares – nearly the size of Puerto Rico. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In May, the Indonesian government announced that nearly half of the peatlands protected under a 2011 forestry moratorium have actually been damaged or converted. Last week, the forestry ministry said it would issue a regulation to provide legal status for these areas, which amount to 3.8 million hectares – nearly the size of Puerto Rico. These peatlands have either burned or been “turned into agriculture, plantations, mines, fish farms and resettlement areas,” San Afri Awang, the ministry’s spatial-planning director, said in Jakarta. “We cannot allow this. We will settle this. If there’s a violation, we will seek legal recourse.” Established under an agreement with Norway, the moratorium was hailed as a major breakthrough for conservation. It banned new permits to develop primary forests and peat swamps, which have been widely drained and cleared to make way for palm oil and timber plantations. In practice, though, enforcement of the policy has been lax, undermined by corruption and poor governance. District heads often hand out plantation permits without the proper approvals from Jakarta, for example. Drainage canals bisect a timber plantation on peat in Indonesia&#8217;s Sumatra. Photo by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay It was not clear how many of the 3.8 million hectares of peat were intact when the moratorium was established, and how many had already been damaged or converted and were erroneously included in the moratorium map, which was said to still include 4.6 million hectares of intact peatland. There is also a difference between areas that have been turned into agricultural lands&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2016/06/indonesia-to-rezone-3-8m-of-protected-peat-that-was-damaged-or-converted/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/06/indonesia-to-rezone-3-8m-of-protected-peat-that-was-damaged-or-converted/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-187065</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Palm oil, mining moratorium declared in Indonesia&#8217;s Leuser Ecosystem</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/04/palm-oil-mining-moratorium-declared-indonesias-leuser-ecosystem/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/04/palm-oil-mining-moratorium-declared-indonesias-leuser-ecosystem/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Apr 2016 17:57:49 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2016/04/01214938/2015_aceh_0289-495x330.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=185872</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Leuser Ecosystem]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Aceh, Asia, Indonesia, Leuser Ecosystem, Southeast Asia, and Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Deforestation, Forests, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Indonesia^s Forest Moratorium, Mining, Palm Oil, Rainforests, Saving Rainforests, and Solutions]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Top officials in Indonesia have reportedly declared a moratorium on new oil palm and mining concessions in the Leuser Ecosystem, the only place on Earth where elephants, rhinos, orangutans, and tigers roam the same forests. According to foresthints.news, Indonesia&#8217;s Minister of the Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya, Aceh Province governor Zaini Abdullah, and Wali Nanggroe [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Top officials in Indonesia have reportedly declared a moratorium on new oil palm and mining concessions in the Leuser Ecosystem, the only place on Earth where elephants, rhinos, orangutans, and tigers roam the same forests. According to foresthints.news, Indonesia&#8217;s Minister of the Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya, Aceh Province governor Zaini Abdullah, and Wali Nanggroe Aceh or &#8220;Guardian of Aceh&#8221; Malik Mahmud Al Haytar reached an agreement late Tuesday night. The moratorium includes a review of existing oil palm and mining concessions in the Leuser Ecosystem as well as a ban on land-clearing until the review is complete. “We are still busy preparing the details of the moratorium. After the completion of this phase, we will release details of the next phase,&#8221; Minister Siti told foresthints.news. &#8220;However, I can say that a moratorium on the expansion of palm oil and mining in the Leuser Ecosystem is set in stone.&#8221; The moratorium comes just days after Indonesian president Joko Widodo pledged to establish a nationwide moratorium on such concessions in forest areas. Jokowi, as the president is popularly known, said that Indonesia has already allocated enough land for palm oil production, noting that better management practices could double palm oil production on existing plantations. Illegal deforestation for an oil palm plantation in Aceh Tamiang in 2014. Photo by Rhett A. Butler Aceh&#8217;s decision to follow Jokowi&#8217;s directive is significant because sub-national governments aren&#8217;t always keen on taking orders from the central government. Indonesia&#8217;s decentralized system leaves many land use decisions up&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2016/04/palm-oil-mining-moratorium-declared-indonesias-leuser-ecosystem/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/04/palm-oil-mining-moratorium-declared-indonesias-leuser-ecosystem/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-185872</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Under-fire Jokowi prepares biggest shift yet in Indonesian haze</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/10/jokowi-readies-haze-response-faces-tough-questions-on-us-visit/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/10/jokowi-readies-haze-response-faces-tough-questions-on-us-visit/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Oct 2015 16:13:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay Haze Beat]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Haze Beat]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, Jambi, Kalimantan, Malaysia, Riau, Singapore, South Sumatra, Southeast Asia, Sumatra, West Kalimantan, and West Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Climate Change, Conservation, Deforestation, Environment, Forestry, Forests, Indonesia^s Forest Moratorium, Law Enforcement, Orangutans, Palm Oil, Peatlands, Plantations, Politics, and Pulp And Paper]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Banner Photo Credit: Bjorn Vaughn President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is preparing significant steps toward addressing the underlying causes of Indonesia’s devastating wildfires, including an enhanced moratorium on licenses to exploit peatlands, but has yet to make the measures legally binding. The developments come with Jokowi traveling to Washington D.C. to meet U.S. President Barack Obama as part [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Banner Photo Credit: Bjorn Vaughn President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is preparing significant steps toward addressing the underlying causes of Indonesia’s devastating wildfires, including an enhanced moratorium on licenses to exploit peatlands, but has yet to make the measures legally binding. The developments come with Jokowi traveling to Washington D.C. to meet U.S. President Barack Obama as part of an official visit to the country. “Indonesia is in a state of emergency with fires burning from Papua to Sumatra,” said Greenpeace&#8217;s country director for Indonesia, Longgena Ginting. Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for Indonesia&#8217;s disaster management agency, this weekend characterized the disaster as “a crime against humanity of extraordinary proportions.&#8221; He said more than 500,000 people have developed respiratory problems since agricultural fires and peatland hotspots began to burn through Indonesia’s hinterlands in June. Jokowi held a meeting on Friday morning with environment minister Siti Nurbaya, presidential chief of staff Teten Masduki and representatives from nine NGOs to discuss the government’s long-term and more-immediate plans to manage the emergency. The NGOs told the president the strongest possible moratorium was required on all peatlands in Indonesia in order for meaningful progress to be made. While firefighting efforts to contain surface fires can have some impact, peatland hotspots can burn several meters underground and can be extinguished only by sustained rain. Rain is not expected for at least another month because of the extended dry season brought on by the El Niño weather phenomenon. Smoke emanates from an oil palm plantation in Riau several months ago. Photo by&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2015/10/jokowi-readies-haze-response-faces-tough-questions-on-us-visit/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/10/jokowi-readies-haze-response-faces-tough-questions-on-us-visit/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-154267</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘Maybe that’s why there’s so many fires’: Was a peat swamp illegitimately stripped of protected status in Indonesia?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/10/maybe-thats-why-theres-so-many-fires-was-a-peat-swamp-illegitimately-stripped-of-protected-status-in-indonesia/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/10/maybe-thats-why-theres-so-many-fires-was-a-peat-swamp-illegitimately-stripped-of-protected-status-in-indonesia/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Oct 2015 11:27:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jay FajarSapariah Saturi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2015/10/03151702/katingan-peat-DSCN0856-515x330.