The Fraudulent Acts of Several Palm Oil Plantation Companies Encroaching on Forests in Indonesia
Author: Jacob Ereste
Freelance Journalist
Atlanta’s Notes Nusantara Institute obtained data from various sources that several palm oil plantation companies in Indonesia were identified as having encroached on forests, including protected areas and endangered wildlife habitats in the Rawa Singkil Nature Reserve, Aceh. The Rainforest Action Network (RAN) reported that at least two companies were carrying out illegal forest clearing in protected forest areas which are critical habitats for orangutans, tigers, elephants and orangutans. The palm oil harvest from this protected land was supplied to a well-known company.
Another company — also in Aceh — had a problem because it burned around 1,000 hectares of peat forest in Trifa which is an important habitat for orangutans. The compensation fine was Rp114.3 billion and for forest restoration Rp251.7 billion.
In Riau, there is a palm oil plantation company based in Singapore that has been repeatedly involved in forest burning. In 2001 it was found guilty, and in 2014 its manager had to go to jail for causing the next fire.
In addition, in Riau, which is badly hit, it has a bad reputation for forest fires and encroachment on protected forests, so that in 2013 the company’s membership in the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was revoked. Its owner was once named a suspect in a case related to dirty land conversion.
Meanwhile in Papua, Greenpeace managed to uncover a company from one group carrying out large-scale deforestation, even though the company had previously stated its commitment to no deforestation, which destroyed 21,500 hectares of forest and peatland due to the cunning of this naughty company.
In Papua too, Greenpeace reported that there was a company that was clearing forests on a large scale for oil palm plantations.
Meanwhile in Jambi, there was a palm oil plantation company that was encroaching on forests and evicting land belonging to indigenous peoples. In the end, the company was sold after the case surfaced, because the company had lost face.
The palm oil plantation company that cleared 400 hectares of forest area in Kuap Village has been reported to the Jambi Provincial Forestry Service, but the legal settlement process is still unknown until this report was made.
A report from the Rainforest Action Network and Friends of the Earth stated that one company was involved in forest clearing to the point of conflict with local communities in West Kalimantan. It was also noted that this company carried out forest burning. Even in Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan, Mongabay Indonesia reported that there were two palm oil plantation companies that planted on land that had been burned and on peat land that should have been protected from being used as plantations.
A brief report about the palm oil plantation company that was cunning in encroaching on millions of hectares of protected forest, seemed comfortable and peaceful, it is very strong to suspect that they were playing around with competent officials with forest issues that should not be used as palm oil plantation land in Indonesia. Therefore, the mafia in palm oil plantations is no different from the drug and online gambling mafia that can never be cleaned up from the crimes they commit, so that not only does it harm the state, but the misery from the actions of these mafia gangs is truly much greater and must be borne by the people.
Therefore, the government’s serious attitude is highly expected to be more on the side of the interests of the people, especially the citizens of Indonesia who are most affected by forest encroachment in various regions and places.
Sunter, May 20, 2025
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