Newsletter articles

DTE's quarterly newsletter provides information on ecological justice in Indonesia.

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DTE publications

Reconstruction of Aceh Land Administration System (RALAS)

Down to Earth No 68 February 2006

Questions are being raised over a World Bank-funded land titling project in post-tsunami Aceh.

Securing land tenure has become one of the priorities in the reconstruction of Aceh, post-tsunami. More than half a million affected people have had to endure changes to the landscape and have been left without evidence of their property rights. According to the national land agency, BPN, approximately 300,000 land parcels have been affected by the tsunami.

KAU - "government has no sense of urgency"

Down to Earth No 68 February 2006

Indonesia's Anti-Debt Coalition (KAU) has accused the Indonesian government of lacking any sense of urgency in its post-tsunami reconstruction work. In a statement issued exactly one year after the disaster struck, KAU criticised the government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for failing to seize opportunities to reduce Indonesia's debt.

Struggle against logging goes on in Mentawai

Down to Earth No 68 February 2006

Will legal action help save forests and livelihoods in the Mentawai Islands? The following is adapted from an Indonesian language report by WALHI West Sumatra and interviews with Yayasan Citra Mandiri, an NGO which focuses on Mentawai issues.

The Mentawai Islands, off Sumatra's western coast, are renowned for the unique culture of their indigenous communities and the rare species that have evolved in this isolated rainforest archipelago.

Communities challenge palm oil industry promises of sustainability

Down to Earth No 68 February 2006

After a year of negotiations and pressure from Indonesian and international civil society groups, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) accepted the Principles & Criteria drafted by its working group at its meeting in Singapore on 22 - 23 November 2005.

The challenge of making a living

Down to Earth No 68 February 2006

Ruslani Ruslan has depended on fishing for most of his life. He has produced dried fish and has been a wholesaler of fresh and dried fish in North Jakarta for nearly forty years. He is now head of a fishing co-operative and the NGO Expindo, which supports fisherfolk and coastal communities.

The borders megaproject

Down to Earth No 68 February 2006

The government is pressing ahead with plans to create a huge plantation zone along the Indonesia-Malaysia border, despite concerns raised by Indonesian and international NGOs and forest researchers and donors.

Indonesian NGO Greenomics revealed in February that East Kalimantan has allocated 215,000ha in three districts to be cleared as part of the plantation. The area includes 17,000ha of government-funded community plantations.

One step forward, two steps back

Down to Earth No 68 February 2006

United Fiber System (UFS) is going ahead with a wood chip mill and paper pulp plant in South Kalimantan as well as running the Kiani Kertas plant in East Kalimantan - all in the face of international opposition.

UFS received a boost to its plans to become one of the world's major paper pulp producers when the Indonesian Supreme Court ruled in its favour in a dispute between the company and the Indonesian government in early October 2005.