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Borneo, Indonesia, Kalimantan, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Air Pollution, Carbon Credits, Carbon Emissions, Carbon Market, Carbon Offsets, Climate Change, Conservation, Deforestation, Environment, Fires, Forest Carbon, Forestry, Forests, Indonesia^s Forest Moratorium, Logging, Palm Oil, Peatlands, Plantations, Protected Areas, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A massive peat dome on Borneo’s southern coast is under threat from an oil palm firm whose area of operation should never have been removed from Indonesia’s moratorium on new licenses to clear primary forests and peatlands, according to individuals from the private, public and nonprofit sectors who have investigated the company’s concession. Land clearing [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A massive peat dome on Borneo’s southern coast is under threat from an oil palm firm whose area of operation should never have been removed from Indonesia’s moratorium on new licenses to clear primary forests and peatlands, according to individuals from the private, public and nonprofit sectors who have investigated the company’s concession. Land clearing has begun, threatening local orangutan populations and jeopardizing a nearby conservation project, sources say. Work on drainage canals started six months ago. The company, PT Persada Era Agro Kencana (PEAK), has planted its first oil palm seedlings. The concession is also full of fires, fueling a severe outbreak of smoky haze across the region which counts this province of Central Kalimantan as a critical epicenter. The concession was brought to Mongabay’s attention by Dharsono Hartono, CEO of PT Rimba Makmur Utama (RMU), which holds an ecosystem restoration license to manage around half of the peat dome, located between the Mentaya River to the west and the Katingan River to the east near the Java Sea. Dharsono said PEAK’s activities threaten the viability of RMU’s project, set up for the purpose of selling carbon credits for profit and tackling climate change in line with Indonesia’s REDD+ initiative. He explained that the draining of PEAK’s concession – peat is a carbon-rich, marshy material that must be drained before it can be planted with oil palm – will lower the water table in RMU’s zone and jeopardize the green investment project, which covers 108,255 hectares. “The impact of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2015/10/maybe-thats-why-theres-so-many-fires-was-a-peat-swamp-illegitimately-stripped-of-protected-status-in-indonesia/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/10/maybe-thats-why-theres-so-many-fires-was-a-peat-swamp-illegitimately-stripped-of-protected-status-in-indonesia/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-148815</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Haze chokehold spurring efforts to save Indonesia’s forests</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/08/haze-chokehold-fires-efforts-to-save-indonesias-forests/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/08/haze-chokehold-fires-efforts-to-save-indonesias-forests/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Aug 2015 16:40:25 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simon Pollock]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Indonesia and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Environment, Fires, Indonesia^s Forest Moratorium, Palm Oil, Plantations, Pollution, Pulp And Paper, Rainforests, Timber, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Many Southeast Asians are wondering if they will have to withstand another blanket of haze from rainforest fires as Indonesia enters its annual dry season.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[This is the first in a two-part series on forest fires in Indonesia, their effects, and what&#8217;s being done to stop them. Read the second part here. The annual burning of Indonesian rainforests represents an example of the increasing clouding of regional-global divides when it comes to environmental problems. Many Southeast Asians are wondering if they will have to withstand another blanket of haze from rainforest fires as Indonesia enters its annual dry season. Signs of an impending El Nino weather pattern mean the country’s traditional dry period this year could extend from May to August into September. In the past, Indonesia’s dry season has often coincided with extensive fires – many deliberately lit &#8211; that have resulted in palls of smoke that recognize no borders and threaten to foul the lungs of Indonesians and their neighbors, while exacerbating concerns for children’s long-term health. So far, the ASEAN Haze Monitoring System &#8211; which incorporates satellite pictures and maps &#8211; has detected a total of 4,763 hotspots, indicating wildfires, across Indonesia between 1 January and 23 July this year. NASA data from Global Forest Watch shows fire activity during the past week (8/10 to 8/17). Most fires are currently occurring on Kalimantan, and many are happening in primary forest. The effects of cross-border haze from Indonesia have different manifestations. For people living in Indonesia and surrounding countries it is a smoky blanket that blocks out the sun. For the world’s global citizens, the effects of the haze are less apparent, but potentially&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2015/08/haze-chokehold-fires-efforts-to-save-indonesias-forests/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-66755</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Nine months in, how has Jokowi fared on the environment?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/07/jokowi-scorecard-nine-months-in/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/07/jokowi-scorecard-nine-months-in/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Jul 2015 14:47:56 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Indonesia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Animals, Climate Change, Conservation, Deforestation, Endangered Species, Energy, Environment, Environmental Policy, Forestry, Forests, Governance, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Indigenous Rights, Indonesia^s Forest Moratorium, Land Conflict, Land Rights, Land Use Change, Oceans, Palm Oil, Peatlands, Plantations, Politics, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Renewable Energy, Threats To Rainforests, Water, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Nine months into the landmark presidency of Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, Indonesia’s first head of state to emerge from neither the political elite nor the military, the hope that ran to such a fever pitch during his campaign has dimmed somewhat, eroded by his handling of tussles with the police and his political party and by [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Nine months into the landmark presidency of Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, Indonesia’s first head of state to emerge from neither the political elite nor the military, the hope that ran to such a fever pitch during his campaign has dimmed somewhat, eroded by his handling of tussles with the police and his political party and by questions over his commitment to human rights and environmental issues. At times he has seemed overwhelmed, his lack of experience the impediment voters feared it would be even as the soft-spoken man who got his start in the furniture business galvanized them into making him their president. Still, and whether for better or worse, in the arena of issues related to the environment and Indonesia’s vast natural resources, Jokowi has made some significant moves. He undertook a major restructuring of the environmental and forestry bureaucracies. He authorized several permit reviews and has sought to simplify licensing procedures. He extended a moratorium on logging in many of the archipelago’s forests and peatlands. He ventured to cut the fuel subsidy and has taken steps to reduce dependence on oil imports. He has endeavored to increase maritime strength and consolidate control over Indonesian waters; he has literally blown illegal foreign fishing vessels out of the sea. In January, Mongabay-Indonesia – Mongabay’s independent Indonesian-language arm – launched a project to document and track progress on Jokowi’s social and environmental commitments. What follows here is an assessment of the progress he has made against those commitments – a scorecard tempered by&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2015/07/jokowi-scorecard-nine-months-in/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-63698</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Controversy emerges over alleged deforestation policy breach by APRIL supplier</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/06/controversy-emerges-over-alleged-deforestation-policy-breach-by-april-supplier/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/06/controversy-emerges-over-alleged-deforestation-policy-breach-by-april-supplier/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Jun 2015 05:30:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2015/06/03164030/0622gfw_ahl_satellite-495x330.