Memasuki bulan kemerdekaan Indonesia, nyatanya Indonesia belum merdeka dari ancaman kebakaran hutan dan lahan. Sejak awal Juli 2024, titik panas terdeteksi di Sumatera dan Kalimantan. Badan Meteorologi, Klimatologi, dan Geofisika (BMKG) Pekanbaru pada Jumat (26/7/2024) mendeteksi 328 titik panas (hotspot) di wilayah Sumatera, 45 di antaranya berada di Riau. Sejak Januari 2024, BPBD Riau mencatat 1.235 hot spot karhutla di Riau, 210 di antaranya merupakan fire spot. Hingga saat ini, kebakaran telah melahap sekitar 1.073,91 hektar lahan gambut dan hutan di berbagai daerah di Riau, termasuk Kabupaten Siak, Rohil, Pelalawan, Meranti, dan Indragiri Hulu.
Pekanbaru, (11/5/2024) - Seorang warga Kabupaten Pelalawan, Provinsi Riau, Rahmad (26) dilaporkan meninggal dunia setelah diterkam Harimau Sumatera di Desa Tanjung Simpang, Kecamatan Pelangiran, Kabupaten Indragiri Hilir.
Pekanbaru, 1 Maret 2024 - Jikalahari menerbitkan rilis yang menyoroti indikasi deforestasi dan penebangan hutan alam yang dilakukan oleh Asia Pulp & Paper / Sinar Mas group melalui anak perusahaannya yakni PT Arara Abadi dan PT Riau Indo Agropalma pada Februari 2024 di Indragiri Hilir, Riau.
Pekanbaru, March 1, 2024 - Jikalahari published a release highlighting the indications of deforestation and clearing of natural forests carried out by Asia Pulp & Paper / Sinar Mas group through its subsidiaries, namely PT Arara Abadi and PT Riau Indo Agropalma, in Indragiri Hilir, Riau.
PEKANBARU -- Laporan terbaru koalisi Eyes on the Forest (EoF) menemukan fakta baru bahwa mayoritas kebun sawit beropera dalam kawasan hutan berdasarkan SK Kawasan Hutan terakhir yaitu SK 903/2016. Bahkan, berdasarkan SK Kawasan Hutan Provinsi Riau sebelumnya, 2014, 2011, dan 1986 juga menunjukkan berada di dalam Kawasan Hutan. Ini artinya praktik pengembangan kebun sawit yang dilakukan dengan cara menebangi dan menduduki kawasan hutan sudah berlangsung sangat lama di Riau. “Pemerintah Indonesia harus segera bertindak tegas terhadap perusahaan sawit yang diduga melakukan pelanggaran ini berupa selain sanksi administratif, penegakan pidana korupsi dan pencucian uang perlu diterapkan dalam kasus sawit dalam kawassan hutan,” kata Made Ali, Koordinator Jikalahari.
Riau kembali diancam Karhutla. Badan Penanggulangan Bencana Daerah (BPBD) Riau mencatat karhutla di Riau per Senin, 7 Agustus 2023, telah mencapai 1.146,53 hektar. Kebakaran hutan dan lahan (Karhutla) terluas terjadi di Kabupaten Bengkalis yang mencapai hampir 378 hektar.
Sejak medio April 2023, kabut asap akibat Karhutla telah menyelimuti kota Dumai dan Bengkalis. Hingga sepekan ini, karhutla sedikitnya telah menghanguskan lahan gambut berkedalaman 4 meter seluas lebih kurang 60 hektar, demikian data dari BPBD Provinsi Riau. Lokasi kebakaran terjadi di Desa Pelintung, Dumai, dan Desa Tanjung Leban, Kabupaten Bengkalis.
Pekanbaru (24/02) – Kamis, 23 Februari 2023, Majelis Hakim Tindak Pidana Korupsi menjatuhkan vonis 15 tahun penjara terhadap bos PT Duta Palma Group, Surya Darmadi terkait tindak pidana korupsi dan pencucian uang yang dilakukan melalui sejumlah perusahaan miliknya di Kabupaten Indragiri Hulu. Hakim juga menghukum terdakwa membayar denda Rp1 miliar, uang pengganti kerugian Rp2,2 triliun dan harus membayar kerugian ekonomi Rp39,7 triliun subsider lima tahun penjara.
Siaran Pers – 5 Desember 2022 , PEKANBARU -- Koalisi Eyes on the Forest (EoF) mengapresiasi kebijakan Pemerintah Indonesia telah menerapkan kewajiban bagi pelaku usaha perkebunan kelapa sawit dan industri pengolahannya untuk memiliki sertifikat Indonesia Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) dan mengharapkan adanya penguatan dan perbaikan pada sistem yang bertujuan luhur ini.
PEKANBARU – Pencabutan izin sektor kehutanan oleh Pemerintah di tahun ini memerlukan ketelitian dan sikap tegas agar tujuan mengefektifkan lahan-lahan terbengkalai menjadi tepat sasaran. Hasil temuan lapangan oleh Eyes on the Forest terhadap situasi terkini di lahan-lahan dicabut, menunjukkan perlunya tindakan cermat dari Pemerintah agar masyarakat bisa disejahterahkan, dan potensi konservasi bisa dipulihkan.
PEKANBARU, 1 September 2022 – Koalisi Eyes on the Forest mendukung penyelesaian kebun sawit ilegal dalam kawasan hutan melalui UU Cipta Kerja dengan mengusung asas berkeadilan dan transparan, sehingga tidak ada pihak mengklaim adanya pengampunan bagi korporasi sawit seperti dilansir dalam berbagai laporan media pekan lalu.
Koalisi Eyes on the Forest menerbitkan Laporan Investigatif menyoroti indikasi deforestasi dan penebangan hutan alam di lahan gambut dan penebangan vegetasi alam di area Nilai Konservasi Tinggi (NKT) oleh Asia Pulp & Paper / Sinar Mas group, di cagar biosfir UNESCO Giam Siak Kecil – Bukit Batu, Riau. Kedua pemasok, PT Arara Abadi (resort Sebanga dan Melibur) serta PT Sekato Pratama Makmur (SPM).
Today Eyes on the Forest published an Investigative Report highlighting indication of deforestation and clearing on High Conservation Value 1 area and peat drainage. Two suppliers of Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) / Sinar Mas in UNESCO Biosphere Reserve of Giam Siak Kecil – Bukit Batu, Riau province, were investigated by EoF in early this year.
PEKANBARU – Koalisi Eyes on the Forest mengapresiasi tindakan cepat Balai Besar Konservasi Sumber Daya Alam kantor Riau dalam menangani kematian gajah sumatera (maximus elephas sumatranus) di konsesi Hutan Tanaman Industri (HTI) dan mulai melakukan penyidikan kematian yang belum diketahui motifnya.
