Indonesia

Indonesia has great natural wealth but many of its citizens live in extreme poverty. Democratic progress has been made since the resigation of former president Suharto in 1998, but many civil society organisations feel that far too little progress has been made towards sustainable management of the country's resources, and ensuring that Indonesia's diverse communities have a real say in decisions which affect their future.

International mining workshop, Bali

Down to Earth No 53-54 August 2002

Seventy-four representatives of communities affected by mining, NGOs and activists from 15 countries gathered in Bali in May to highlight the industry's abysmal record on human rights and the environment.

Bali PrepCom ends without agreement, NGOs walk out

Down to Earth No 53-54 August 2002

June's preparatory meeting in Bali for the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg (PrepCom IV -WSSD) ended in deadlock with a draft Plan of Action still full of disputed text.

ExxonMobil plays "terrorist" card in Aceh case

Down to Earth No 53-54 August 2002

The world's biggest oil company is fighting a human rights lawsuit by claiming that the case will upset US relations with Indonesia.

Exxon described Indonesia as "a place where al-Quaeda-trained fighters are residing" at an April hearing of International Labor Rights Fund's lawsuit against the company.

The Indonesia-UK MoU on Illegal Logging

Down to Earth No 53-54 August 2002

In April this year the Indonesian and British governments signed an agreement to improve forest law enforcement and to combat illegal logging and the international trade in illegal wood products.

Fires bring "haze" to Sumatra and Kalimantan

Down to Earth No 53-54 August 2002

Choking smoke from fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan has caused respiratory health problems and disrupted transport services in several cities in western Indonesia over the past weeks.

Legal action on forest fires

Down to Earth No 53-54 August 2002

The following is a summary of recent legal action against companies accused of setting fires in their concessions.

Only 5 of the 176 plantation and timber companies accused of burning to clear concession land in 1997 were ever taken to court and only one was found guilty, according to former environment minister Sonny Keraf, speaking in March 2000.¹

A coalition of 13 NGOs and community groups from North Sumatra took legal action against a number of national timber industry associations and thei

APP and debt-financed forest destruction

Down to Earth No 52, February 2002

The highly-indebted pulp and paper group, Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), commissioned an environmental audit in September to allay fears over rainforest destruction in Sumatra.