A coalition of Civil Society groups together with representatives of the Kualan indigenous community in Ketapang, West Kalimantan, reported industrial plantation forest concessionaire PT Mayawana Persada to the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) in Jakarta on Monday, April 29, 2024.
The coalition asked KLHK to revoke PT Mayawana Persada’s license for alleged deforestation of up to 35,000 hectares from a total concession of 136,710 hectares since 2016. PT Mayawana was reported for having allegedly violated Article 1 point 16 of Law No. 32/2009 on Environmental Protection and Management for environmental destruction, including destruction of protected peatlands to orangutan habitat.
The coalition, which consists of Satya Bumi, WALHI Eknas, WALHI West Kalimantan chapter, Satya Bumi, Link-Ar Borneo, Alliance of Indigenous Peoples of the Archipelago (AMAN) West Kalimantan chapter, AMAN Ketapang Utara, Legal Aid Institute (LBH) Pontianak chapter, Greenpeace Indonesia, Forest Watch Indonesia, Pantau Gambut and Independent Forestry Monitoring Network (JPIK), met KLHK representatives at the Manggala Wana Bhakti Building in Jakarta on Monday morning.
During the meeting, they urged the state, in this case KLHK, to revoke PT Mayawana Persada’s license, restore environmental damage caused by the company and pay compensation to affected indigenous peoples.
“Based on the field findings on the existing facts regarding the irresponsible activities of PT Mayawana Persada’s timber plantation, we expect the Indonesian Minister of Environment and Forestry to take firm steps with her authority to revoke the concession permit,” Hendrikus Adam, Executive Director of WALHI West Kalimantan chapter, said after the meeting in Jakarta on Monday.
Meanwhile, Satya Bumi Executive Director Andi Muttaqien said the revocation of PT Mayawana Persada’s license was urgent.
“From 2022 to October 2023 alone, 14,505 hectares of peatlands have been cleared and drained, meaning 797,775 metric tons of CO2 emissions have been released. The potential clearing of 6,268 hectares of forest in the near future will release 344,749 metric tons of emissions. This is why the revocation of PT Mayawana Persada’s license is so urgent,” Andi said on the same occasion.
Prior to submitting the report, the Coalition had held a number of hearings with KLHK on April 25, 2024 and April 26, 2024, followed by the submission of a copy of the report to National Police Commission (Kompolnas). In addition, they also visited the National Human Rights Commission on April 26, 2024 to request protection and restoration of the rights of victims.
The hearings discussed and conveyed new findings of cases of environmental destruction, human rights violations, criminalization of indigenous peoples and alleged involvement of the authorities.
“There were at least three complaint materials that we submitted to Komnas HAM, each related to land grabbing, burning of community huts and granaries, and criminalization” Link-Ar Borneo chairman, Ahmad Syukri, said.
One of the representatives of the Kualan Hilir indigenous community, Tarsisius Fendi Susepi, admitted that until now he had received a report on the land grabbing, burning of huts and granaries, and criminalization.
Fendi, who was present at the Monday meeting, admitted that until now he had received 19 police summonses.
“We got intimidation from the company through the authorities. We see the law is selectively implemented. We hope to be able to meet with the Minister of Environment and Forestry, Siti Nurbaya Abubakar, in order to immediately resolve the Mayawana issue,” Fendi said.
Unfortunately, three attempts by community representatives and the coalition to meet the Minister of Environment and Forestry did not produce any results.
On March 28, 2024, KLHK had actually issued a letter ordering cessation of activity to PT Mayawana Persada (MP). In the letter, PT MP was asked to stop all logging activities in the logged over area (LOA) and focus on planting, among others, in the former logging area.
However, PT MP obviously continues operating until now. In fact, PT Mayawana is known to have cleared land in the peatland hydrological unit (KHG) of Sungai Durian-Sungai Kualan with high conservation value (HCV), which is an orangutan habitat and carbon-rich peatland.
Not only destroying forests and peatlands, PT Mayawana Persada has also destroyed the habitat of various species and cut off animal travel routes. It is ironic that the goal of generating foreign exchange and revenue for the state and region comes at a high and possibly unforeseeable ecological cost.
The presence of PT Mayawana Persada has also caused social conflicts and violated the rights of communities around the concession. The company has flagrantly ignored the fact that the lands and territories over which it has a business license are areas, lands, and forests that have been controlled and utilized by the Kalimantan Indigenous Peoples (Dayak) for generations as a place of life and a source of livelihood for the community.
