Governor Wan Abubakar declared a moratorium on peatland
conversion in August 2008, expressing his concerns about its impact
on the environment and Riau communities, but this is yet to be
formalised.(1) Greenpeace took
a number of senior Indonesian journalists to witness the ongoing
destruction of Riau's last remaining intact peatland forests from
palm oil expansion and the pulp and paper industry.
"Riau is rich in natural resources, but every year our province
is being flooded and covered by haze from forest fires due to
drastically depleting forest cover located in the peatlands.
Unfortunately, that forest loss is not followed by people's
welfare," said the Governor. "We must immediately implement a
province-wide moratorium on forests and peatlands conversion to
secure people's safety and sustainable development in Riau."
"Peatland forest in Kampar Peninsula is the largest remaining
intact forest in Riau, but the area is heavily threatened by
conversion for pulpwood and oil palm plantations," explained
Hariansyah Usman, Deputy Coordinator of Jikalahari(2). "It also plays an important role
for the livelihood of Riau's Malay people. If there is no
moratorium on forests and peatlands conversion in Riau, the dignity
of Malay people will vanish alongside the remaining forest."
To help turn the Governor's declaration into reality, Greenpeace
and Jikalahari have been conducting an assessment and mapping of
Kampar Peninsular using satellite imagery and ground-truthing to
develop a rehabilitation plan for peatlands already degraded and
drained by palm oil and pulp and paper companies.
"The Indonesian government must support the Riau Governor's
initiative and in fact declare a nation-wide moratorium," said
Zulfahmi, Greenpeace Southeast Asia Forest Campaigner. "This is
essential if it is to address Indonesia's alarming greenhouse gas
emissions and to protect Indonesia's remaining forests and
peatlands for future generations."
Greenpeace embarked on the Indonesian leg of its "Forests for
Climate" ship tour in Jayapura, Papua on 6 October, to shine the
spotlight on the rampant destruction of the Paradise Forests - the
last remaining ancient forests of Southeast Asia.
Greenpeace is an independent, global campaigning organisation
that acts to change attitudes and behaviour, to protect and
conserve the environment, and to promote peace.
Other contacts: Zulfahmi, Greenpeace Southeast Asia, Forest Campaigner, (in Pekanbaru)
+62 (0) 812 682 12 14
Hariansyah Usman, Deputy Coordinator of Jikalahari (in Pekanbaru)
+62 (0) 812 766 999 67
Nabiha Shahab, Greenpeace Southeast Asia, Media Campaigner, (onboard the Esperanza)
+62 (0) 81314213432
Bustar Maitar, Greenpeace Southeast Asia, Forest Campaigner, (onboard the Esperanza)
+62 (0) 813 44 666 135
Martin Baker, Communications Coordinator (Asia), Greenpeace International
+62 (0) 8131 5829513 (in Jakarta)
For photo and video please contact Findi Kenandarti
+62 (0) 8161681840
Notes: (1) Governor's Regulation to formalise the moratorium currently awaits technical inputs from the government's moratorium team within Governor Wan Abubakar's administration.
(2) Jikalahari (Forest Rescue Network Riau) was founded in 2002 and campaigns for sustainable forest management in Riau Province that respects the rights of local and indigenous peoples.