Indonesia
INDONESIA SIGNS MORATORIUM ON OIL PALM LICENSES
09/24/2018
Update Volume
48
Update Issue
27

On September 19, Indonesia's President, Joko Widodo, signed a three-year moratorium on new licenses for oil palm plantations. The moratorium applies not only to new requests for licenses but also to projects that have obtained some but not all of the permits needed to begin operating. It also mandates a massive review of oil palm licenses across Indonesia. Widodo first announced plans to impose the moratorium over two years ago after the 2015 fire and haze crisis in Southeast Asia.

INDONESIA RESCINDS PROTECTION FOR THREE SONGBIRD SPECIES
09/10/2018
Update Volume
48
Update Issue
25

The Indonesian government has removed three songbird species from its newly updated list of protected species. The white-rumped shama, Javan pied starling, and straw-headed bulbul will no longer be protected from captive breeding and trading by private owners. According to Indra Eksploitasia, the director of biodiversity conservation in the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, the decision to remove the songbirds from the protected list was based on a socioeconomic impact study carried out by the ministry.

PEPSICO LAUNCHES INVESTIGATION INTO ILLEGAL DEFORESTATION
07/02/2018
Update Volume
48
Update Issue
19

PepsiCo has launched an investigation into reports of deforestation carried out by one of its supplier's oil palm plantations. The investigation is in response to a complaint by the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) alleging that PepsiCo has failed to investigate deforestation allegations that were first reported four years ago. RAN conducted a field investigation and found that in the first five months of this year alone, 290 acres of forest had been destroyed in a concession owned by palm oil firm PT Surya Panen Subur II, which is included in PepsiCo's 2017 list of palm oil mills.

INDONESIA FISHERIES MINISTRY PROPOSES TO STRENGTHEN 2009 FISHERIES ACT
06/04/2018
Update Volume
48
Update Issue
16

Indonesia’s Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries submitted to parliament a bill of amendments aimed at strengthening the 2009 Fisheries Act through more stringent provisions, reported Mongabay. Among other things, the amendments include bans on foreign fishing vessels and crews, the transshipment of fish catches between vessels at sea, and foreign investment in the capture fisheries sector.

LAWSUIT AGAINST ENVIRONMENTAL EXPERT CHILLS TESTIMONY IN INDONESIA
04/30/2018
Update Volume
48
Update Issue
12

Environmental experts and activists are closely watching a lawsuit filed against an academic whose testimony helped convict a governor on corruption charges, in a case many fear could set a worrying precedent. Basuki Wasis, an expert on environmental degradation from the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB), has testified in more than 200 cases involving environmental crimes such as forest fires and pollution.

INDONESIAN ANTI-CORRUPTION AGENCY PUTS PRICE TAG ON ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME
04/02/2018
Update Volume
48
Update Issue
9

Indonesia’s anti-corruption agency, the KPK, has vowed to include environmental damages in its calculations of state losses incurred through corruption--a move that could translate to heavier sentences and fines for crimes in the natural resources sector. The announcement comes in connection with its ongoing prosecution of Nur Alam, the suspended governor of the province of Southeast Sulawesi who faces 18 years in prison for allegedly abusing his authority to grant mining licenses from 2009 to 2014.

PUBLIC ACCESS TO INDONESIAN PLANTATION DATA STILL MIRED IN BUREAUCRACY
03/12/2018
Update Volume
48
Update Issue
7

A year after the Supreme Court decision to uphold a freedom-of-information order, the Indonesian government continues to stall on releasing data on plantations operating in the country. The government’s rationale for not complying with the order is its obligation to generate revenue from the release of this data; the lack of a payment mechanism is the obstacle in releasing the information to the public. Lack of public access to this information contributes to the increasing number of land conflicts in plantation areas in recent years.

NEW GREAT APE SPECIES FOUND IN INDONESIA
11/06/2017
Update Volume
47
Update Issue
31

A new species of orangutan, Tapanuli orangutan, has been discovered in Indonesia. The apes in question were only reported to exist after an expedition into the remote mountain forests there in 1997. An analysis of a total 37 complete orangutan genomes has shown that these apes separated from their Bornean relatives less than 700,000 years ago. The new great ape will be added to the list of Critically Endangered species. For the full story see http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-41848816. 

NEW TOAD SPECIES DISCOVERED IN SUMATRA
09/25/2017
Update Volume
47
Update Issue
27

Scientists discovered four new species of toads living isolated in the highlands of Sumatra. Specimens of the newly described species were collected from 2013 to 2015 in jungles over 1,000 meters above sea level. The four toads differ from one another in their skin patterns, limb shapes and voices. The toads are threatened by habitat loss and overexploitation. Indonesia is currently the largest exporter of toads for food, with 4,000 tons of the animal annually shipped overseas. For the full story see https://news.mongabay.com/2017/09/four-new-toads-discovered-in-sumatra/

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