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