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2015/06/controversy-emerges-over-alleged-deforestation-policy-breach-by-april-supplier</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Borneo, Indonesia, Kalimantan, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Deforestation, Environment, Forestry, Forests, Green, Indonesia^s Forest Moratorium, Logging, Palm Oil, Peatlands, Plantations, Pulp And Paper, Rainforests, Satellite Imagery, and Zero Deforestation Commitments]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Less than three weeks after APRIL unveiled a sustainability policy that is supposed to protect natural forests, an environmental group is alleging that one of the Indonesian forestry giant&#8217;s subsidiaries is already breaching the commitment. But APRIL refuted the claim and says it continues to stand by the policy. The controversy is centered in a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Less than three weeks after APRIL unveiled a sustainability policy that is supposed to protect natural forests, an environmental group is alleging that one of the Indonesian forestry giant&#8217;s subsidiaries is already breaching the commitment. But APRIL refuted the claim and says it continues to stand by the policy. The controversy is centered in a concession run by PT Adindo Hutani Lestari (AHL) in North Kalimantan, Indonesia&#8217;s newest province, on the island of Borneo. According to Global Forest Watch, three quarters of the concession consists of degraded primary forest, much of which is classified as &#8220;deep peat&#8221; &#8212; peat swamp deeper than three meters. Data from Global Forest Watch shows that Adindo has dramatically scaled up forest clearing in recent months, after clearing some 5,000 hectares between 2011 and 2013. The dispute is over the timing of the clearance. APRIL set a May 15, 2015 cut off for ending deforestation. Global Forest Watch data for the Adindo Hutani Lestari (AHL) concession at the center of the controversy. Eyes on the Forest, a coalition of Indonesian environmental groups coordinated by WWF-Indonesia affiliates, alleges that Adindo continued to chop down peat forests after the May 15 cutoff date. &#8220;Landsat satellite images of the PT Adindo Hutani Lestari (AHL) concession taken on 16 and 24 May and 9 June show forested peatland being cleared after 15 May 2015, the day by which APRIL promised to halt all their suppliers’ forest clearance,&#8221; Eyes on the Forest said in a statement. &#8220;The clearing violates APRIL’s&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2015/06/controversy-emerges-over-alleged-deforestation-policy-breach-by-april-supplier/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-62841</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesian forestry giant calls for stronger forest moratorium</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/05/indonesian-forestry-giant-calls-for-stronger-forest-moratorium/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/05/indonesian-forestry-giant-calls-for-stronger-forest-moratorium/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 May 2015 17:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2015/05/indonesian-forestry-giant-calls-for-stronger-forest-moratorium/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Indonesia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Corporations, Deforestation, Environment, Forests, Green, Indonesia^s Forest Moratorium, Law Enforcement, and Rainforests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Peat forest canopy in Riau, Indonesia. Photos by Rhett A. Butler. Asia Pulp &#38; Paper (APP), an Indonesian forestry giant that was once one of the biggest targets for environmentalists for its logging practices, has joined a growing chorus of voices calling for a stronger moratorium on deforestation and policies that enable companies to support [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Peat forest canopy in Riau, Indonesia. Photos by Rhett A. Butler. Asia Pulp &amp; Paper (APP), an Indonesian forestry giant that was once one of the biggest targets for environmentalists for its logging practices, has joined a growing chorus of voices calling for a stronger moratorium on deforestation and policies that enable companies to support conservation efforts. In a letter released Monday, Aida Greenbury, APP&#8217;s Managing Director of Sustainability, asked Indonesian President Joko (&#8220;Jokowi&#8221;) Widodo to extend the country&#8217;s moratorium on new logging and plantation concessions in some 14 million hectares of otherwise unprotected forests and peatlands. &#8220;I support in principle the continuation and strengthening of Indonesia’s forest moratorium. I welcomed the forest moratorium in 2011 and I would welcome a strengthening and extension of the moratorium today. For this reason, the request for President Widodo to extend the moratorium deserves industry support,&#8221; she writes. &#8220;To be blunt, deforestation is unnecessary, it damages the reputational standing of Indonesia abroad and it hinders the success of our businesses.&#8221; Lowland rainforest in Java However Greenbury said the government would have to go beyond the existing moratorium to protect Indonesia&#8217;s remaining forests. Specifically, she argues for the government to adopt policies and enforce laws that support conservation, noting challenges APP has had with encroachment into areas set aside as conservation zones, an issue that has also affected other Indonesian companies. &#8220;The priorities in my view should be an extension to cover natural forest and forested peat in Indonesia. This will match the moratorium&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2015/05/indonesian-forestry-giant-calls-for-stronger-forest-moratorium/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-23703</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Jokowi&#8217;s environmental commitments in Indonesia</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/02/jokowis-environmental-commitments-in-indonesia/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/02/jokowis-environmental-commitments-in-indonesia/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Feb 2015 19:25:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2015/02/jokowis-environmental-commitments-in-indonesia/</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Jokowi Commitments]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Deforestation, Environment, Forests, Green, Indonesia^s Forest Moratorium, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Palm Oil, Peatlands, and Rainforests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Rainforest in Riau, Indonesia. Photos by Rhett A. Butler. Last fall Indonesia elected its first president with no ties to the established political order or the military. Joko Widodo&#8217;s election was widely heralded by reformers who hoped the politician&#8217;s capable management in his stints as mayor of the town of Solo and metropolis of Jakarta [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Rainforest in Riau, Indonesia. Photos by Rhett A. Butler. Last fall Indonesia elected its first president with no ties to the established political order or the military. Joko Widodo&#8217;s election was widely heralded by reformers who hoped the politician&#8217;s capable management in his stints as mayor of the town of Solo and metropolis of Jakarta could transform Indonesia&#8217;s chronically underperforming bureaucracy, potentially ushering in a new era of improved human rights, better environmental stewardship, reduced corruption, and healthier economic growth. Indeed, in the run up to his election, Jokowi, as the president is popularly known, made several commitments on natural resource management and related issues. But Jokowi’s ambitions were quickly challenged by powerful entrenched interests and the decentralized nature of land-use decision-making. While progress has already been made in some areas, some civil society groups are concerned that issues related to natural resources management, agrarian reform, and indigenous people may fall off the administration&#8217;s list of priorities. Peucang Island off the coast of Java Accordingly, Mongabay-Indonesia, Mongabay&#8217;s Indonesian-language environmental news service, last month launched a project to document and track progress on Jokowi&#8217;s social and environmental commitments, with a particular focus on those related to forests, oceans, wildlife, conservation, and traditional communities. The first step of this effort is identifying commitments that have been made to date. Below is a summary of those commitments based on campaign materials, public statements, and interviews with NGOs that have met with administration officials. By June, we&#8217;ll release a scorecard that measures progress against&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2015/02/jokowis-environmental-commitments-in-indonesia/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-24048</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia dissolves agency charged with forestry reform</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/02/indonesia-dissolves-agency-charged-with-forestry-reform/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/02/indonesia-dissolves-agency-charged-with-forestry-reform/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Feb 2015 01:47:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Loren Bell]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2015/02/indonesia-dissolves-agency-charged-with-forestry-reform/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia and Indonesia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environment, Forestry, Forests, Governance, Green, Indonesia^s Forest Moratorium, Rainforests, and Redd]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Indonesia kills first-of-its-kind REDD+ Agency Strangler fig in Sulawesi. Photos by Rhett A. Butler. The world&#8217;s first cabinet-level ministry dedicated to implementing REDD+ has been dissolved. In accordance with Indonesian Presidential Decree No. 16/2015 the agency known as BP REDD+, along with the National Council on Climate Change, has been absorbed into the newly merged [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Indonesia kills first-of-its-kind REDD+ Agency Strangler fig in Sulawesi. Photos by Rhett A. Butler. The world&#8217;s first cabinet-level ministry dedicated to implementing REDD+ has been dissolved. In accordance with Indonesian Presidential Decree No. 16/2015 the agency known as BP REDD+, along with the National Council on Climate Change, has been absorbed into the