NGOs protest planned palm oil factory

NGOs protest planned palm oil factory

PONTIANAK, Central Kalimantan: At least 23 non-governmental
organizations (NGOs), two of them from Malaysia, have demanded
the Indonesian government postpone a plan to develop 1.8 million
hectares of land near with the border with Malaysia for oil palm
plantations.

The areas are located on the border between West Kalimantan
and Sarawakm, and East Kalimantan with Sabah, said the NGOs.

In a press conference in Pontianak, the NGOs said the plan had
to be aborted as it could damage the environment in the areas,
moreover the areas were water catchment areas. The plan, if
materialized, could also damage the ecosystems of the Kapuas and
Mahakam rivers that traverse West and East Kalimantan.

The NGOs are among others from the West Kalimantan's
Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) and Indigenous
People Development Center in Sarawak. -- Antara