PEKANBARU, Sumatra - 9 February 2022 – Eyes on the Forest coalition warmly hailed Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya Bakar for her policy rejecting idea to register oil palm commodity as forest plant. ''The [Indonesian] Government’s Rule is strict, that oil palm is not included in forest plant and there is no plan to do so [revise regulation],” said the Minister in her twitter update, Monday (07/02/2022).
Banjir Sintang dan sekitarnya di Kalimantan Barat di penghujung tahun 2021 memerlukan solusi dan kerja keras semua pihak dan adanya rencana Pemerintah untuk menata kerusakan lingkungan di sekitar daerah tangkapan air banjir Sintang dan sekitarnya patut didukung dan menjadi catatan akhir tahun yang penting.
PEKANBARU, 30 NOVEMBER 2021 – Sudah bukan rahasia lagi banyak nama pemain industri sawit, mulai dari pabrik kelapa sawit, perusahaan perkebunan hingga pemasok crude palm oil (minyak sawit mentah) terlibat dalam skandal rantai pasokan produk sawit tercemar, dari lokasi penanaman hingga konsumen minyak sawit di dunia.
Pekanbaru, 25 November 2021–Koalisi Eyes on The Forest (EoF) mengecam penyelenggaraan Seminar Nasional “Permasalahan, Prospek dan Implikasi Sawit Sebagai Tanaman Hutan” yang bertentangan dengan tekad Pemerintah Indonesia untuk berkontribusi mengurangi ancaman krisis iklim (climate crisis) dan menahan laju deforestasi.
Siaran Pers Perkumpulan Elang -- 10 November 2021.
Masyarakat Kampung Dosan, Kecamatan Pusako, Kabupaten Bengkalis, Riau, mengunjungi Lembaga Swadaya Masyarakat (LSM) untuk berdiskusi dan mengadukan perihal konflik yang mereka alami dengan PT Arara Abadi (pemasok Asia Pulp & Paper /APP Sinar Mas Group).
PEKANBARU, INDONESIA, 3 JUNE 2021 -- A new report published by the Eyes on the Forest (EoF) coalition today reveals that only 14% (0.8 million ha) of oil palm plantations in Indonesia’s top palm oil producing province, Riau, can be considered legal. EoF advises buyers that the remaining 86% of Riau’s oil palm plantations must be considered illegal until detailed field verification has proven otherwise.
Pekanbaru, 1 May 2021--Eyes on the Forest (EoF) coalition condemns environmental permit granted to Asia Pacific Resources International Limited (APRIL) group to expand pulp production capacity of Riau Complex PT RAPP and urged the Government for banning natural forest clearing by the company in their attempt to obtain mixed tropical hardwood (MTH) for their operation.
Pekanbaru, 30 April 2021--Koalisi Eyes on the Forest (EoF) mengecam keras pemberian izin lingkungan untuk kegiatan pengembangan kapasitas Riau Komplek PT RAPP milik Asia Pacific Resources International Limited (APRIL) dan meminta Pemerintah melarang pembukaan hutan alam oleh perusahaan demi mendapatkan kayu keras campuran (mixed tropical hardwood) untuk operasinya.
Kejadian penebangan hutan alam yang sangat masif pernah terjadi di Riau, antara tahun 2000-2008. Kala itu, awal tahun 2000, potongan kayu gelondongan kayu bulat berdiameter mulai dari 20 cm hingga mencapai 1 m kerap ditemukan berjejeran di pinggir hutan. Pemandangan itu selalu menghiasi setiap jalanan beraspal menuju industri sawmill, kayu lapis (plywood) serta industri bubur kertas dan kertas (pulp and paper) di Riau.
Eyes on the Forest bulan ini melakukan observasi pembuktian di lapangan (groundtruthing) akan adanya kebakaran hutan dan lahan di konsesi-konsesi Hutan Tanaman Industri (HTI) seperti yang terpantau oleh satelit NASA FIRMS VIIRS kurun Februari – Maret 2021.
Pandemi covid belum usai, masyarakat Riau kembali dihadapkan dengan ancaman kebakaran hutan dan lahan. Berdasarkan data dari BPBD Provinsi Riau, sejak Januari 2021 hingga kini luas lahan yang terbakar mencapai lebih kurang 248 hektar. Dilansir dari harian detik (24/2), Kepala Pelaksana BPBD, Riau Edwar Sanger, mengatakan karhutla sudah melanda 8 daerah di Riau. Luas lahan terbakar bervariasi, dari 4 sampai 82 hektar.
10 tahun lalu, tepatnya 3 Desember 2010, Eyes on the Forest merilis sebuah laporan yang menyingkap bagaimana dua perusahaan raksasa pulp dan kertas – Asia Pulp & Paper milik Sinar Mas Group (SMG / APP) yang berkantor pusat di Shanghai/Cina dan Asian Pacific Resources International Holdings Limited (APRIL) milik Raja Garuda Mas Grup yang berkantor pusat di Singapura – terus mengkonversi hutan alam dan gambut dalam di propinsi Riau.
KOALISI ANTI MAFIA HUTAN PRESS STATEMENT: KPMG “ASSURANCE REPORTS” CALLED INTO QUESTION BY NEW FINDINGS -- A coalition of civil society organizations on Tuesday published a report about deforestation and peatlands degradation on the rainforest-rich island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Based on analysis using satellite imagery, the report documents significant deforestation, including clearance of forests on peatlands, in the concession area of PT Adindo Hutani Lestari (Adindo), one of global pulp and paper producer APRIL Group’s
largest suppliers of wood to its pulp mill in Indonesia.
Koalisi Anti Mafia Hutan hari Selasa menerbitkan laporan terbaru "Membabat Hutan Tanpa Henti:
Hubungan dengan Adindo Hutani Lestari Menciderai Komitmen Tanpa Deforestasi APRIL Grup." Laporan ini
menyorot deforestasi dan degradasi lahan gambut di konsesi PT Adindo Hutani Lestari, Kalimantan Utara. Dan
keterkaitannya dengan APRIL Grup atau grup induknya Royal Golden Eagle (RGE) Grup, salah satu penghasil pulp,
kertas, dan viscose terbesar di Dunia.
On 26 August 2020, Jikalahari reported that PT Nusa Prima Manunggal (PT NPM), a wood supplier of Asia Pacific Resources International Holdings Ltd (APRIL), plans to clear-cut natural forest in a 1,565 hectares Communal Forest area of Koto Intuok Cooperative in Pulau Padang Village, Singingi District, Kuantan Singingi Regency, Riau.
In June 2020, Jikalahari NGOs network found a plan of natural forest clearing by a supplier of Asia Pacific Resources International Limited (APRIL), PT Nusa Prima Manunggal (NPM). Jikalahari revealed that the 1,565-hectares forest clearing’s plan was located in Desa Pulau Padang, Kuantan Singingi district.