newly merged Ministry of the Environment and Forestry (MoEF) as part of a massive government restructuring. Former leaders of BP REDD+ may be kept on as advisors to the new Directorate General of Climate Change Oversight—one of nine Directorates General established during the restructuring and merging of the Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Forestry. The move is part of a push by newly elected President Joko Widodo to streamline the government and reduce overlap of agencies. However, the dissolution of BP REDD+ is seen by its former head, Heru Prasetyo, as a major set back for government accountability in Indonesia. While operating as a cabinet-level ministry answerable directly to the president, BP REDD+ served as a critical check on the notoriously inefficient and sometimes corrupt government ministries. Now, as part of that same system, unless there is real and meaningful reform within the MoEF, Prasetyo fears REDD+ programs will become ineffectual. Cleared forest in Sumatra&#8217;s Riau Province. Further, Prasetyo warns that operating under the MoEF will severely limit Indonesia&#8217;s REDD+ scope which also affect areas outside of the forestry sector. &#8220;If forest areas only covers 40 percent, REDD+ agency deals with the-untouched 60 percent,&#8221; Prasetyo said,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2015/02/indonesia-dissolves-agency-charged-with-forestry-reform/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-24116</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia&#8217;s moratorium not enough to achieve emissions reduction target</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/01/indonesias-moratorium-not-enough-to-achieve-emissions-reduction-target/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/01/indonesias-moratorium-not-enough-to-achieve-emissions-reduction-target/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Jan 2015 00:15:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Robert S. Eshelman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2015/01/indonesias-moratorium-not-enough-to-achieve-emissions-reduction-target/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Carbon Emissions, Environment, Forest Carbon, Forestry, Forests, Green, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Indonesia^s Forest Moratorium, Logging, Peatlands, Plantations, Pulp And Paper, Rainforests, Redd, and Satellite Imagery]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Deforestation in Riau, Sumatra in 2014. Photos by Rhett A. Butler. When Indonesia&#8217;s former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono declared a moratorium in May 2012 on the issuance of new permits for logging in primary forests and on peat lands, it was widely hailed as an important, albeit far too limited, step in clamping down on [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Deforestation in Riau, Sumatra in 2014. Photos by Rhett A. Butler. When Indonesia&#8217;s former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono declared a moratorium in May 2012 on the issuance of new permits for logging in primary forests and on peat lands, it was widely hailed as an important, albeit far too limited, step in clamping down on the country&#8217;s levels of deforestation. A big question at the time was just what impact the moratorium would have on the forestry sector and how much it would move Indonesia toward its target of reducing greenhouse gas emission by 26 – 41 percent from a projected 2020 baseline. Now, in a first of its kind study, a group of researchers has estimated the impact of that moratorium on rates of deforestation and the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere because of the felling of Indonesia&#8217;s forests and the degradation of its carbon-rich soils. &#8220;The current moratorium policy has probably had a modest effect on reducing emissions below what they would have been otherwise,&#8221; Jonah Busch, a research fellow at the Center for Global Development and lead author on the report, told Mongabay.com. &#8220;But if Indonesia is to meet its climate targets, a much stronger policy response is needed.&#8221; Global Forest Watch map showing forest loss between 2001-2012 as well as primary and secondary forest in Indonesia. According to a study published last June, Indonesia lost more than 6 million hectares of natural forest between 2000 and 2012. The study, published on Monday in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2015/01/indonesias-moratorium-not-enough-to-achieve-emissions-reduction-target/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-24203</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia to audit licenses of palm oil companies that clear peatlands</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/11/indonesia-to-audit-licenses-of-palm-oil-companies-that-clear-peatlands/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/11/indonesia-to-audit-licenses-of-palm-oil-companies-that-clear-peatlands/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Nov 2014 03:12:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2014/12/indonesia-to-audit-licenses-of-palm-oil-companies-that-clear-peatlands/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Riau, and Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Deforestation, Environment, Forests, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Indonesia^s Forest Moratorium, Law Enforcement, Palm Oil, Peatlands, Plantations, Pulp And Paper, Rainforests, Saving Rainforests, Solutions, and Zero Deforestation Commitments]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Peat forest in Riau, Sumatra. Photo by Rhett A Butler. New Indonesian president Joko Widodo has ordered the Ministry of Environment and Forestry to review licenses for companies that have converted peatlands for oil palm plantations, reports Antara. Jokowi, as the president is popularly known, announced the move after a visit last week to Sungai [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Peat forest in Riau, Sumatra. Photo by Rhett A Butler. New Indonesian president Joko Widodo has ordered the Ministry of Environment and Forestry to review licenses for companies that have converted peatlands for oil palm plantations, reports Antara. Jokowi, as the president is popularly known, announced the move after a visit last week to Sungai Tohor, a community in Riau that has been particularly affected by peatlands degradation and haze caused by fires set for land clearing. &#8220;I have told the minister of environment and forestry to review the licenses of the companies that have converted peatlands into monoculture plantations if they are found damaging the ecosystem,&#8221; Jokowi was quoted as saying. &#8220;There is no new solution to the issue as everyone understands what must be done. This is a matter of whether we are willing to resolve the issue.&#8221; Jokowi&#8217;s trip to Sungai Tohor came after a community member&#8217;s Change.org campaign asking the president to visit the village to bear witness to the haze garnered more than 27,000 signatures. Jokowi did more than show up for a token photo op, blocking a canal that was draining an area of peatland in order to clear it for a plantation, according to Greenpeace. &#8220;We knew President Jokowi was serious right away. When bad weather aborted his initial helicopter flight to visit Manan’s village, the president cancelled an invitation to speak at a palm oil company conference in order to stay an extra day in Riau and wait for the weather to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2014/11/indonesia-to-audit-licenses-of-palm-oil-companies-that-clear-peatlands/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-24393</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia imposes moratorium on new logging permits</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/11/indonesia-imposes-moratorium-on-new-logging-permits/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/11/indonesia-imposes-moratorium-on-new-logging-permits/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Nov 2014 19:12:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Robert S. Eshelman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2014/11/indonesia-imposes-moratorium-on-new-logging-permits/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Indonesia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Environment, Forestry, Forests, Green, Indonesia^s Forest Moratorium, Logging, and Rainforests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Peat forest in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. Photos by Rhett Butler. Indonesia&#8217;s new Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya Bakar imposed a moratorium on the issuance of all new logging permits a little over a week after being appointed in late October. The move is being celebrated by conservation groups and signals that interest in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Peat forest in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. Photos by Rhett Butler. Indonesia&#8217;s new Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya Bakar imposed a moratorium on the issuance of all new logging permits a little over a week after being appointed in late October. The move is being celebrated by conservation groups and signals that interest in reforming Indonesia&#8217;s notoriously corrupt and dysfunctional forestry sector has reached the highest levels of government, with direction coming from President Joko &#8220;Jokowi&#8221; Widodo. &#8220;The President&#8217;s order is for permit-issuances to be fair, accurate, clear and accountable, which means that the procedure is clear and the result is certain,&#8221; said Siti. &#8220;We will halt issuance of all permits until the integration process is completed to the President&#8217;s satisfaction.