Indonesia: Illegalities in Forest Clearance in Large-Scale Plantations
By Eric Wakker - Aidenvironment Asia View PublicationThis is the second in a series of case studies examining the nature, scale and extent of illegalities and irregularities in the process of forest clearance for large-scale agricultural estates and ranchlands, and the scale of the trade in commodities grown or reared on land illegally cleared of forests. Each country assessment examines the state of knowledge on the topic, and the recent history of relevant sectoral activity in each country, profiles key companies, outlines the legal and regulatory environment, and summarizes available evidence of illegalities and irregularities.
This study focuses on oil palm and pulp and paper plantations, generally seen as the main drivers of deforestation over the past ten to twenty years. The past fifteen years have seen increased global public and political acknowledgement of the environmental, social and economic costs of illegal logging, but this discourse has largely focused on tree harvesting under selective logging forestry and associated timber trade. This study represents a first step towards broadening our understanding of the nature, scale and extent of illegalities and irregularities in deforestation for oil palm and tree plantation expansion in Indonesia.