CEO Note: Indonesia’s big step for Nature
By Glenn Hurowitz, Founder and CEO
I’m writing with some very positive news for Nature: Following the terrible floods in Sumatra in December, Indonesian President Prabowo has just taken decisive action to protect forests, people, and wildlife.
He has revoked permits of 28 companies linked to deforestation, including those of North Sumatra Hydro Energy (NSHE) and Agincourt gold mine, a subsidiary of conglomerate Jardine Matheson. Both have been the focus of Mighty Earth and local allies’ campaigns for many years for their deforestation and threats to the survival of the Tapanuli orangutan, the world’s rarest great ape, who fewer than 800 individuals living in an area the size of Los Angeles.The dam sits smack in the middle of the three sub-populations of the Tapanuli orangutan, inhibiting their ability to mingle and breed, essential for the survival of the species. And the Martabe gold mine has kept threatening to expand ever deeper into the orangutans’ habitat.
Other companies whose permits are revoked include subsidiaries of the conglomerate Royal Golden Eagle (RGE), the owner of pulp and paper behemoth APRIL and bioenergy companies.
The next step, one that the Environment and Forest Ministries are already exploring, is how to restore landscapes across Sumatra. Intact orangutan habitat in the Batang Toru ecosystem, for instance, is only at 2% of its former extent. The government has also announced that it is suing six companies including the dam, mine and forestry companies linked to the deadly floods and landslides for damages totaling $284 million.
The Tesso Nillo National Park – an area where Sumatran tigers, orangutans, elephants, and rhinos live side by side – has been more than three-quarters destroyed. While it was not one of the areas impacted by the recent storms, it desperately needs a major restoration effort. Fortunately, that now appears to be underway: nearly 82,000 hectares inside the park have recently been returned to the Ministry of Forestry for restoration.
We also hope this action sets the stage for President Prabowo to re-channel Indonesia’s biggest threat to nature and climate – the Food and Energy Estates. That project has already destroyed more than 75,000 acres, with millions more acres of deforestation planned, and would create exactly the same conditions on an even larger scale as what caused the disaster in Sumatra.
We hope President Prabowo’s wise decision for Sumatra forecasts for at least a pause and reconsideration of the food and energy estates projects. If so, President Prabowo will put Indonesia on a path to becoming the world’s nature and climate superpower.
Towards that end, we dove into action to prepare for President Prabowo’s visit to London this week – a key opportunity for government officials, Members of Parliament, conservationists, media, and others to raise the food estates issue.
We worked behind the scenes with government officials and conservation advocates, and have also published a letter to the editor in the Financial Times:
placed a full-page ad in The Times of London:
…and released a video calling on UK and Indonesian leaders to act now – featuring brand new photos and footage from the Food Estates.
The good news is there are many friends of Papua’s forests and people in the UK. We hope this visit can represent a breakthrough, especially coming on the heels of the positive news from Sumatra.
And we’ll continue to call for action to protect Papua and Indonesia more broadly during a possible trip by President Prabowo to the United States in the coming weeks. Please let us know if you are attending any events or are interested in additional information.
Thanks for all your work and support!
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