Pekanbaru, 26 Agustus 2020—Di tengah Covid-19, APRIL Grup menebang hutan, merusak gambut, membuka kanal di areal bekas terbakar 2016 di Kabupaten Siak, bukan hanya itu, APRIL Grup juga hendak menebang hutan alam seluas 1.565 hektar di Kabupaten Kuansing.
Gubernur Riau Syamsuar bertekad akan mengambil tindakan tegas terhadap perkebunan kelapa sawit ilegal yang ada di Provinsi Riau, khususnya yang berada dalam kawasan hutan. Hal tersebut ia ungkapkan dalam rapat tertutup di kantor Gubernur Riau pada Rabu (12/8).
Memasuki bulan bersejarah bagi negara Indonesia dan provinsi Riau, puluhan titik panas muncul lagi, di tengah kurangnya intensitas hujan. Dilansir dari Riau Mandiri, Senin (10/8), BMKG mencatat ada 88 titik panas yang tersebar di seluruh kabupaten dan kota di Riau. Sedangkan sehari sebelumnya, yakni pada Minggu (9/8/2020), terdeteksi 38 titik panas.
Kasus suap alih fungsi hutan di Provinsi Riau yang menjerat mantan Gubernur Riau Anas Maamun masih terus bergulir menjangkau terdakwa lainnya. Pengadilan Tindak Pidana Korupsi Pekanbaru menggelar sidang perdana dugaan suap melibatkan perusahaan sawit PT Duta Palma dengan terdakwa Suheri Terta, Legal Manager, terhadap Annas Maamun, Senin (27/7/2020).
Kebakaran lahan PT Arara Abadi di Desa Merbau, Kabupaten Pelalawan yang terjadi pekan lalu menyita kemarahan pembela lingkungan hidup. PT Arara Abadi, pemasok bahan baku untuk Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), diduga sengaja melakukan pembakaran lahan seluas 83 hektar untuk ditanami kembali dengan akasia.
Tersangka kasus Karhutla PT Teso Indah yang terjadi pada tahun 2019 lalu akhirnya dijatuhi vonis di awal Juli 2020. Sutrisno dinyatakan bersalah melakukan tindak pidana kebakaran hutan dan lahan (karhutla) PT Teso Indah (TI), dan dihukum 16 bulan penjara.
Ten years ago, in 14 July 2010, Eyes on the Forest published a report focusing large-scale deforestation by Asia Pulp & Paper and Asia Pacific Resources International Limited against their own published sustainability policies and commitments to buyers, investors and the general public to protect High Conservation Value Forests, critical species habitats and the climate.
Di tengah perjuangan menghadapi pandemic virus corona, Indonesia khususnya Sumatera dan Kalimantan juga dihadapkan dengan ancaman kebakaran hutan dan lahan (karhutla). 29 Juni 2020, titik api muncul di Riau. Kekuatiran akan bergabungnya bencana karhutla bersama dengan pandemi penyakit virus corona-19 (covid-19) semakin membuncah.
Perselisihan tentang tanah atau batas adat, penggusuran, pelemahan mata pencaharian masyarakat ataupun tindakan kekerasan terhadap petani merupakan konflik sosal di konsesi perusahaan HTI yang hingga saat ini belum menemukan titik akhir.
Situs web Eyes on the Forest pernah menerbitkan laporan investigasi bersama oleh WWF-Indonesia dan Jaringan Pemantau Independen Kehutanan (JPIK) Riau pada Juni 2015. Laporan ini menganalisis implementasi Sistem Verifikasi Legalitas Kayu Indonesia (SVLK, Sistem Jaminan Legalitas Kayu) di empat unit manajemen kehutanan yang merupakan pemasok perkebunan kayu yang berlokasi di provinsi Riau.
Jakarta, 20 Januari 2020— Selama satu tahun sejak akhir 2018 hingga 2019, koalisi 9 CSO di Indonesia tersebar di 7 provinsi melakukan pemantauan dan kajian sebagai bentuk aksi korektif masyarakat sipil terkait kebijakan yang berhubungan dengan industri pulp dan kertas.
Thousands of schools were shut in Sumatra this week due to worsening haze from forest and land burnings as fire hotspots were detected in concession and non-concession areas, media reports said.
Asap kebakaran hutan dan lahan kembali mengepung kota Pekanbaru. Kondisi ini telah berlangsung sejak dua bulan yang lalu dan terhenti sekitar sepekan akhir Agustus. Selasa pagi (10/9), jarak pandang bahkan berkisar antara 800 meter hingga 1 kilometer.
Kebakaran hutan hebat 2015 tak membuat jera. Investigasi Eyes on the Forest (EoF) terkini menemukan 3 dari 7 perusahaan pemegang konsesi HTI, yang jadi tersangka kebakaran hutan dan lahan pada 2013-2014, diduga tidak mengindahkan peraturan perlindungan dan pemulihan gambut. Apakah ini akibat lemahnya supervisi dan koordinasi pemerintah?
Severe fires 2015 does not change anybody’s behaviour. Eyes on the Forest (EoF) coalition’s investigation found three of seven industrial timber plantation companies – that has been named in previous cases as suspects to forest and land fires case in 2013-2014— are once again apparently breaching protection and restoration regulations. Is this caused by poor supervision and coordination by the Government?
Kebakaran hutan dan lahan di Taman Nasional Tesso Nilo, Kabupaten Pelalawan, belum sepenuhnya berhasil dipadamkan. Tim gabungan Tesso Nilo yang terdiri dari Tim Elephant Flying Squad, Balai TNTN, Polri, dan Masyarakat Peduli Api (MPA binaan Balai Taman Nasional Tesso Nilo) terus melakukan upaya pemadaman di lapangan.
EoF analysed that fire hotspots that NASA Fire VIIRS satellite detected more in Riau province either in peatland or mineral soil as 179 hotspots found in industrial timber plantations (HTI) concessions alone.
Eyes on the Forest updated that more pulpwood plantation and palm oil companies were caught having fire hotspots on 28-30 July in Riau Province. Meanwhile, fewer fire hotspots detected by NASA satellite in Tesso Nilo National Park compared to 26 and 27 July analysis.
Eyes on the Forest melakukan analisa titik api terhadap konsesi Hutan Tanaman Industri (HTI) di Riau. berdasarkan data satelit NASA FIRM VIIRS. Setidaknya terdapat 15 perusahaan yang terdeteksi memiliki titik api pada periode 28-30 Juli 2019, yang mana 2 perusahaan merupakan eks APP, 10 perusahaan anak perusahaan dari APRIL / Royal Golden Eagle dan 3 perusahaan termasuk ke dalam APP / Sinar Mas Grup. Total titik api yang terdeteksi mulai dari tanggal 28-30 Juli 2019 yakni 74 titik.
