Loss of Oil Palm Permits
- Some indigenous communities in West Papua, who have agreed to lease their land to oil palm companies in hopes of improving infrastructure and livelihoods, have been sidelined by the local government’s decision to revoke the companies’ permits for various violations, held in abeyance.
- The communities say they just want a better life, and while not necessarily defending palm oil, point out the government has done little to build roads or bring electricity to their villages.
- Some of those who received early compensation payments from the companies now fear they will have to pay them back.
- The permits were revoked after an audit found a slew of violators by the companies, at least two of which appear to belong to a notorious suspected illegal logging boss.
SORONG, West Papua (Papua Barat Province) — With its lush rainforests and long beaches, Waymon, a coastal village in Indonesia’s Papua Barat province, seems idyllic. But some residents consider it a hostile, almost inhospitable place. This is due to its remoteness and heavy rainfall, which can make boating a deadly affair.
“Living in Waymon is like playing with life,” says resident Hendrikus Mallu. “God still loves us – if he didn’t, we would all have died.” The only way for the villagers to get to other parts of the region is by sea; there is no road access. In addition, the village only has electricity at night, when the villagers turn on their diesel-powered generators.
Amid these restrictions, two of the village’s three tribes have welcomed a palm oil company that promised them a better life as their only way out.
Now that the government of Sorong County, where the village is located, has revoked PT Papua Lestari Abadi (PLA) company’s permits, tribal people, there are questioning their future and fearing the consequences of the revocation.
Loss of Oil Palm Permits Has Left Papuan Villages Unsettled and Terrified.
Also Read: Turquoise holidays: opulent travel advice for a chic getaway
Revoke Permits
PLA was one of several palm oil companies to have their permits revoked following government scrutiny in Papua Barat province, which is home to some of Indonesia’s largest surviving forest areas. The audit itself was part of a central government moratorium on the issuance of new palm oil licenses following fires on oil palm concessions and years of uncontrolled deforestation linked to the industry.
The moratorium, which expired in September this year, also ordered a review of all existing licenses, similar to a previous review of mining licenses that saw more than 2,000 permits revoked due to irregularities uncovered. Very few oil palm permits were revoked by the central government before the end of the moratorium. However, in Papua Barat, the provincial government revoked the licenses of 14 companies after finding a string of irregularities and violations.
The move in Papua Barat, coming at the end of the moratorium, could serve as a test case for government officials trying to revoke licenses from potentially powerful companies. This may still be possible despite the expired moratorium, as the Indonesian government says it will use existing regulations to address sustainability issues in the palm oil industry.
Shortly after the provincial government revoked the permits, PLA and another affected company, PT Sorong Agro Sawitindo (SAS), which owned a concession in Gisim village, filed a lawsuit against Johny Kamuru, the magistrate of Sorong County. The two companies want a court to reverse the government’s decision and give them back their concessions. They argue that having their licenses revoked harmed them.
Benedictus Hery Wijayanto, head of the Ministry of Agriculture of Papua Barat province, said the government had every reason to revoke the concessions of the two companies as they failed to fulfill their obligations under the law. Unfulfilled commitments include obtaining a cultivation rights permit (HGU), the latest in a series of licenses that oil palm companies must obtain before they can begin cultivation.
Benedictus added that the two companies appeared to have done nothing since receiving their permits in 2009. “There were no activities in Sorong,” he says. “They didn’t have offices. Also, if you ask government officials in Sorong, there is not a single document [about the two companies]. PLA and SAS had not started any activities on their concessions because they had no working capital. That means the companies’ concessions have technically been abandoned, which Piter Ell, a lawyer for the Sorong county government, says is one reason the permit was revoked.
Loss of Oil Palm Permits Has Left Papuan Villages Unsettled and Terrified.
Also Read: 7 Russian Blue Cats Breeds and Their Characteristics.
The man behind the companies
Peter Ell also reported that PLA and SAS also violated antitrust laws because they have the same person, Ronald Louis Sanuddin, as their managing director. Both companies also share the same address, which Piter said turned out to be the offices of another company called Papua Diving. Benedictus said the two companies had no offices in Papua Barat province and only set up an office in Sorong after filing a lawsuit against the Sorong county governor.
The similarities between the two companies don’t stop there.
According to the non-governmental organization Pusaka, which campaigns for the rights of indigenous peoples, the PLA and SAS belong to the same person. The shares of both companies are owned by PT Pilar Sukses Sejahtera and PT Global Jaya Abadi Gemilang, two companies which in turn are owned by Paulus George Hung, a businessman from Malaysia. According to Pusaka, Hung also sits on the boards of PLA and SAS.
Villagers in Waimon and Gisim recalled being approached by Hung. Daniel Kayaru, the mayor of Klajaring village in Gisim, even called him the “Big Boss”, while Demianus Yapen, the mayor of Waimon, called him “Mr. Ting”, a nod to his old Malaysian name, Ting Ting Hong. In 2006, Hung was among 50 people accused by the Indonesian government of illegal logging in the country. He has been linked to a ship seized in Papua Barat waters with 21,000 cubic meters of timber on board. Despite this, Hung managed to get new forestry permits from the government, paving the way for more business in Indonesia.
In Indonesia, it is common for businessmen to be involved in both the forestry and plantation sectors as they can benefit from cutting down the forests and selling the timber before converting the land into plantations.
Piter said there are indications that many companies applying for oil palm licenses are doing so simply to cut down trees and sell the timber for a quick buck, with no intention of developing an oil palm plantation.
