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DTE publications

DTE newsletter 69 - May 2006 - full edition for download

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Chinese company plans massive timber operation in Papua

Down to Earth No 69 May 2006

Investor:
State-owned Chinese company, named as China Light.

Investment:
Plan to invest US$1 billion in a timber processing plant and acquiring merbau logs, announced by forestry minister Malam Sambat Kaban in April this year.

Freeport - Rio Tinto: new reports expose impacts

Down to Earth No 69 May 2006

Investors:
Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold Inc., based in New Orleans, USA, and Anglo-Australian multinational mining company Rio Tinto.

Investment:
The Freeport - Rio Tinto joint venture, in which Rio Tinto invested around US$1.7 billion, exploits a massive open-pit gold and copper deposit in West Papua. It is one of the world's largest gold producers. The giant Grasberg mine last year produced 273,900 tonnes of copper, 1,676,000 oz of gold and 3,410,000 oz of silver

Biodiesel and the expansion of oil palm plantations

Down to Earth No 69 May 2006

The new demand for biofuels is putting more pressure on community land.

The future for Papuan forests

Down to Earth No 69 May 2006

Papuan forests are the focus of a power struggle between Jakarta and Jayapura. Legal and illegal logging are causing rampant deforestation, but have also disenfranchised the indigenous population. While a coalition of NGOs is calling for a complete stop to large-scale logging in West Papua, Indonesian and Papuan forestry authorities are trying to work out a new logging policy under Special Autonomy to benefit local livelihoods and manage forests sustainably.

How much is left?

Aceh's forests under more pressure

Down to Earth No 69 May 2006

Forestry minister Kaban issued logging permits to five timber companies in Aceh in March, ending a partial moratorium imposed in 2001. The decision is intended to make more timber available for post-tsunami reconstruction. However, local community organisations and NGOs believe the resumption of large-scale legal operations will further endanger communities and accelerate deforestation.

Widespread opposition

Certification controversy

Down to Earth No 69 May 2006

Parts of two forest concessions, both of which have controversial track records, have been certified. This raises the question of what safeguards on social and environmental sustainability do such partial certifications offer local communities and international consumers? Or are these just pilot projects intended to 'test the water' at the very time Indonesia is trying to increase its credibility on international markets as a source of legal and sustainable timber.