Sumatra

 

Down to Earth No. 44, February 2000

A crisis in the oil palm industry is making a mockery of predictions that exports of the crop will help haul Indonesia out of its economic woes.

Export orders for Indonesian palm oil products fell sharply when the first shipment of palm oil, contaminated with diesel oil, was rejected by buyers in the Netherlands in October last year.

Down to Earth No. 44,February 2000

Transmigration, the government programme which resettles families from Java and Bali to lesser populated islands, has contributed to underlying tensions between communities in Maluku, recent scene of bloody clashes between Muslims and Christians. Now the government is preparing to send refugees from this and other conflicts back into the transmigration programme - a policy which may lead to yet more conflict in the future.

Down to Earth No. 44, February 2000

Community anger is being directed at the newly completed plant in South Sumatra

The PT TEL paper pulp factory at Muara Enim, South Sumatra was completed in November 1999 and started production trials in December with a view to full production by January 2000.

Down to Earth No. 44, February 2000

The people of Porsea and environmental groups were delighted by Environment Minister Sonny Keraf's recommendation to the Cabinet on January 18th that PT Inti Indorayon's paper pulp and rayon fibre plant should be closed down or relocated. But their ten-year struggle against the pollution caused by this factory near Lake Toba in North Sumatra is far from over.

Down to Earth No. 44, February 2000

Siberut provides a vivid example of the way the powerful combination of Indonesia's economic problems and changes to local autonomy and forestry legislation threaten the future of the country's forests and indigenous people. A UNESCO workshop on conservation and sustainable development for the Siberut biosphere zone brought various conflicting parties together to look for local solutions.

Down to Earth No. 44, February 2000

The Padang-based NGO, Pakis, has exposed two cases of log smuggling from the Pagai islands, part of the Mentawai chain off the west coast of Sumatra.

Down to Earth No. 44 February 2000

With the release of new maps and data on forest cover (or the lack of it) in Indonesia, the Jakarta government is having to face up to the country's rapid deforestation rate. International donors are pressing Wahid's government to take action now to stop illegal logging and to draw up a coherent medium-term national forestry programme.