Government is still finalizing moratorium on palm oil plantation permit

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Darmin Nasution in Jakarta on Tuesday, said the five-year moratorium on oil palm plantation permits is quite complex, because it has a major impact on the community and companies.

"What factors should be considered if this moratorium is carried out? How to enforce the law and the homework that must be done," said Darmin while chairing the continuation of a coordination meeting on the moratorium on oil palm plantation permits.

According to him, this plan is still in the finalization process, by considering various suggestions and considerations, before being presented at a cabinet meeting and stipulated as a Presidential Instruction.

Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya Bakar said the discussion process on the moratorium on oil palm plantation permits has entered into determining several categories of delays.

She ensured this moratorium is aimed at controlling the permit process so that there is no expansion of opening new oil palm plantations, encouraging the rejuvenation of plants, and increasing productivity and downstream development.

Thus, the entrepreneurs must change their mindset from extensification of increasing production through efforts to expand plantation areas, to the intensification of the use of existing land for downstream.

Siti, however, stressed one of the cores of this moratorium is to accommodate the needs of small communities that make a living from this horticultural sector to protect them from being marginalized.

"The status of the people who earn income from palm oil must be protected, she said.

Overall, the moratorium on oil palm plantation permits has the spirit of not giving new permits for the release of forests and peatlands to become oil palm plantations.

In addition, this policy is also to provide legal certainty for oil palm plantations, including peoples oil palm plantations that happen to be located in government forest areas.

The government also wants to increase the productivity of oil palm plantations, promote the development of downstream industries, and improve the standards of Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO).

Editor: B Kunto Wibisono

http://www.antaranews.com/berita/577750/pemerintah-masih-finalisasi-moratorium-izin-perkebunan-sawit