At least six industrial timber plantation concessions in Riau province were detected to have fire hotspots on 26 and 27 July as Eyes on the Forest team analysed based on satellite data by NASA FIRM VIIRS with confidence of nominal (medium).
Kabut asap akibat kebakaran hutan dan lahan kembali menyelimuti Kota Pekanbaru, Riau, pagi ini. Sebanyak 263 titik panas terdeteksi di Riau sejak 17 Juli hingga 24 Juli 2019, berdasarkan pantauan satelit NASA FIRMS VIIRS yang dianalisa oleh tim Eyes on the Forest.
JAKARTA, 15 MEI 2019—Masih hangat di ingatan publik kasus kebakaran hutan dan gambut yang melibatkan raksasa penghasil kertas Sinar Mas (dikenal dengan merek dagang Asia Pulp & Paper—APP) beserta perusahaan pemasok kayunya. Kini, APP harus jujur dan komprehensif mengungkap informasi penerima manfaat perusahaan-perusahaan dalam rantai pasok APP dan secara transparan menjalankan menjalankan komitmen pelestariannya.
Jakarta, 15 May 2019 -- A group of NGOs under the Anti Forest Mafia Coalition, including WWF-Indonesia, published a joint report highlighting that Sinar Mas Group’s Asia Pulp & Paper (SMG/APP) continues to be involved in deforestation, peatland destruction and fires even after they had committed to zero deforestation in 2013.
Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi (KPK) mendorong Pemerintah Provinsi Riau untuk segera menertibkan perusahaan perkebunan kelapa sawit yang tidak memiliki izin dalam menguasai tanah dan hutan di Riau.
Hasil pengecekan lapangan oleh Eyes on the Forest menemukan adanya kebakaran hutan dan lahan di konsesi Hutan Tanaman Industri (HTI) di kabupaten Rokan Hilir dan kawasan prioritas restorasi gambut serta areal peta indikatif penundaan pemberian izin baru (PIPPIB) pekan lalu.
Eyes on the Forest coalition conducted last week series of ground checking on burned areas and found a concession of industrial timber supplier in Rokan Hilir district and peat restoration priority areas in Bengkalis razed by fires. The restoration areas were also situated on land of indicative map on new permit issuance suspension (dubbed as PIPPIB).
Palm fruit illegally grown inside critical wildlife areas continues to taint palm oil entering the supply chains of 24 global traders and brands who have made zero deforestation commitments, an Eyes on the Forest (EoF) report published today found. The protected areas lost to illegal palm oil plantations include some of the last habitats for critically endangered Sumatran elephants, tigers and orangutans in Indonesia.
Buah sawit dari kebun yang secara tidak prosedural atau ilegal dikembangkan di dalam Kawasan Hutan dan termasuk kawasan konservasi yang merupakan habitat satwa liar langka terus mencemari minyak sawit yang memasuki rantai pasok dari 24 pedagang dan merek global, padahal mereka telah membuat komitmen nol deforestasi.
Jakarta, 30 May 2018—A new report published today by the Koalisi Anti Mafia Hutan is calling on the Government of Indonesia to take firm actions against global pulp and paper producer Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) after unmasking their corporate links with wood fiber plantation companies (HTI). The report entitled Removing the Corporate Mask reveals an apparent close relationship between the Sinar Mas Group, the parent conglomerate of APP, and 24 declared wood suppliers that APP has called "independent partners". The report also traces out the ownership structure of the forestry business group within the Sinar Mas Group, which extends to a network of companies in numerous offshore jurisdictions.
Langkah tegas Pemerintah Indonesia untuk melindungi dan memulihkan lahan gambut patut didukung, termasuk di antaranya kebijakan pelarangan pembukaan atau eksploitasi lahan gambut oleh perusahaan hutan tanaman industri (HTI). Setidaknya 16% atau setara dengan 2,1 juta hektar dari 12,9 juta hektar total luasan, telah ditetapkan pemerintah sebagai daerah prioritas restorasi gambut.
A legislator from Riau questioned the government who used helicopter facilities from a forestry and plantation company to monitor forest and land fires in the province.
(EoF News) -- World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Indonesia released this week Advisory to Buyers and Investors of Royal Golden Eagle / Asia Pacific Resources International Limited (RGE/APRIL). Herewith the full version of the Advisory:
Sejumlah lembaga swadaya masyarakat (LSM) menyampaikan pernyataan bersama dalam menyambut 5 tahun diluncurkannya Kebijakan Konservasi Hutan (FCP) oleh Asia Pulp & Paper (APP). Pernyataan Bersama menyimpulkan APP belum berada pada jalur yang tepat dan kemajuan pelaksanaan komitmen tersebut belum memadai.
Several green organizations criticized Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) for lack of progress in some areas which made the company has yet to be on sustainable track, while its Forest Conservation Policy (FCP) is entering the fifth year this week.
Death of a palm oil worker last week in concession belonging to Malaysian-based company, PT Tabung Haji Indo Plantations (PT THIP, under TH Plantations Berhad) in Pelangiran subdistrict, Riau, have voiced deep concerns on massive deforestation and threats of human-wildlife conflict.
World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Indonesia released today “Advisory to Buyers and Investors of Sinar Mas Group / Asia Pulp & Paper (APP)” . It is the latest version of the Advisory that received by EoF News today.
Today, WWF-Indonesia together with Auriga, Forest Peoples Programme, Hutan Kita Institute, Jikalahari, KKI Warsi, Rainforest Action Network, Titian, WALHI Riau, WALHI Jambi, Wetlands International, and Woods& Wayside International published Evaluating the Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance Performance of Sinar Mas Group (SMG) and Royal Golden Eagle (RGE) Companies-Criteria and Indicators for Assessing and Verifying Performance.
Thirty Indonesian NGOs and coalitions have sent a letter to 20 banks in China and Europe last week in responding to “the current situation of PT RAPP cancellation, continuing PT RAPP (APRIL main supplier) poor adherence to Indonesia regulation regarding peat protection and management,” Jikalahari said on his website.
Hari ini WWF-Indonesia bersama dengan Auriga, Forest Peoples Programme, Hutan Kita Institute, Jikalahari, KKI Warsi, Rainforest Action Network, Titian, Walhi Riau, Walhi Jambi, Wetlands International, dan Woods& Wayside International mengeluarkan “Evaluating the Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance Performance of Sinar Mas Group (SMG) and Royal Golden Eagle (RGE) Companies -Criteria and Indicators for Assessing and Verifying Performance”.
Pemerintahan Joko Widodo telah berkomitmen untuk mengurangi emisi gas rumah kaca, salah satunya melalui perlindungan lahan gambut sebagai upaya mencegah kebakaran hutan secara masif berulang. Namun, tampaknya hal ini tidak diindahkan oleh Asia Pacific Resources International Limited (APRIL) melalui PT Riau Andalan Pulp & Paper (RAPP).
