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Foreign investment

Sulawesi communities reject Rio Tinto's CPM mine

Down to Earth No 53-54  August 2002

The forested Kambuno mountains are the adat (customary) lands of the indigenous Poboya peoples and provide the basis for their livelihoods.

Bali PrepCom ends without agreement, NGOs walk out

Down to Earth No 53-54  August 2002


June's preparatory meeting in Bali for the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg (PrepCom IV -WSSD) ended in deadlock with a draft Plan of Action still full of disputed text.

BP and the Tangguh test

Down to Earth No 52 February 2002


Since DTE last reported on this project in August 2001 (DTE 50), the international profile of BP's Tangguh gas development in West Papua has established it as a "test case" for putting good corporate intentions into practice. However, questions remain over how sincere BP is in carrying out its commitments. And how far external factors - like the Indonesian military - will limit the company's capacity to do so.

Rio Tinto's Kelian mine blockaded

Down to Earth No 52, February 2002

East Kalimantan's Kelian gold mine, operated by Anglo-Australian mining multinational Rio Tinto, was forced to cut production in January when four former employees blockaded an access road to the site.

Exxon Mobil under fire

Down to Earth No 52, February 2002


Recent attacks against oil and gas company Exxon Mobil in the war-scarred territory of Aceh have brought security concerns to the fore again, as Megawati's government struggles to convince investors they should bring their money back to Indonesia.

APP and debt-financed forest destruction

Down to Earth No 52, February 2002


The highly-indebted pulp and paper group, Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), commissioned an environmental audit in September to allay fears over rainforest destruction in Sumatra.

Oil palm action

Down to Earth No 52, February 2002

Three of the biggest banks in the Netherlands - ABN AMRO, Rabobank and Fortis - have agreed to stop or substantially restrict financing for oil palm development in Indonesia on environmental and social grounds. This is the result of a joint campaign by the Indonesian oil palm advocacy network, Sawit Watch, Milieudefensie (Friends of the Earth NL) and Greenpeace Netherlands following the disastrous 1997/8 forest fires in which10 million hectares of forest land were burnt. Oil palm and pulp plant feeder companies were the main offenders.