Government To Not Issue Concession Permits For Peatland Areas

Palembang, S Sumatra (Antara)- The government has stopped issuing concession permits for palm oil plantations and industrial plant forests in peatland areas to prevent forest fires in future.

"No more concession permits for palm oil plantations in peatland areas. The government will impose a moratorium," President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) informed the press here on Thursday evening.

The government has, so far, issued concession permits for plantations in peatland areas covering 8.2 million hectares, or an increase of 6.3 million hectares over the past decade.

On the occasion, Jokowi was accompanied by Minister/Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung, Environmental Affairs and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya, and Chief of the Presidential Staff Teten Masduki.

If the current government has to issue permits, it is because the companies have received the certification, and it is not for palm oil but for hardwood such as ramin (Gonystylus) trees as regreening plants.

The president instructed Minister Nurbaya to halt the issuance of forestry and plantation permits and to revise the existing permits in order to prevent future forest fires.

Nurbaya affirmed that plantation companies must completely extinguish the fires in their areas, build water canals, and install fire extinguishing devices.

"They must take responsibility for the fires raging in their areas," she stated. (WDY)