Eyes on the Forest coalition analyzed distribution of fire hotspots during week 1-7 August 2017 as its number on peatland in Sumatra reached 351 (NASA FIRM The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite /VIIRS) sensor.
Dua lobi industri sektor kehutanan dan perkebunan mencabut uji materi Undang-Undang Nomor 32/2009 tentang Perlindungan dan Pengelolaan Lingkungan Hidup di Mahkamah Konstitusi (MK), sebuah langkah yang tetap menyisakan keraguan publik terhadap komitmen kelestarian oleh perusahaan.
Video amatir diunggah di satu akun Facebook menampilkan seekor harimau berada di kawasan HTI milik PT Arara Abadi. Harimau besar itu berjalan mendekati pekerja perusahaan yang sedang panen akasia.
Asia Pulp & Paper’s $3 billion mill locks in high carbon emissions and fire threat for decades. NGOs call on company to stop using drained peatlands for pulpwood plantations and to restore degraded areas.
Pabrik senilai $3 milyar milik Asia Pulp & Paper dibayangi emisi karbon dan ancaman kebakaran. Organisasi Masyarakat Sipil (CSO) mendesak APP berhenti mengeringkan lahan gambut untuk produksi tanaman serat kayu dan merestorasi area yang terdegradasi.
Jikalahari melaporkan 49 konsesi korporasi yang terbakar sepanjang 2015 – 2016 di Riau kepada Direktorat Jenderal Penegakan Hukum Kementrian Lingkungan Hidup dan Kehutanan.
Jikalahari melaporkan 49 konsesi korporasi usaha Hutan Tanaman Industri dan Perkebunan korporasi (HTI) kelapa sawit hasil temuan lapangan Eyes on the Forest (EoF) kepada Kepala Kantor Staf Presiden (KSP) pada 1 Desember 2016 di Gedung Bromo, Kantor KSP, Jakarta.
Jikalahari melaporkan kebakaran hutan dan lahan di dalam areal dan konsesi 49 korporasi industri HTI dan Perkebunan Kelapa Sawit di Riau sepanjang 2014-2016 kepada Nazier Foead, Kepala Badan Restorasi Gambut (BRG) di kantor BRG Jakarta.
Eyes on the Forest (EoF) melaporkan tindak pidana lingkungan hidup berupa pencemaran udara dan kriteria kerusakan lingkungan hidup atas kebakaran hutan dan lahan di dalam areal 49 korporasi hutan tanaman industri dan perkebunan kelapa sawit sepanjang 2014, 2015 dan 2016.
Eyes on the Forest (EoF) mengeluarkan laporan investigasi terbaru mengangkat temuan lapangan soal kebakaran hutan dan lahan yang terjadi di tahun 2015.
A new report by Deltares commissioned by Wetlands International conclude that plantations in Kampar Peninsula, Riau province, are not sustainable and economically unviable due to subsidence, drainage and flood problems.
Eyes on the Forest commended the Ministry of Environment and Forestry for issuing a letter and instructions regarding peat management for the prevention and control of fire.
Fires in Indonesia continues unabated. An early estimate by the Indonesian government of the haze crisis cost this year was as high as 465 trillion rupiah (US$34 billion).
Eyes on the Forest (EoF) supports Riau police to name 16 out of 18 timber plantation suppliers and palm oil plantations suspects of forest and land burning in 2015.
EoF News (PEKANBARU)— Eyes on the Forest published NASA’s FIRMS MODIS fire hotspots data and satellite images on its interactive map to allow easy monitoring of current and past fires in Sumatran concessions of the Sinar Mas Group/Asia Pulp & Paper and others.
Sinar Mas Group (SMG) and Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) last week denied publicly that their companies are involved in ongoing forest and land fires. Eyes on the Forest coalition said that media stunt by the giant company is ridiculous and hard to trust.
Eyes on the Forest today published a new animation it produced using MODIS True Color Terra images since 17 August 2015. The animation shows smokes coming out of Asia Pulp & Paper's own PT. Rimba Hutani Mas concession in South Sumatra.
Eyes on the Forest found two Landsat images showing fires in and around concessions of four Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) suppliers in peat areas in Jambi and South Sumatra provinces and heavy smokes from them.
Indonesia Police Headquarters named PT BMH as a suspect of forest fires in South Sumatra and it is the second time the timber supplier of Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) convicted to the crime following its legal status in February last year.
President Joko Widodo called stern measures against companies involved in forest and land fires burning by rescinding their licenses, media report said today.
APRIL published an audit report by its consultant Hatfield which confirmed an Eyes on the Forest report that APRIL’s wood supplier, PT. Adindo Hutani Lestari (AHL) in North Kalimantan, had breached APRIL’s forest and peatland clearance moratorium starting 15 May 2015.
Eyes on the Forest says APRIL unable to provide evidence that PT Adindo Hutani Lestari (AHL) in North Kalimantan, an APRIL timber supplier, did not clear natural forest after 15 May, the day when APRIL pledged to halt its forest clearing in its modified Sustainable Forest Management Policy. EoF had reported this moratorium violation on 22 June.
NGOs in West Kalimantan analyzed that 217 fires hotspots detected by NASA Firms Eosdis during 28 June – 6 July 2015. 124 out of 217 hotspots or 57 percent was found in palm oil concessions and by districts, Kubu Raya is the most area hit by fires with 81 and followed by Ketapang and Sambas with 44 and 36 respectively.
Riau province is raged by forest and land fires where EoF analyzed based on NASA Firms Eosdis Data that total 426 fires hostspots detected during June 2015.
A supplier of Asia Pacific Resources International Limited (APRIL) in North Kalimantan cleared natural forest on peatland in violation of APRIL’s recently launched 2nd version of the Sustainable Forest Management Policy (SFMP).
Commitment on Sustainable Forest Management Policy (SFMP) 2.0 that recently launched by Asia Pacific Resources International Limited (APRIL) on 3 June 2015 is not a blank cheque nor a public relation stunt as usual to business world and public in whole.
Analysis by Eyes on the Forest coalition finds that Bengkalis district hit the most fire hotspots during March 2015 and PT Riau Rokan Lestari (RRL), a non-affiliated timber supplier concession got the most along with APRIL-affiliated PT Sumatera Riang Lestari (SRL).
Asia Pacific Resources International Limited (APRIL) likely broke its promise not to clear natural forest despite it has pledged not to do so in its sustainable forest management policy, a satellite images analysis detected.
Fires hotspots still haunt Riau province as in recent week there were 114 fire hotspots that analyzed by Eyes on the Forest based on NASA Firms EOSDIS Data, and Bengkalis district still the area mostly suffered by fires with 62 hotspots.
