Thousands of hectares burnt on land owned by listed Indonesian firms

Jakarta has reported that vast tracts of land, comprising palm oil and pulpwood concessions owned by large listed firms, were ravaged by fires during the Indonesian government's most intense fire season in recent years. The study, conducted jointly by the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) and geomonitoring platform Nusantara Atlas, revealed that 2.88 million hectares of land were scorched from January to October this year, a 35% increase compared to the same period in 2019.

This escalation can be attributed to the extreme weather conditions brought about by the ongoing El Niño phenomenon, coupled with the relentless clearing of forests for industrial-scale palm oil and pulpwood plantations.

While the exact cause of the fires remains undetermined, the study emphasized the risks associated with degraded peatlands and weak fire management practices in rapidly expanding agricultural concessions. It also highlighted the involvement of banks in financing deforestation activities. According to Alex Helan, RAN's research and investigations lead, the focus should be on the entities that drained the peatlands and created the conditions for the fires, rather than questioning who initially ignited them.

The study scrutinized specific instances of fire outbreaks on large holdings, such as the PT Bumi Mekar Hijau pulpwood concession, an exclusive supplier to Singapore's Asia Pulp & Paper (APP). The analysis found that over 14,600 hectares of land were burned on this concession. Similarly, at the PT Kayung Agro Lestari oil palm concession in West Kalimantan, owned by Singapore-listed First Resources, at least 3,742 hectares were affected.

Notably, nearly 2,000 hectares of designated high conservation value forest was destroyed. First Resources, in response to RAN's inquiry, claimed to have adopted a zero-burning policy and implemented fire prevention measures, though they did not provide immediate comment on the study's findings.

The satellite data also pointed to 4,473 hectares of burned areas within an oil palm concession operated by Bumitama Agri, with 88% of the affected land located on peatland, which is highly susceptible to fires. Bumitama declined to comment on the allegations but stated that investigations into the reported incidents were ongoing.

The report concluded by urging banks and investors to attach conditions to their financial support for such risky operations in Indonesia, making access to financing contingent on credible fire prevention measures.