TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:The Forestry Ministry says that investments in the forestry sector have increased despite the implementation of the Oslo moratorium (Norway agreement) this year. In the first semester, 12 companies were granted permits to invest Rp23.95 trillion for six years in Industrial Plantation Concessions (HTI), up from last year’s total of Rp2.63 trillion.
The 12 companies will employ 5,532 workers, higher than last year’s 3,514 workers. However, the land size for the HTI this year is only 373,000 ha, lower than last year’s 405,000 ha.
“We’ve prepared 9 million ha for the HTI from the abandoned 35.9 million ha. The government is working to reduce emissions while still increasing investment,” Forestry Ministry secretary-general Hadi Daryanto said last weekend.
Indonesian Forestry Businessmen Association executive-director, Nanang Rofandi Ahmad, said the high HTI investment was due to price increases. This year, HTI investments on dry land rose to Rp12.5 million per ha from last year’s Rp8 million per ha. Investments on wet land are Rp15 million per ha this year.
The forestry’s downstream industry is being encouraged to take raw materials from HTI. Several downstream companies have bought raw materials for wood from land clearing for forest or non-forest activities. At present, the total HTI area is 4.6 million ha and is expected to be 20 million ha by 2030.
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