Eyes on the Forest analyzed that 290 fires hotspots accumulatively detected in period of 11 January - 11 February 2015 where Bengkalis district has got 160 of it, the most among the district in Riau Province.
Two years after Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) announced a new “forest conservation” policy, APP’s pledge to halt forest clearing has held, but its forests are still disappearing.
On the first anniversary of APRIL’s “Sustainable Forest Management Policy”, Eyes on the Forest, Gapeta Borneo and RPHK call on APRIL to stop natural forest clearance and peat canal development immediately.
The President of Indonesia Joko Widodo, accompanied by the Minister of Forestry and Environment Siti Nurbaya, came to Riau province last week to monitor the burned forest areas that caused haze in Sungai Tohor village, Meranti Islands District, media reported.
Today, 10 months after APRIL published its Sustainable Forest Management Policy (SFMP) and established a “Stakeholder Advisory Committee (SAC)” to “ensure transparency and implementation of this SFMP”, EoF submitted its grievance report on APRIL’s flawed SFMP implementation in Pulau Padang to the SAC.
National Joint Team from some Government agencies revealed that 17 timber and plantation companies in Riau province failed to perform Compliance Audit in preventing forest and land fires, a joint inter-department task force said Friday.
Asia Pacific Resources International Limited (APRIL) allegedly violated its self-declared Sustainable Forest Management Policy (SFMP) commitment as it continued natural forest clearance in Bagan Melibur village of Padang Island, Riau province, an environmental group said.
A local environmental organization accused Asia Pulp & Paper (APP/Sinar Mas) breached its Forest Conservation Policy and forestry law following a new finding on its pulpwood supplier’s concession that found operating excavator draining peat canal and construct road.
The Ministry of Environment (MoE) has named three companies suspects of forest and land fires that hit Riau in February-March this year, a senior official said last week.
Asia Pacific Resources International Limited (APRIL), a Singapore-based giant pulp and one of leading actors in Indonesia deforestation, has allegedly violated its self-declared Sustainable Forest Management Policy (SFMP) commitment in two areas: North Kalimantan and Riau. The violations put more doubts on its SFMP which was just announced on 28 January 2014.
Three green groups working in Kalimantan launched an investigative report this week depicting deep peat forest clearance by a timber supplier of Asia Pacific Resources International Limited (APRIL), PT Adindo Hutani Lestari (AHL), in Sesayap sector, North Kalimantan province.
Field investigator team set up by Ministry of Environment (MoE) found strong evidences of the involvement of 23 plantations and industrial timber plantation (HTI) companies of a total of 43 firms investigated in forest and land fires case which had caused severe haze in the beginning of this year, media reported.
Eyes on the Forest coalition publishes latest investigative report as a consistency in monitoring deforestation in Sumatra, Riau in particular, as this edition highlights natural forest clearing in high conservation value forest (HCVF) by PT Triomas Forestry Development Indonesia, a supplier to Asia Pacific Resources International Limited (APRIL).
Joint military operation in Giam Siak Kecil (GSK) Biosphere Reserve, Bukit Batu, Bengkalis Riau, in late last month revealed the involvement of two former police chiefs, a high-ranking TNI-AU (air force), as well as a number of police and military service members and government officials on the encroachement of the internationally recognized protected area. The area is always burnt annually then converted to plantations, media reported.
NGO coalition launched an independent study on the Indonesian Timber Legality Assurance System (SVLK) to scrutinize whether it and the actual Timber Legality (LK), Sustainable Production Forest Management (PHPL) and V-Legal certificates can guarantee the legality and sustainability of Indonesian timber products.
The result of corruption trial of former governor of Riau Rusli Zainal (RZ) which was held on Wednesday (12/3) at Pekanbaru State Court sentenced RZ to 14 years in prison and a liability to pay a fine of Rp 1 billion subsidiary of 6 months imprisonment after being pleaded guilty for corruption on forestry sector and National Games (PON) 2012, media reported.
The second week of month showed the most fire hotspots found in Riau province since fires and haze returned from January. There are total 1605 hotspots detected accumulatively in the province based on NASA Modis Fire monitoring in period of 13-19 February.
A civil code trial on alleged pollution and environmental damage that involved one supplier of Asia Pacific Resources International Limited (APRIL) belonging to tycoon Sukanto Tanoto’s Royal Golden Eagle group took place at the Pekanbaru Court in January, media reported.
Today marks the 1st year anniversary of the Forest Conservation Policy published by the Sinar Mas Group’s Asia Pulp & Paper (SMG/APP), yet benefit of these commitments’ remain a big question. Our hope is getting weaker but not stronger.
World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) issued an advisory to buyers and investors of Royal Golden Eagle/Asia Pacific Resources International Limited (RGE/APRIL) following announcement by APRIL last week to apply its Sustainable Forest Management Policy.
Jikalahari and Walhi (Friends of the Earth) Riau suspect the launch of Sustainable Forest Management Policy by APRIL today (Tuesday, 28 January 2014) in Jakarta, as a trick to destroy the remaining natural forest embedded with their illegal and problematic permits in Riau province.
WWF Indonesia urges Ministry of Forestry to follow up on a report published by Greenomics Indonesia yesterday ( Dec 10) and take proper and strict actions for companies involved in felling and supplying ramin trees.
The Ministry for Environment reiterated that probe on Riau’s timber and palm oil companies --who named suspects due to allegedly setting forest and land fires in June-- would be proceeded including to prosecute them with money laundry verdict, an official said.
At least four pulpwood suppliers and three palm oil plantations named suspects for allegations on Riau wildfires in June-July 2013. Some of these suspected companies are timber suppliers to Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) and Asia Pacific Resource International Limited (APRIL), a newspaper report said this week.
As their villages are affected by the climate change, eight suburbans of Pelalawan district and Rohil along with Forest Rescue Network Riau (Jikalahari) and Indonesia Centre of Environmental Law (ICEL) officially lay their protest toward the President of RI, Minister of Forestry, Minister of the Environment and Riau Governor at the State Court of Central Jakarta today which is located at Gajah Mada street No 17, Central Jakarta.
As the man-made catastrophe of forest fire and haze returns to Riau, citizens of Pelalawan have to leave their homes and be on the alert to prevent fire coming to their remaining land, while some students fainted as schools closed in the district and the province’s capital city.
Fires hotspots likely got its peak this month on Tuesday (27 August) seeing the 5th largest number of hotspots (758) recorded since 1 June this year, as 26% of that found inside the Tesso Nilo complex.
Last month’s Riau forest fire catastrophe apparently comes to re-occur in this month. Meteorology Climatology and Geophysics (BMKG) of Pekanbaru recorded a significant increase on the numbers of hotspots detected in Riau Province in the last five days which reached to 230 hotspots.