&#8221; The moratorium is likely to last between four and six months says the ministry. &#8220;It&#8217;s a welcome signal that Minister Siti and the president recognize that the forest sector is a vital and highly visible sector,&#8221; said the Rainforest Action Network&#8217;s Lacadio Cortesi. &#8220;It suggests they are very aware that the sector is plagued by problems that must be addressed to improve fairness and certainty for businesses and communities, to avoid exacerbating land and social conflict, to tackle corruption, to reduce deforestation and Indonesia&#8217;s carbon footprint, and to improve standing of Indonesian products in the marketplace.&#8221; Cortesi along with several other conservation groups say the impact of the moratorium will come down to how rigorously the moratorium is enforced. They point out that under former president Susilo Bambang&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2014/11/indonesia-imposes-moratorium-on-new-logging-permits/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-24431</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Will merging competing ministries help save Indonesia&#8217;s forests?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/11/will-merging-competing-ministries-help-save-indonesias-forests/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/11/will-merging-competing-ministries-help-save-indonesias-forests/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Nov 2014 04:27:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Robert S. Eshelman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2014/11/will-merging-competing-ministries-help-save-indonesias-forests/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Deforestation, Environment, Forestry, Forests, Green, Indonesia^s Forest Moratorium, Plantations, and Rainforests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Illegal oil palm plantation in Sumatra, Indonesia. Photo by Rhett Butler. Newly elected Indonesian president Joko &#8220;Jokowi&#8221; Widodo announced on October 26th that the Ministry of Forests and the Ministry of Environment would be combined and that Siti Nurbaya would become Forests and Environment Minister. The move was part of Jokowi’s appointment of 34 cabinet [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Illegal oil palm plantation in Sumatra, Indonesia. Photo by Rhett Butler. Newly elected Indonesian president Joko &#8220;Jokowi&#8221; Widodo announced on October 26th that the Ministry of Forests and the Ministry of Environment would be combined and that Siti Nurbaya would become Forests and Environment Minister. The move was part of Jokowi’s appointment of 34 cabinet level positions, ranging from Foreign Minister to Religious Affairs Minister. The move surprised many and will be watched closely as environmentalists, companies in the forestry sector, and public policy analysts say it presents both extreme challenges but also great opportunities for long sought-after reforms. Nurbaya is a veteran government bureaucrat who entered politics last year, becoming a representative with the Nasdem Party. Few people who spoke with Mongabay.com about what the merger and Nurbaya’s appointment might mean for the forestry sector were very familiar with the new minister’s background or perspectives on environmental issues. But all recognized Jokowi’s change as a sign that significant upheaval within the forestry sector might be possible. Forest clearing in Sumatra &#8220;She has no previous, notable history on environmental issues, so it will be interesting to see what her policies will be,&#8221; said Aditya Bayunanda of the World Wildlife Fund-Indonesia. &#8220;There are challenges to align the two ministry interests but it provides an opportunity towards more sustainable policies across the sectors,&#8221; he added. &#8220;Her experience in the Ministry of Home Affairs should equip her in the merging processes of Ministry of Forests and the Ministry of Environment,&#8221; said Daniel Murdiyarso,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2014/11/will-merging-competing-ministries-help-save-indonesias-forests/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-24490</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Despite high deforestation, Indonesia making progress on forests, says Norwegian official</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/10/despite-high-deforestation-indonesia-making-progress-on-forests-says-norwegian-official/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/10/despite-high-deforestation-indonesia-making-progress-on-forests-says-norwegian-official/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Oct 2014 15:23:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2014/10/despite-high-deforestation-indonesia-making-progress-on-forests-says-norwegian-official/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Indonesia and Norway]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Corporations, Deforestation, Environment, Fires, Forests, Green, Indonesia^s Forest Moratorium, Peatlands, Rainforests, Saving Rainforests, and Solutions]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Norwegian ambassador to Indonesia Stig Traavik commutes to the office by bike every day. Jakarta&#8217;s poor air quality pushes many residents to wear face masks on a daily basis. Despite having a deforestation rate that now outpaces that of the Brazilian Amazon, Indonesia is beginning to undertake critical reforms necessary to curb destruction of its [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Norwegian ambassador to Indonesia Stig Traavik commutes to the office by bike every day. Jakarta&#8217;s poor air quality pushes many residents to wear face masks on a daily basis. Despite having a deforestation rate that now outpaces that of the Brazilian Amazon, Indonesia is beginning to undertake critical reforms necessary to curb destruction of its carbon-dense rainforests and peatlands, says a top Norwegian official. Speaking with mongabay.com in Jakarta on Monday, Stig Traavik, Norway&#8217;s ambassador to Indonesia, drew parallels between recent developments in Indonesia and initiatives launched in Brazil a decade ago, when deforestation was nearly five times higher than it is today. &#8220;Fundamentally, I&#8217;m still optimistic. If you look at the trajectory in Indonesian and compare it with Brazil of ten years ago, there are similarities,&#8221; Ambassador Traavik said. &#8220;Ten years ago, things looked pretty hopeless with deforestation impacting many places in the Amazon. But now Brazil has moved to a state where there is more solid enforcement, stronger land management rules, improved monitoring, and better engagement between a range of stakeholders. Indonesia has embarked on some of the same measures.&#8221; Those measures include a push to reform the bureaucracy that governs land use across the archipelago, improved forest monitoring systems, and stepped-up environmental law enforcement, including recent prosecutions of companies found to be illegally clearing protected forests and setting fires that drive polluting haze. Indonesia&#8217;s deforestation rate now tops that of the Brazilian Amazon, according to a study published earlier this year. Background photo: rainforest in Sumatra. Norway&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2014/10/despite-high-deforestation-indonesia-making-progress-on-forests-says-norwegian-official/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/10/despite-high-deforestation-indonesia-making-progress-on-forests-says-norwegian-official/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-24619</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Activists urge outgoing Indonesian president to protect key forest area before he steps down</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/09/activists-urge-outgoing-indonesian-president-to-protect-key-forest-area-before-he-steps-down/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/09/activists-urge-outgoing-indonesian-president-to-protect-key-forest-area-before-he-steps-down/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Sep 2014 08:55:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2014/09/activists-urge-outgoing-indonesian-president-to-protect-key-forest-area-before-he-steps-down/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Aceh, Asia, Indonesia, and Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Deforestation, Environment, Forests, Green, Indonesia^s Forest Moratorium, and Rainforests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[An orphaned Sumatran orangutan at a rescue facility run by the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme Activists have launched an urgent appeal calling upon outgoing Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to step up protection of the only ecosystem that houses Sumatran orangutans, rhinos, elephants and tigers. End of Icons, an initiative led by environmentalists in Aceh, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[An orphaned Sumatran orangutan at a rescue facility run by the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme Activists have launched an urgent appeal calling upon outgoing Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to step up protection of the only ecosystem that houses Sumatran orangutans, rhinos, elephants and tigers. End of Icons, an initiative led by environmentalists in Aceh, is urging Yudhoyono to elevate the protected status of the Leuser Ecosystem before he leaves office. End of Icons is targeting the president ahead of his UN Climate Summit speech next week. Environmentalists fear that a proposed plan to revise Aceh&#8217;s spatial plan &#8212; the zoning law that governs land use in the north Sumatran province &#8212; will spur conversion of key habitat for industrial plantations and mining concessions. Yudhoyono has frequently spoken of his love of wildlife and the importance of Indonesia&#8217;s forests during his presidency. &#8220;I do not want to later explain to my granddaughter Almira, that we, in our time, could not save the forests and the people that depend on it,&#8221; he said during a 2011 speech at the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) in Bogor. &#8220;I do not want to tell her the sad news that tigers, rhinoceroses, and orangutans vanished like the dinosaurs.