INDONESIAN PRESIDENT Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has been strongly criticised by Greenpeace for his government’s failure to halt deforestation and deliberately lit fires in the tropical rainforests of Sumatra.
The environmental group said yesterday that the continuing destruction of forests in Indonesia was releasing millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide and destroying the habitats of endangered species such as the orang-utan and Sumatran tiger.
“While the Indonesian delegation maintained a stoic silence at the critical UN-led climate talks in Bonn, Indonesia’s rainforests were burning and fresh clashes erupted between pulp and paper companies and communities trying to protect their forest lands,” it said.
Bustar Maitar, of Greenpeace Southeast Asia, said Indonesia had the third-biggest carbon footprint in the world because of the huge quantities of carbon released to the atmosphere when its rainforests and peatlands are destroyed.
Although it is illegal to clear land using fire, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration has recorded 2,643 fire “hotspots” so far this year in Sumatra – many started illegally to clear rainforest for palm oil or pulp and paper plantations.
“Many of the areas of rainforest currently on fire were recently slated for logging by Indonesia’s minister of forestry, MS Kaban,” Mr Maitar said, adding that Greenpeace asked the country’s corruption commission to investigate why this had happened.
Lawyers representing the minister have demanded the withdrawal of the complaint and threatened Greenpeace with legal action.
But the global environmental campaigning group has refused to withdraw the dossier it lodged with the commission.
Greenpeace called on EU heads of government meeting in Brussels this week to “repay their carbon debt” by providing $40 billion (€28.6 million) a year in aid for countries like Indonesia to protect rainforests as the world’s most important “carbon sinks”.
