Små palmeolieavlere er lettede over, at de store plantagers ekspansion bremses – miljøgrupper hæfter sig ved, at det tilsyneladende kun er allerede beskyttet regnskov, som ikke må fældes
JAKARTA, 30 May 2011 (IRIN) – A long-awaited moratorium (midlertidigt stop) by the Indonesian government on new forest concessions, aimed at curbing deforestation, has been welcomed by palm oil farmers but activists believe it does not go far enough.
– We support the government’s decree on the moratorium, Maruli Sitorus, a palm oil farmer in Labahan Batu in North Sumatra Province, said. – We have seen outrageous expansions of big plantation companies at the expense of small farmers whose land has been shrinking. We hope the moratorium can limit this, added he.
More than 100.000 hectares of peatland (skove på tørvejord) in Southeast Asia are being converted annually into plantations for palm oil and pulpwood, according to the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR).
Peatlands store enormous quantities of carbon and their destruction releases large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2), which contributes to climate change.
According to the World Resources Institute, deforestation and forest degradation and loss of peatland in Indonesia accounts for more than 80 percent of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Indonesia is home to one of the world’s largest areas of peatland and is the largest exporter and producer of palm oil, with 7,5 million hectares of plantations.
On 20 May, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono issued a long-awaited decree banning concessions on 63 million hectares of primary forests and peatland as part of a 1 billion US dollar (ca. 5 milliarder DKR) deal with Norway signed in May 2010 to fight climate change.
The two-year ban puts a halt to new logging areas in “primary” forests – including areas untouched by humans and areas containing peat – but does not apply to existing forest licences and those that have been approved in principle.
Sitorus, speaking on behalf of small farmers, urged the government to help improve productivity, including subsidizing saplings and fertilizers and determining the price of oil palm fresh fruit bunches, which are used in palm oil production.
– The government should not stop at the moratorium. We small farmers have very limited access to technology. Prices of fertilizers are skyrocketing and they are scarce, he said.
Sawit Watch, an NGO advocating for small palm oil farmers, said about 500 families depended on palm oil for their livelihoods in North Sumatra.
Upping production
Læs videre på http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportID=92841
Se også telegrammet
http://www.u-landsnyt.dk/nyhed/24-05-11/indonesien-2-arigt-stop-rydde-urort-regnskov-norge