&#8221; Yudhoyono has committed the country to reducing emissions significantly from a projected 2020 baseline and initiated a reform process within the agencies responsible for forest management. However, despite these efforts, forest loss has risen during his time in office, according to data published by researchers&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2014/09/activists-urge-outgoing-indonesian-president-to-protect-key-forest-area-before-he-steps-down/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-24687</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesian govt reiterates plan to clear 14M ha of forest by 2020</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/08/indonesian-govt-reiterates-plan-to-clear-14m-ha-of-forest-by-2020/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/08/indonesian-govt-reiterates-plan-to-clear-14m-ha-of-forest-by-2020/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Aug 2014 19:43:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2014/08/indonesian-govt-reiterates-plan-to-clear-14m-ha-of-forest-by-2020/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Deforestation, Environment, Forest Carbon, Forestry, Forests, Green, Indonesia^s Forest Moratorium, Logging, Plantations, and Rainforests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Indonesia now has the highest deforestation rate in the world, topping even Brazil which has more than five times the natural forest cover. Background photo: rainforest in Sumatra. The Indonesian government is pressing forward with plans to clear 14 million hectares of forest between 2010 and 2020 despite a commitment to curb greenhouse gas emissions, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Indonesia now has the highest deforestation rate in the world, topping even Brazil which has more than five times the natural forest cover. Background photo: rainforest in Sumatra. The Indonesian government is pressing forward with plans to clear 14 million hectares of forest between 2010 and 2020 despite a commitment to curb greenhouse gas emissions, reports The Jakarta Post. In an interview Tuesday, Hadi Daryanto, secretary-general of Indonesia&#8217;s Ministry of Forestry, said the government aims to convert 14 million hectares of &#8220;degraded&#8221; forest for plantations, energy production, and infrastructure. Forest will be carefully selected for conversion, according to Hadi. “Deforestation is inevitable [for development], but we will allocate the land for better use,” Hadi told The Jakarta Post. “We will provide the forested land information on our website and we will invite people to monitor the process by using the satellite imagery to supervise the land.” From the published excerpts, it wasn&#8217;t clear what criteria the government would use for choosing what areas to grant for conversion or how much forest has been sanctioned for clearing since 2010. Forest loss in Indonesia and the Brazilian Amazon between. Indonesia lost 15.79 million hectares of forest between 2000 and the end of 2012, according to studies by researchers at the University of Maryland. Of that area, 38 percent or 6.02 million hectares consisted of natural or &#8220;primary&#8221; forest. Indonesia recently surpassed Brazil as the world&#8217;s top deforesting tropical nation, according to a Nature Climate Change study published in June by Belinda Margono&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2014/08/indonesian-govt-reiterates-plan-to-clear-14m-ha-of-forest-by-2020/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-24797</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Aceh&#8217;s largest peat swamp at risk from palm oil</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/08/acehs-largest-peat-swamp-at-risk-from-palm-oil/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/08/acehs-largest-peat-swamp-at-risk-from-palm-oil/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Aug 2014 04:23:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Loren Bell]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2014/08/acehs-largest-peat-swamp-at-risk-from-palm-oil/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Aceh, Indonesia, and Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Deforestation, Environment, Forests, Green, Indonesia^s Forest Moratorium, Orangutans, Palm Oil, Peatlands, Plantations, Rainforests, and Wetlands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Singkil Swamp Forest Wildlife newly burned for palm plantations in Trumon, South Aceh District, Aceh. Photo: Chik Rini. Oil palm plantations and other developments are threatening Rawa Singkil Wildlife Preserve—Aceh&#8217;s largest peat swamp, and home to the densest population of Sumatran orangutan in the Leuser Ecosystem. The lack of clear boundaries, and construction of roads [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Singkil Swamp Forest Wildlife newly burned for palm plantations in Trumon, South Aceh District, Aceh. Photo: Chik Rini. Oil palm plantations and other developments are threatening Rawa Singkil Wildlife Preserve—Aceh&#8217;s largest peat swamp, and home to the densest population of Sumatran orangutan in the Leuser Ecosystem. The lack of clear boundaries, and construction of roads bisecting the area has fostered encroachment by local and outside entrepreneurs, including some former local officials, reports Abu Hanifah Lubis, Program Manager of Yayasan Leuser Internasional (YLI). &#8220;They claim the boundaries are not clear,&#8221; Abu Hanifah told Mongabay-Indonesia via phone, &#8220;Some people also claim that the land is theirs for customary use since their families were there before the area became a wildlife preserve.&#8221; YLI estimates that over 2,000 hectares of the protected area have been destroyed by illegal logging and encroachment by oil palm farms. Rudi Putra, recipient of the 2014 Goldman Environmental Prize, and member of the conservation organization Forum Konservasi Leuser (FKL), reports even larger numbers. He estimates 40% of the 102,500 hectare protected area has been damaged. &#8220;We have witnessed the opening of extensive tracts of land in Runding and Trumon, with wood laying about everywhere,&#8221; he said. According to Rudi, much of the confusion about boundaries stems from conflicting decrees by the Forestry Department. Forestry Decree 166/Kpts-II/1998 sets the border following natural boundaries such as the river to the east, and coast to the west with the northern boundary forming a straight line. However, in Forestry Decree 170/2000, the borders&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2014/08/acehs-largest-peat-swamp-at-risk-from-palm-oil/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/08/acehs-largest-peat-swamp-at-risk-from-palm-oil/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-24831</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Despite moratorium, Indonesia now has world&#8217;s highest deforestation rate</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/06/despite-moratorium-indonesia-now-has-worlds-highest-deforestation-rate/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/06/despite-moratorium-indonesia-now-has-worlds-highest-deforestation-rate/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Jun 2014 23:04:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2014/06/despite-moratorium-indonesia-now-has-worlds-highest-deforestation-rate/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Borneo, Indonesia, New Guinea, Southeast Asia, and Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Deforestation, Environment, Forestry, Forests, Green, Indonesia^s Forest Moratorium, Logging, Old Growth Forests, Peatlands, Plantations, Primary Forests, Pulp And Paper, Rainforests, Redd, and Remote Sensing]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Indonesia now has the highest deforestation rate in the world, topping even Brazil which has more than five times the natural forest cover. Background photo: rainforest in Sumatra. Despite a high-level pledge to combat deforestation and a nationwide moratorium on new logging and plantation concessions, deforestation has continued to rise in Indonesia, according to a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Indonesia now has the highest deforestation rate in the world, topping even Brazil which has more than five times the natural forest cover. Background photo: rainforest in Sumatra. Despite a high-level pledge to combat deforestation and a nationwide moratorium on new logging and plantation concessions, deforestation has continued to rise in Indonesia, according to a new study published in Nature Climate Change. Annual forest loss in the southeast Asian nation is now the highest in the world, exceeding even Brazil*. The study, led by researchers at the University of Maryland (UMD), is based on analysis of high resolution satellite data. Unlike previous research, the new paper distinguishes between loss of natural forest &#8212; which it calls &#8220;primary forest&#8221; &#8212; and cyclical harvesting of industrial plantations. The study finds that Indonesia lost more than 6 million hectares of natural forest between 2000 and 2012. Worryingly, forest loss is trending upwards in the country despite hundreds of millions of dollars being spent by donors and the government on programs to cut deforestation. Deforestation was highest in 2012, the last year of the study. Forest loss in Indonesia and the Brazilian Amazon between 2001-2012. Indonesia lost 15.79 million hectares of forest between 