JakartaPost-Dec 31, 2024
President Prabowo Subianto has said Indonesia should develop more palm oil plantations and should not be concerned about deforestation accusations from other countries. He urged all governors, regents, government officials, police and military personnel to safeguard the country’s oil palm plantations, saying they were key national assets. “I think, in the future, we also have to increase palm oil plantations. We don’t have to be afraid of endangering, what is it called, deforestation, right?” Prabowo said in his opening remarks during the 2025-2029 National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN) conference on Monday. A nationwide moratorium on new oil palm plantations began in late 2018 and ended in 2021 amid international pressure to limit deforestation and the loss of biodiversity in the country. The Office of the Coordinating Economic Minister, however, said on Nov. 18 that the policy remained in place and claimed no new land had been cleared for oil palms. Prabowo said Indonesia’s crude palm oil (CPO) played a critical role in global markets and claimed many countries were worried about losing access to it despite criticism related to deforestation. He said European countries attempting to implement the EU Deforestation-Free Regulation (EUDR) would be hurt by their own policies, as products from food to cosmetics still relied on CPO as a raw material. The EUDR, initially scheduled to come into force on Monday, requires exporters of palm oil and other commodities to prove that their products are not sourced from deforested land, including by providing geolocation data as evidence. The EU has reached an agreement to delay the regulation’s enforcement by a year. Prabowo also claimed that accusations of deforestation were unfounded as oil palms were also trees. “They have leaves that release oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide, right? How can they accuse us [of deforestation]?” he said. It was not the first time Prabowo has defended Indonesia’s palm oil industry. At a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in July, he said the EU embargo on Indonesian palm oil products was “a blessing in disguise”, as it could strengthen the country’s energy self-sufficiency. Read more at:
https://www.thejakartapost.com/business/2024/12/31/prabowo-wants-more-palm-oil-plantations-says-not-to-fear-deforestation.html