Eyes on the Forest today published photos from field verification trips on 17, 27 and 28 June 2013 in its Google Earth based online Sumatra database. NASA’s FIRMS MODIS fire locations data recorded 9,236 hotspots in Sumatra between 1 and 28 June. 89% were recorded in Riau province (8,229). Majority of the hotspots were recorded on peat soil, suggesting massive carbon emissions.
Sumatra’s Riau province is suffering Indonesia’s worst fire season in recent years with serious smoke choking the region and neighboring Singapore and southern Malaysia. Eyes on the Forest has been tracking forest and land cover change and those who drive it in Riau since the early 1990s.
At least 6772 fires hotspots were detected accumulatively in Riau Province in period of 1-23 June 2013, based on MODIS Fires satellite monitoring that analyzed by Eyes on the Forest this week.
At least eleven social and environmental civil society groups and networks sent a joint letter to Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) on 24 April 2013, explaining the substantial social and conservation issues APP has failed to address adequately in its Forest Conservation Policy and associated documents.
Students association in Pelalawan district where Asia Pacific Resources International Limited (APRIL) office and mill located protested the company’s main supplier PT Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper (RAPP) over ignorance in providing employment for locals as well as intransparency in handling industrial waste management.
A new analysis by Eyes on the Forest (EoF) finds that the “forest conservation policy” published in February by one of the world’s largest pulp and paper producers, the Sinar Mas Group’s Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), appears to be yet another attempt to hide the vast deforestation and damages.
As rain rarely pours Riau Province many fires hotspots found recently including in timber concessions and protected areas. At least 613 hotspots detected within three weeks in this month as the total of hotspots in the province are 1573.
EoF News (PEKANBARU) – Former Siak Distric Head whom is prosecuted in Corruption Crime Court here asked Prosecutors to present more key witnesses including Riau Governor Rusli Zainal and Kampar District Head, reports said.
PEKANBARU (EoF News)—Jikalahari, environmental organization’s network to save natural forest in Riau, sent a letter to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono last week to order the police and prosecutors office to prosecute 14 timber companies which allegedly committing environmental destruction.
(Herald Sun / AAP, 4 Aug 2011) -- Environmentalists have praised Fuji Xerox for cutting ties with a big paper manufacturer accused of wrongfully logging Indonesian rainforests.
EoF News (PEKANBARU)— At least 172 hotspots accumulatively detected by Modis Terra Aqua satellite in Riau Province this week, during 18-21 October, which put 48% of total hotspots recorded in pulpwood concessions. The rest 90 hotspots found in various lands that could be palm oil plantations, wasteland and forest.
The two companies together pulped five percent of the remaining natural forest in Sumatra’s Riau Province, twice the size of Indonesia’s capital Jakarta, an analysis of 2009’s annual cutting licenses (RKT) shows that these licenses were issued for the extraction of high timber volumes per hectare.
PEKANBARU (EoF News)-- Where the Forest Ends, a radio show aired by Living on Earth (LoE) program of Public Radio International in week of 11 December 2009. The story highlighted deforestation occurred in peat swamp forest Kerumutan and Kampar Peninsula, Riau Province, where communities land taken over by forestry companies. Human and Sumatran tiger conflict escalates due to shrinkage of natural forest in the province.
(Stockholm, Sweden, 7 October 2009)-- WWF Sweden is urging its government – holding the current EU Presidency - to get behind an effective international agreement on halting forest loss as a key and highly cost effective measure on climate change.
PEKANBARU (EoF News)—Eyes on the Forest coalition today is releasing an Investigative Report conducted in May and June 2009 in Kerumutan block forest where EoF found PT Sumatera Riang Lestari, a company associated to Asia Pacific Resources International Holdings Limited (APRIL), is clearing natural peat swamp forest with likely High Conservation Values under legally questionable circumstances.
Satellite data for the first six months of 2009 show that Riau Province had the largest number of fire “hotspots” in Indonesia: 4,782. And nearly one-quarter of the Riau fires happened within concessions affiliated with Sinar Mas Group’s Asia Pulp & Paper company.
Data satelit selama enam bulan perama di tahun 2009 menunjukkan bahwa Provinsi Riau memiliki jumlah titik api kebakaran terbanyak di Indonesia, yakni 4.782.
PEKANBARU (EoF News)-- Firefighters desperately struggled to extinguish forest and land fires in Riau Province as residents suffered upper respiratory problems due to worsening quality of air, while airport administrators delayed flights, media reports said.
Kebanyakan insiden konflik antara manusia dan harimau di Provinsi Riau dalam kurun 12 tahun terakhir telah terjadi di dekat kawasan hutan yang ditebangi oleh perusahaan-perusahaan kelompok raksasa pabrik kertas Asia Pulp and Paper (APP)/Sinar Mas Group (SMG), demikian menurut analisa data konflik manusia-harimau.
PEKANBARU (EoF News)— Majority of forest and land fires in Riau Province recently detected by satellite from 17 January to 28 January 2009 occurred in peatlands where hotspots found in several concessions of pulpwood plantations (HTI) and palm oil. Protected Area (Kawasan Lindung) and proposed expansion of Tesso Nilo National Park were also raged by fires, Eyes on the Forest analyzed.
PEKANBARU (EoF News)— Efforts to distinguish escalating forest and land fires in Riau faced tough challenges as the Riau Provincial Government imposed Alert I status against the disaster yesterday and deploy 200 firefighters as fires hit seven districts and municipality in the province.
Komitmen Indonesia yang baru diumumkan untuk menyelamatkan hutan alam Sumatera pada Kongres Konservasi Dunia IUCN dua pekan lalu menghadapi ujian awal, menyusul terungkapnya aktivitas salah satu perusahaan kertas terbesar dunia, Asia Pulp & Paper (APP)/Sinar Mas Group (SMG).
The Indonesian government and WWF today announced a bold commitment to protect the remaining forests and critical ecosystems of Sumatra, an Indonesian island that holds some of the world’s most diverse – and endangered – forests. The historic agreement represents the first-ever island-wide commitment to protect Sumatra’s stunning biodiversity.
The Indonesian province of Riau has pledged to halt the destruction of its forests and peatlands; a move that will prevent billions of tonnes of carbon from entering the atmosphere.
JAKARTA, 7 August 2008 (AFP) - Environmental group Greenpeace hung a banner reading "Stop Deforestation" on the Indonesian forestry ministry Wednesday and called for a moratorium on palm oil concessions on forested land.
The road would allow APP and affiliated companies to restart clearance of natural forest and destruction of deep peat soil at any time in a globally recognized conservation area, according to Eyes on the Forest, a coalition of local NGO network Jikalahari, Walhi Riau, and WWF-Indonesia. The Kampar peninsula is one of the world’s largest contiguous tropical peat swamp forests, with more carbon per hectare than any other ecosystem on Earth.
