Indonesia tightens forest land management (Photo: wibqam.com) Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesian Forestry Ministry Secretary General Bambang Hendroyono on October 31 said that some 200,000 ha of oil palm plantations found in areas designated as forests in the country are expected to be returned to the state to be converted back into forests.
Indonesia, the world’s biggest palm oil producer and exporter, issued rules in 2020 to sort out the legality of plantations operating in areas that are supposed to be forests, aimed at fixing governance in the sector. The measures are necessary as some companies have already been tending the land for years, although green groups have attacked the government for forgiving past forest encroachment.
Companies have to submit paperwork and pay fines to obtain cultivating rights on their plantation by Nov. 2, 2023, according to the rules.
While 3.3 million ha of the country’s nearly 17 million ha of palm plantation have been found in forests, only owners of plantations with a combined size of 1.67 million ha have been identified, Bambang Hendroyono told reporters.
The government is still cataloguing which of those are found in designated production forests, meaning owners will have to pay fines but they can continue to grow palm trees, and which are in protected areas and must be returned to the state, he said.
Bambang gave an estimate that about 200,000 hectares will be returned, adding the figure may increase. He also revealed that the move will be part of the government’s efforts to mitigate climate change./.