PLA and SAS had not yet started clearing their respective concessions because they did not have the necessary timber harvesting permits. Another company that has had its permits revoked and is also suing the Sorong County Administrator, PT Inti Kebun Lestari (IKL), had already obtained a logging permit.
Benidiktus said that when the local government checked IKL ‘s concession , they noticed deforestation. Photos from a document prepared by ICL logger CV Aimas Jaya Mandiri also show that there has been some logging, he added.
The provinces of Papua Barat and Papua are home to some of the last remaining stands of commercially valuable hardwood species in Indonesia, including merbau, a desirable target for illegal loggers and timber traders.
Given the many irregularities surrounding the PLA and SAS, Piter said the court should dismiss the companies’ lawsuit, declaring that their permits had been revoked in accordance with the law. “Because before the concessions are revoked, they have gone through a multi-stage evaluation process emanating from the central government, the anti-fraud agency, the KPK, the Papua Barat provincial government and the Sorong district government,” Piter said.
Loss of Oil Palm Permits Has Left Papuan Villages Unsettled and Terrified.
Also Read: What Does a Wrongful Death Lawyer Do? | What…
Roads and Electricity
Before the PLAfiling the lawsuit, she addressed the indigenous communities whose lands overlap her concession in Waimon. They offered money to one of the village’s three clans, the Kasilik, which he accepted. Demianus, the village chief, said the Kasilik asked for 300 million rupiah (US$21,000) but settled for half that amount. The company paid the first installment, 50 million rupiah (US$3,500), in April.
The company also pledged to donate two houses in Sorong to the clan and pay for the Kasilik children’s education up to middle school, said Yunus Kasilik, a member of the clan. Yunus said this sum could go a long way toward improving the living conditions of Waimon villagers. “I catch a lot of fish and shrimp. How can I sell them to Sorong, if there is no road?” he said. “I am not defending palm oil.
But can the government take care of [our] road connections? Electricity?” Some of the villagers, including Demianus and Yunus, said that they had signed their contract with thePLA would like to quit if the government could guarantee access to roads and electricity for the village. “All I ask is a road and electricity, that’s all,” Yunus said.
Sorong County Government Secretary Cliff Agus Japsenang questioned the timing of the company’s emergence, suggesting it was an attempt by the PLA to garner local support for its lawsuit. “The companies emerged this year in April, May, or June after the permits were revoked,” he explained.
“But we must not forget that they had years [to fulfill all their legal obligations] while they were nowhere to be seen.” Sorong County Administrator Johny said the company’s sudden emergence after years of absence is a sign that the company does not have the interests of the local community at heart.
In Indonesia, cash-strapped local governments often fail to build basic infrastructure, as in the case of Waymon. It is not uncommon for agricultural or mining companies to take on this role. However, Johny said his government would not abandon the villagers whose lands overlap with the withdrawn concessions and who the companies had promised a better life.
“In this situation, the government made the decision [to revoke the permits] in the best interests of the people there,” he said in an interview at his home in Sorong. “There may be some who understand that, but there may also be some who don’t and believe that this decision has harmed them.”
Johny said his government originally planned to build a road to connect Waimon and other places in the region. Sections of the road were already being built by Petrogas, an oil and gas company operating in the area, but the project was halted due to land acquisition problems. He will contact Petrogas again to discuss resuming road construction, the district administrator said.
Loss of Oil Palm Permits Has Left Papuan Villages Unsettled and Terrified.
Also Read: How to Make Money Online for Beginners Step-By-Step | How…
“They Promised we Could be Prosperous.”
Waimon isn’t the only village concerned about the potential impact of permit revocations.
In Gisim, another coastal village in Sorong County, indigenous people face a similar dilemma as SAS, the other company, is suing the Sorong government for having its license revoked. The villagers had granted the company the rights to 13,000 hectares of their forests.
The company had promised to compensate them in the form of money, education and housing, according to village chief Daniel. “They promised that oil palm plantations would make us wealthy,” he explained. “So we accepted [SAS] so we can change our future. We can become as prosperous as other places in Kalimantan and Sulawesi.”
By 2010, SAS had paid villagers 500 million rupiah (US$35,100), which Daniel said the community would use for various purposes, such as: B. the organization of Christmas parties used. After that, however, the company disappeared and villagers were unable to contact its representatives, he said.
In April, the PLA company came to the village and informed the residents that they had taken over the concession from SAS. Daniel said the villagers refused to negotiate with PLA until SAS cleared the matter with them. “With the first company [ SAS ], we felt they just wanted to play with us,” he said. “The new company [PLA] must work with new agreements.”
Like the Waimon concession, the Gisim concession was revoked by the county government following the most recent review as it had not been administered by SAS for more than a decade. Daniel said the withdrawal further complicated the situation as it is not clear where SAS went and whether the villagers will have to pay back the money they received from the company.
“We are afraid of the company. We don’t want them to sue us [for the money already paid],” he said. “We want to hear the district administrator say to us, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll pay back your debt.’ We haven’t met him yet, so we’re not satisfied yet.”
Sorong County Administrator Johny said he will protect the villagers. “It could be that people didn’t know any better and were intimidated [to accept the money],” he said. “Have they been enlightened and given a chance to think? The point is that the government has to take responsibility.”
Daniel said that looking back, he regrets the villagers’ decision to accept the palm oil company on their land.
“We’re trapped. We didn’t understand [the impact of] palm oil. We just accepted it,” he said. “We read and saw developments in other villages after that, and we realized that the palm oil company was attempting to entice us with money and [promises of] wealth.” Loss of Oil Palm Permits Has Left Papuan Villages Unsettled and Terrified.