In an investigative report published today by Eyes on the Forest, evidence shows that a new logging road in Riau Province -- strongly indicated as illegally built by companies connected to Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) -- is cutting into the heart of Sumatra’s largest contiguous peatland forest, a rare hydrological ecosystem that acts as one of the planet’s biggest carbon stores.
Dalam sebuah laporan investigasi yang dipublikasikan hari ini oleh Eyes on the Forest, bukti-bukti menunjukkan bahwa perusahaan-perusahaan gabungan Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) belum lama ini membuka sebuah jalan logging yang memotong jantung hutan gambut penting di Semenanjung Kampar, Riau.
The past year has seen more weather records smashed as extreme events take a firmer hold of the planet, says WWF at the start of the UN climate change conference.
The day before the International Day for Biological Diversity, Greenpeace publicly congratulated Idisa Papel, part of the Portuguese Irapa group, on its decision to cancel its commercial relations with Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), a paper company involved in destroying forests of high environmental value in the province of Riau, on the Island of Sumatra.
Key points on the environmental impact of palm oil (mongabay.com, May 15, 2007)-- The booming market for palm oil is driving record production but fueling rising concerns over the environmental impact of the supposedly "green" bioenergy source.
Riau NGOs Network for Forest Rescue (Jikalahari), University of Riau and representatives of 3 sub-districts in Kampar Peninsula today call for a halt to conversion of peatland-rich forests in the region to avoid escalating carbon (CO2) release.
(Mongabay.com, 26 March 2007) --Many of the world's local climates could be radically changed if global warming trends continue, reports a new study published in the early online edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The authors warn that current climates may shift and disappear, increasing the risk of biodiversity extinction and other ecological changes.
One of the world’s biggest environmental crimes continues to unfold in Indonesia as efforts by the government to curb massive illegal logging are being severely undermined by a weak and corrupt justice system, environmentalists revealed Wednesday.
(EUOBSERVER / Brussels – Dec 1, 2006) --A painful confirmation by the European Commission that its headquarters contain 1,000 square metres of uncertified wood from the Indonesian tropical forest highlights the problem of illegally logged timber in the EU.
(Pekanbaru, EoF News) -- Environmentalists urged law enforcers in Pelalawan district to continue to prosecute scores of legal actions that they feared to be dark numbers. As deforestation escalates in Tesso Nilo forest, Riau, due to rampant encroachment and forest fires, law enforcement should be upheld urgently, they said. Tesso Nilo National Park (TNNP) and its proposed extension partly included in Pelalawan district where several forest crime cases occurred. The Pelalawan police have detained a person named Jaspun as a suspect for selling 10,000-hectare land inside the proposed national park.
Pekanbaru (EoF News) – Coalition of three environmental NGOs in Riau, Eyes on the Forest, releases Investigative Report July 2006 today. The EoF’s investigation found violation allegedly perpetrated by both Asia Pacific Resources International Holdings Limited (APRIL) and Asia Pulp & Paper (APP).
Pekanbaru (EoF News) – Thick smog blanketing Pekanbaru of Riau capital Friday amid five ASEAN environmental ministers’ meeting to solve deteriorating haze problem. Riau Police office dispersed rallies staged by conservationist NGOs outside a hotel where delegates of the meeting stay. Police dismissed forcefully the protesters mostly from Walhi Riau and Jikalahari NGOs before the ministers passed them.
Pekanbaru (EoF News) – Tera Modis satellite detected that there were 521 hotspots appeared from Oct.1 to Oct.7. It escalated quite higher than Sep 22-30 period with only 103 hotspots.
Despite the officials in Riau claimed that hotspots detected by satellite has vanished, fires still occur inside Tesso Nilo forest on Monday as observed by WWF monitoring officer. The fires are currently set by the encroachers that occurred in coordinate point of South 00.04.38.9 and East 101. 47. 40. 9 (see picture 1 ).
A Greenpeace team of investigators has discovered widespread destruction of Sumatra's ancient forests, caused by fires which are threatening to burn out of control.
The Indonesian Government promised its neighboring countries that haze problem caused by forest and land fires will be tackled by 2 September. In Riau, police detained 58 suspects for allegedly set fires, but none represented companies.
Deputy Minister of Environment for Natural Conservation and Environmental Degradation Management, Masnellyarti Hilman, said in Balikpapan of East Kalimantan Thursday that those companies allegedly responsible for forest fires as detected by overlay of hotspots and HPH or HTI concession maps followed by crosschecks with data from Forestry Ministry and Agriculture Ministry, Bisnis Indonesia daily reported Friday (Aug. 25).
Air pollution in major Southeast Asian and Chinese cities ranks among the worst in the world and contributes to the deaths of about 500,000 people each year, said Michal Krzyzanowski, an air quality specialist at the WHO’s European Center for Environment and Health in Bonn, Germany. Drifting smoke from purposely set forest fires in Indonesia caused Malaysia to declare a state of emergency last week in two areas outside Kuala Lumpur. Parts of Thailand were also blanketed in the haze. Malaysian health officials said hospitals reported a 150 percent increase in breathing problems and seven people who had a history of respiratory problems reportedly died.
Inconvenience due to poor visibility and unhealthy condition caused by polluted haze alarmed South East Asia region again as forest fires raging in Sumatra –including Riau—and Kalimantan islands.
Several NGOs are calling on the Government to stop granting concessions for conversion and land clearing on peatlands, citing data that shows the major factor inciting this year's forest fires is forest conversion, mainly on peat soil sites.
Forest fires escalated in Riau province where two protected forests set ablaze and thick haze suffered the province areas in recent days. More hotspots detected and the haze spilled over neighboring countries, reports said.
Hotspots report that received by EoF said that after July 14, they escalate to 93 on Jul.15, 219 hotspots on Jul. 16, 66 on Jul.17 and the highest 228 hotspots on Jul.18.From Jul.1 to Jul.19 hotspots found inside HTI (Industrial Timber Plantation) concession is 204, while outside is 514. While hotspots found in oil palm plantation is 158 during the period. Hotspots detected on concession of companies associated to Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) is 42 and to Asia Pacific Resources International Ltd (APRIL) is 33 hotspots.
According to the report, the company has been responsible for about 80,000 hectares of natural forest loss every year, equivalent to roughly one-half of the Indonesia province of Riau’s annual forest loss since 2002.
"The hot spots must be put out , otherwise the tigers` habitat will be threatened," the head of the local Environmental Impact Management Agency (Bapedal), Khairul Zainal, said. He said the hot spots which had been spotted by satellite would become a serious danger to wild life if the area if they were not extinguished.
Today Eyes on the Forest, a coalition of Sumatran environmental NGOs, called on all companies who are clearcutting natural forests based on Industrial Timber Plantation Licenses (IUPHHK-HT) issued by Governors or Heads of Districts to immediately issue a moratorium on all such operations.