Activists express doubt over ‘lungs of the world’ plan
The Jakarta Post, 21 January 2012

Activists were pessimistic that the government plan to allocate 45 percent of forests in Kalimantan as “the lungs of the world” would work, as mining activities and land clearing for oil palm plantations had taken up more than half of the forests on the island.

---

Guest Post: Indonesia’s moratorium map fails to include data on settlements and smallholder farms
REDD-Monitor.org, 20th January 2012

Since 2009, villagers on Pulau Padang, an island off the east coast of Sumatra in Indonesia, have been protesting against pulp and paper company APRIL’s proposed 41,205 hectare pulpwood plantation on their island. In November 2011, in a dramatic protest aimed at illustrating how APRIL and the authorities were ignoring them, 28 of them stitched their mouths shut.

---

Extreme mouth-sewing protest in Indonesia leads to logging inquiry
mongabay.com, January 9 2012

A protest in which 28 Indonesian sewed their mouths shut has led to an inquiry into a logging concession on Padang Island. The Ministry of Forestry has formed a mediation team to look into the controversial concession, reports Kompas. Around a hundred natives of Padang Island rallied for weeks against the logging concession held by PT Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper (RAPP), which covers 37 percent of the island's total land.

---

Kasus Pulau Padang
Kemhut Didesak Cabut Izin PT RAPP
Kompas, 9 Januari 2012

Kementerian Kehutanan didesak menindaklanjuti penghentian sementara izin operasional PT Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper dengan mencabut izin secara permanen. Langkah ini penting untuk menyelamatkan Pulau Padang dari ancaman bencana ekologi dan sosial.

---

Pengelolaan Hutan
Pernyataan Presiden Disayangkan Sejumlah LSM
Kompas, 24 Desember 2011

Jakarta, Kompas - Sejumlah lembaga swadaya masyarakat yang aktif di bidang lingkungan dan kehutanan menyayangkan pernyataan Presiden pada puncak peringatan Hari Ibu, Kamis lalu. Saat itu, Presiden mengapresiasi sorotan tajam pengelolaan lingkungan oleh LSM asing, tetapi menilai ada unsur mengobrak-abrik negara.

---

New analysis supports claim that paper giant cleared part of its tiger sanctuary in Indonesia
mongabay.com, December 21, 2011

Asia Pulp & Paper (APP)'s supplier PT Ruas Utama Jaya has indeed cleared an area of forest it pledged to set aside as a tiger conservation reserve in Sumatra reports a legal analysis by Greenomics [PDF], an Indonesian environmental group. The Greenomics' analysis supports allegations originally set forth in a report published last week by Eyes of the Forest, a coalition of green groups, and seems to refute a press release issued by APP that called the deforestation allegations "fiction".

---

Revisi Peta Moratorium Hutan Tak Mengacu
Kondisi Lapangan
Revisi dilakukan di meja dan tidak berdasarkan validasi di lapangan
beritasatu.com, 15 Desember 2011

Bercermin dari kasus di Aceh, penerapan revisi peta moratorium izin baru di areal hutan alam primer dan gambut masih lemah dalam validasi data di lapangan, kata direktur Greenomics Indonesia, Elfian Effendi, di Jakarta, hari ini.

---

Peatland moratorium slipping on oil palm plans
The Jakarta Post, 14 December 2011

Aceh may soon lose part of its forests with the granting of a concession for commercial use to a private company by Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf, a decision that jeopardizes the moratorium on forest clearing, a watchdog says.

---

Ministry to Probe Aceh Forest Clearing Permit
Jakarta Globe, 14 December 2011

The Forestry Ministry has promised an “intensive probe” into a controversial permit issued by Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf for a pristine, wildlife-rich forest to be razed and replaced by a palm oil plantation.

---

Greenomics: perkebunan sawit lolos di lahan gambut
Bisnis.com, 12 Desember 2011

Greenomics Indonesia mengungkapkan revisi pertama atas peta indikatif moratorium pemberian izin baru pada hutan alam dan lahan gambut, telah meloloskan izin perkebunan sawit di areal lahan gambut di Aceh yang sebelumnya telah ditetapkan sebagai areal moratorium.

---

Penurunan Luasan Lahan Gambut Diprotes
Kementerian Kehutanan: Ada Perbedaan Data
Kompas, 12 Desember 2011

Revisi pertama Peta Indikatif Penundaan Izin Baru hutan dan gambut diprotes karena memperkecil luasan gambut sekitar 4,5 juta hektar. Hasil revisi itu menimbulkan dugaan mengakomodasi kepentingan bisnis.

---

More..