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Indonesia’s palm oil permit moratorium to last five years
July 18, 2016
Indonesia’s palm oil permit moratorium to last five years
In April, Indonesian president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo declared a moratorium on new licenses to establish palm oil plantations, a decision welcomed by advocates for the environment and indigenous rights.
More of the details have since emerged. On Friday, the chief economics minister announced that the government was preparing to formalize the moratorium by issuing a presidential instruction, one of several forms the policy could have taken.
The moratorium will last five years, Darmin Nasution said after a meeting with cabinet colleagues.
“We want to reorganize the lands already planted with oil palm, including by increasing production and replanting,” Nasution said.
The Environment and Forestry Ministry has already moved to follow up on the moratorium announcement. In May, the ministry, which must approve the release of land from Indonesia’s vast forest zone so that it can be developed, rejected all outstanding requests to plant oil palm there, sparing a total of 851,000 hectares (3,300 square miles) from conversion.
Read more at MONGABAY.
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