2000 and the end of 2012, according to the study. Of that area, 38 percent or 6.02 million hectares consisted of natural or &#8220;primary&#8221; forest. &#8220;We quantified increasing loss of primary forest during the moratorium, meaning the moratorium has not yet slowed clearing and may in fact have accelerated it,&#8221; Belinda&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2014/06/despite-moratorium-indonesia-now-has-worlds-highest-deforestation-rate/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-25010</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia&#8217;s haze from forest fires kills 110,000 people per year</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/05/indonesias-haze-from-forest-fires-kills-110000-people-per-year/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/05/indonesias-haze-from-forest-fires-kills-110000-people-per-year/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 May 2014 03:14:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2014/05/indonesias-haze-from-forest-fires-kills-110000-people-per-year/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Riau, Southeast Asia, and Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Air Pollution, Deforestation, Environment, Fires, Forestry, Forests, Green, Indonesia^s Forest Moratorium, Logging, Palm Oil, Peatlands, Pulp And Paper, and Rainforests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Forest destruction in Riau Province, Indonesia on 06/23/2013. © Ulet Ifansasti / Greenpeace. Haze caused by burning peat forests in Indonesia kills an average of 110,000 people per year and up to 300,000 during el Ni&#241;o events, while releasing hundreds of millions of tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, warns a new report from [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Forest destruction in Riau Province, Indonesia on 06/23/2013. © Ulet Ifansasti / Greenpeace. Haze caused by burning peat forests in Indonesia kills an average of 110,000 people per year and up to 300,000 during el Ni&ntilde;o events, while releasing hundreds of millions of tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, warns a new report from Greenpeace. Sumatra: Going up in smoke argues that peatland and forest protection are the best way to protect the region from the effects of haze. The report focuses on Riau, a province that lies just across the Strait of Malacca from Singapore and accounts for 75 percent of all peat fires despite representing only 5 percent of Indonesia&#8217;s land mass. Greenpeace notes that since Indonesia&#8217;s moratorium on new forest concessions was signed in 2011, 30 percent of hotspots have been recorded in areas that were supposedly protected by the regulation. Peat forests are five times more likely to burn than conventional forests. A timber plantation owned by an Asia Pulp &amp; Paper supplier that was destroyed by peat fires in March 2014. The fire burned some 4,000 hectares of acacia. Its origin is unknown. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. Riau is ground zero for Indonesia&#8217;s plantation sectors, including industrial timber and oil palm plantations. Expansion of these industries has contributed to the province losing more than 85 percent of its primary forests &#8212; and 55 percent of its total forest cover &#8212; since 1990. The province has also had vast areas of peatlands drained for&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2014/05/indonesias-haze-from-forest-fires-kills-110000-people-per-year/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-25179</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Environmentalists lament light sentence in Tripa peatland destruction case</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/05/environmentalists-lament-light-sentence-in-tripa-peatland-destruction-case/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/05/environmentalists-lament-light-sentence-in-tripa-peatland-destruction-case/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 May 2014 13:52:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2014/05/environmentalists-lament-light-sentence-in-tripa-peatland-destruction-case/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Aceh, Asia, Indonesia, and Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environment, Forests, Green, Indonesia^s Forest Moratorium, Law Enforcement, Palm Oil, Peatlands, and Rainforests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Environmental groups blasted a &#8220;lenient&#8221; sentence imposed on the director of a palm oil company that illegally destroyed an area of endangered peat forest in Indonesia&#8217;s Aceh Province, reports the Jakarta Globe. In a decision on Wednesday, a court in Meulaboh district sentenced Subianto Rusyid, the director of PT Kalista Alam, to ten months imprisonment [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Environmental groups blasted a &#8220;lenient&#8221; sentence imposed on the director of a palm oil company that illegally destroyed an area of endangered peat forest in Indonesia&#8217;s Aceh Province, reports the Jakarta Globe. In a decision on Wednesday, a court in Meulaboh district sentenced Subianto Rusyid, the director of PT Kalista Alam, to ten months imprisonment and a 150 million rupiah ($13,000) fine for his company&#8217;s illegal destruction of a block of forest within the the Tripa peat swamp, an area off-limits to conversion within the Leuser Ecosystem. The court said Subianto was guilty of negligence in the highly-publicized case, which was widely seen as a test of Indonesia&#8217;s commitment to enforcing a three-year-old moratorium on new plantation and logging concessions across some 14.5 million of hectares of previously unprotected rainforests and peatlands. But environmentalists said the sentence was too light. “The prosecutor’s demand is too lenient compared to the environmental damages caused by the land concession in Rawa Tripa,” Fadila Ibra, a spokesman for the Coalition to Save Rawa Tripa (TKPRT), was quoted as saying by the Jakarta Globe. “The judge’s demand is less than half of what the laws stipulate. This will not deter those who have destroyed the environment.” According to Fadila, Subianto should have been punished with five years in prison and a 2 billion rupiah fine. The punishment comes four months after the same court ordered Kalista Alam to pay 114.3 billion rupiah ($9.4 million) in compensation and 251.7 billion rupiah ($20.6 million) to restore damaged&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2014/05/environmentalists-lament-light-sentence-in-tripa-peatland-destruction-case/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-25265</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesian activist wins Goldman Prize for fighting palm oil, deforestation</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/04/indonesian-activist-wins-goldman-prize-for-fighting-palm-oil-deforestation/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/04/indonesian-activist-wins-goldman-prize-for-fighting-palm-oil-deforestation/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Apr 2014 19:09:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2014/04/indonesian-activist-wins-goldman-prize-for-fighting-palm-oil-deforestation/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Aceh, Asia, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Environment, Environmental Heroes, Forestry, Forests, Green, Indonesia^s Forest Moratorium, Logging, Palm Oil, Plantations, and Rainforests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Rudi Putra. Photo courtesy of the Goldman Prize. An Indonesian has won the world&#8217;s most prestigious award for environmental activism for his efforts to fight illegal logging, forest encroachment for palm oil production, and a policy that would open up vast swathes of an endangered ecosystem for mining and industrial plantations. Rudi Putra, a biologist [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[Rudi Putra. Photo courtesy of the Goldman Prize. An Indonesian has won the world&#8217;s most prestigious award for environmental activism for his efforts to fight illegal logging, forest encroachment for palm oil production, and a policy that would open up vast swathes of an endangered ecosystem for mining and industrial plantations. Rudi Putra, a biologist who works in Sumatra&#8217;s Aceh Province, was on Monday honored with the $175,000 Goldman Environmental Prize. Putra was selected as the &#8220;Islands and Island Nations&#8221; winner. Putra was recognized for his campaign to dismantle illegal oil palm plantations within Sumatra&#8217;s Leuser Ecosystem, a habitat for critically endangered orangutans, tigers, rhinos, and elephants, as well as his activism around a plan to remove protected status for vast areas of forest across Aceh. That activism culminated in 2013 with a petition asking the Indonesian government to enforce conservation laws and reject Aceh&#8217;s proposal. The petition was signed more than 1.4 million times, catalyzing broader awareness of the issue and sparking intense international outcry. The Goldman Environmental Foundation highlighted Putra&#8217;s effort to restore wildlife corridors in areas that were once illegal oil palm plantations. With support from local communities, Putra approached local police directly to enforce land protection laws and shut down illegal palm oil plantations. He spoke of the hundreds of thousands of families who lost their homes and loved ones during the 2006 Aceh floods and their struggles to access clean drinking water. He also approached palm oil plantation owners and reminded them that their actions&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2014/04/indonesian-activist-wins-goldman-prize-for-fighting-palm-oil-deforestation/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/04/indonesian-activist-wins-goldman-prize-for-fighting-palm-oil-deforestation/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-25323</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesian sugar company poised to destroy half of island paradise&#8217;s forests</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/03/indonesian-sugar-company-poised-to-destroy-half-of-island-paradises-forests/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/03/indonesian-sugar-company-poised-to-destroy-half-of-island-paradises-forests/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Mar 2014 23:33:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2014/03/indonesian-sugar-company-poised-to-destroy-half-of-island-paradises-forests/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, New Guinea, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Deforestation, Environment, Forests, Green, Indigenous Peoples, Indonesia^s Forest Moratorium, Logging, Plantations, and Rainforests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Aru Islands. Courtesy of Global Forest Watch. An Indonesian plantation company may be preparing to destroy up to half of the natural forests on Indonesia&#8217;s remote Aru Islands, reports Forest Watch Indonesia. Analyzing land use plans for Aru, a famed biodiversity hotspot prominently featured in Alfred R. Wallace&#8217;s classic text, The Malay Archipelago, Forest Watch [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[Aru Islands. Courtesy of Global Forest Watch. An Indonesian plantation company may be preparing to destroy up to half of the natural forests on Indonesia&#8217;s remote Aru Islands, reports Forest Watch Indonesia. Analyzing land use plans for Aru, a famed biodiversity hotspot prominently featured in Alfred R. Wallace&#8217;s classic text, The Malay Archipelago, Forest Watch Indonesia found that local government officials have turned over 480,000 hectares (1.2 million acres) to 28 companies held by PT. Menara Group, a plantation conglomerate. 76 percent of the area is currently natural forest. Converting the area to sugar plantations would cut Aru&#8217;s forest cover by half, from 730,000 ha to 365,000 ha. The impacts on Aru&#8217;s legendary biodiversity &#8212; on land and in the surrounding marine ecosystems &#8212; would be devastating. “If the Menara Group moves ahead with their plans for sugarcane plantations and massive conversion of natural forest, it can be certain that biodiversity in both land and the waters of Aru Islands will become extinct”, said Forest Watch Indonesia&#8217;s Abu Meridian in a statement. Most of the central part of the Aru islands would be stripped of trees and planted with sugar cane. Image courtesy of Google Earth. &#8220;Conversion to [plantations] would destroy of habitat for various species endemic to the Wallacea region, including birds of paradise (Paradisaea apoda), tree kangaroos (Dendrolagus sp), black cockatoos (Prebosciger aterrimus), aru-crested cockatoos (Cacatua galerita eleonora), and cassowary (Casuarius casuarius),&#8221; added the group in the statement. The concessions would also impact local communities &#8212; which have&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2014/03/indonesian-sugar-company-poised-to-destroy-half-of-island-paradises-forests/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-25533</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia rejects, delays 1.3m ha of concessions due to moratorium</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/02/indonesia-rejects-delays-1-3m-ha-of-concessions-due-to-moratorium/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/02/indonesia-rejects-delays-1-3m-ha-of-concessions-due-to-moratorium/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Feb 2014 04:13:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2014/02/indonesia-rejects-delays-1-3m-ha-of-concessions-due-to-moratorium/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Borneo, Indonesia, New Guinea, Sulawesi, and Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Environment, Green, Indonesia^s Forest Moratorium, Logging, and Plantations]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Background image courtesy of Bing Maps. The Indonesian government has rejected nearly 932,000 hectares (2.3 million acres) of oil palm, timber, and logging concessions due to its moratorium on new permits across millions of hectares of peatlands and rainforests, reports Mongabay-Indonesia. According to data released by Indonesia&#8217;s new REDD+ Agency and the Ministry of Forestry, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Background image courtesy of Bing Maps. The Indonesian government has rejected nearly 932,000 hectares (2.3 million acres) of oil palm, timber, and logging concessions due to its moratorium on new permits across millions of hectares of peatlands and rainforests, reports Mongabay-Indonesia. According to data released by Indonesia&#8217;s new REDD+ Agency and the Ministry of Forestry, permits for an additional 409,000 hectares (1 million acres) are held up pending review. Of the permits denied under the enforcement of the country&#8217;s moratorium, 25 percent of the area belonged to a single company &#8212; PT Usaha Tani Lestari &#8212; operating in Nabire in Indonesian New Guinea. Sulawesi accounted for half the area of rejected permits. Just under half the area of rejected permits was off-limits under the moratorium, but because companies applied for single operating units that included moratorium areas, their concessions were denied in whole. Permits covering 255,000 hectares in Papua and 154,000 ha in North Kalimantan, Indonesia&#8217;s newest province, were delayed. The moratorium is the centerpiece of the Indonesian government&#8217;s push to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, more than 80 percent of which result from deforestation and degradation of carbon-dense peatlands. The moratorium was signed after Norway pledged a billion dollars toward Indonesia&#8217;s deforestation-reduction plan. Norway&#8217;s payment is contingent on Indonesia&#8217;s success in reducing forest loss. The moratorium, which put some 14.5 million hectares of previously unprotected forests off-limits to conversion, was fiercely opposed by interests in the forestry sector, especially Indonesia&#8217;s powerful palm oil industry. Lobbying by plantation and logging companies&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2014/02/indonesia-rejects-delays-1-3m-ha-of-concessions-due-to-moratorium/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-25702</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In precedent-setting case, palm oil company fined $30M for destroying orangutan forest</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/01/in-precedent-setting-case-palm-oil-company-fined-30m-for-destroying-orangutan-forest/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/01/in-precedent-setting-case-palm-oil-company-fined-30m-for-destroying-orangutan-forest/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Jan 2014 19:47:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2014/01/in-precedent-setting-case-palm-oil-company-fined-30m-for-destroying-orangutan-forest/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, and Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Conservation, Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Law, Forestry, Forests, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Indonesia^s Forest Moratorium, Law Enforcement, Orangutans, Palm Oil, Peatlands, Plantations, Rainforests, Swamps, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Mother Sumatran orangutan with baby in Gunung Leuser, North Sumatra.. In a precedent-setting case, an Indonesian court has found a palm oil company guilty of violating environmental laws and ordered it to pay $30 million in fines and reparations for clearing an area of protected peat forest that is a stronghold for endangered orangutans in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Mother Sumatran orangutan with baby in Gunung Leuser, North Sumatra.. In a precedent-setting case, an Indonesian court has found a palm oil company guilty of violating environmental laws and ordered it to pay $30 million in fines and reparations for clearing an area of protected peat forest that is a stronghold for endangered orangutans in Indonesia&#8217;s Aceh Province. In a ruling handed down Wednesday, the Meulaboh district court concluded that PT Kallista Alam illegally cleared and burned forest within the the protected Tripa peat swamp in northwestern Sumatra. Senior Judge Rahmawati SH ordered the company to pay 114.3 billion rupiah ($9.4 million) in compensation and 251.7 billion rupiah ($20.6 million) to restore damaged areas. The case was seen as a test of Indonesia&#8217;s appetite for enforcing a nationwide moratorium on new plantation and logging concessions across millions of hectares of rainforests and peatlands. Kallista Alam&#8217;s activities were particularly brazen, appearing to violate the moratorium, an earlier presidential decree on conversion of deep peat areas, and the sanctity of a high conservation value area known for its orangutan population. Kallista Alam also moved forward with forest clearing without securing proper permits or sign-off from some nearby communities. Given the circumstances, the clearing sparked international outrage with more than 1.5 million people signing various online petitions calling for greater protection of Aceh&#8217;s forests, including opposing a proposal to remove large blocks of tiger and orangutan habitat from protection. Eventually, campaigns by environmental groups pushed the senior officials in the central government and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2014/01/in-precedent-setting-case-palm-oil-company-fined-30m-for-destroying-orangutan-forest/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-25845</doi>				</item>
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