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DTE's quarterly newsletter provides information on ecological justice in Indonesia.

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DTE publications

The Tangguh gas project: Indonesia's biggest FDI project

Down to Earth No 69 May 2006

Investors:
The British company BP holds the biggest share (37.16%) along with Japanese and Chinese shareholders.

Investments:
Tangguh is expected to cost around US$5.5 billion, with $2bn covered by BP and partners and $3-3.5bn through loans. This will be Indonesia's biggest FDI project since the the economic crash of 1997. In December last year, the ADB voted to contribute $350 million towards the project, despite protests from Indonesian and international NGOs.

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?

DTE newsletter 68 - February 2006 - full edition for download

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Communities challenge palm oil industry promises of sustainability

Down to Earth No 68 February 2006

After a year of negotiations and pressure from Indonesian and international civil society groups, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) accepted the Principles & Criteria drafted by its working group at its meeting in Singapore on 22 - 23 November 2005.