WWF warns govt over new plantation areas

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Global conservation organization World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has warned the government that establishing the world's largest oil palm plantation in Kalimantan could have disastrous consequences for the area's ecosystem.

"Opening a large-scale plantation there could have a devastating impact on the forests, wildlife and indigenous people of Borneo," a WWF media statement said on Friday.

Officials from the Indonesian arm of WWF said that the mountainous area earmarked for the US$8 billion plantation was infertile and high terrain, making it impossible to produce high- quality palm fruit.

The organization's document shows that of the 1.8 million hectares planned for the plantation, which will be funded by China, one million hectares are in West Kalimantan and the remaining 800,000 hectares in East Kalimantan.

WWF's Heart of Borneo international coordinator Stuart Chapman said that according to experts, is not recommended that oil palms be planted above 200 meters above sea level because of low productivity at these levels.

"Most of the border area is between 1,000 and 2,000 meters high. Research carried out last year by the Center for International Forestry Research showed that out of 200 sample sites, none were suitable for oil palm cultivation," he said at a media gathering.

WWf program coordinator for forest restoration and threats mitigation Fitrian Ardiansyah said it would be better if the government revived abandoned plantations rather than open a new one.

"Of the 2.3 million hectares of plantation areas in West Kalimantan, 1.5 million hectares are not being cultivated but have been abandoned," he said. "The government could revitalize this area."

WWF's national coordinator of the Heart of Borneo, Bambang Suprianto, said the government should reconsider the plan since 1.24 million hectares of Kalimantan was deforested each year.