Prabowo's Statement on Palm Oil May Threaten the Environment, Satya Bumi Says

December 31, 2024 | 11:04 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Environmental campaign organization Satya Bumi criticized President Prabowo Subianto's statement that the expansion of palm oil plantations would have no impact on deforestation. Satya Bumi executive director Andi Muttaqien said that as head of state, Prabowo's statement would be interpreted as a directive to continue expanding land and opening up natural forests, which would damage the environment.

"Our research found that the environmental capacity of the upper cap of oil palm in Indonesia is only 18.15 million hectares. This finding is important considering that the palm oil industry in Indonesia has been over-expanding in the past two decades," Muttaqien said via written message on Tuesday, December 31, 2024.

According to Muttaqien, the results of economic and environmental calculations show the potential for large long-term losses if the palm oil industry's growth is unchecked. Moreover, based on Mapbiomas data from 2018 to 2021, deforestation related to oil palm plantations actually decreased, although it increased in 2022. "But what the government needs to do is intensify, not add more land or cut down natural forests," he said.

Muttaqien said Prabowo's statement contradicted various climate commitments, as well as deforestation control measures that Indonesia has taken. "As a head of state, he actually does not have a proper understanding of deforestation."

The definition of deforestation, Muttaqien said, is not just about barren forests, but also about changing the landscape of protected forests, which are very diverse with biodiversity, so that they can sequester carbon in massive quantities. Tropical rainforests can sequester 7.6 million tons of carbon per year or 15 percent of annual human emissions.

Deforestation, Muttaqien said, is the clearing of natural forests to make way for monoculture plantations such as palm oil plantations. "Monoculture plantations such as oil palm can not only reduce the ability to sequester carbon but also suck up nutrients that are difficult to restore to natural forests," he said.

Although oil palm has leaves and trunks, Muttaqien said, it cannot be equated with natural forest cover. "Oil palm planted on land that comes from clearing natural forests is completely different from the trees in the forest. Natural forests cannot be replaced by oil palm, which is a monoculture," he said.

Earlier, President Prabowo Subianto said the government must increase and expand palm oil plantations. "Don't be afraid of deforestation," Prabowo said in a speech at the National Development Planning Conference (Musrenbang) for the 2025-2029 National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN) on Monday, December 30, 2024.

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