Indonesien

After releasing a report accusing pulp and paper companies of crimes against the environment, Greenpeace has faced mounting pressure from local and religious communities seeking its disbandment.

The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) and the Indonesian Churches’ Commission (PGI) have said on separate occasions that the government should outlaw the international environmental organization’s office in Indonesia, alleging that the group’s operations have been funded by money from gambling in the Netherlands.

Mexico and Indonesia signed an agreement on cooperation in forestry, in order to promote strategies and policies for sustainable management of forests for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD +).

Indonesia's forests were cleared at a rate of 1.5 million hectares per year between 2000 and 2009, reports a new satellite-based assessment by Forest Watch Indonesia (FWI), an NGO. Expansion of oil palm and wood-pulp plantations were the biggest drivers of deforestation, yet account for a declining share of the national economy.

SESAOT, Indonesia, Jul 21, 2011 (IPS) - Barbecue fires along the winding trail through the Sesaot forest reserve act as guides for delegates walking to an international forestry conference at a nearby beach resort.

The delicate aroma of skewered dices of meat roasting over open fires wafts over the trail. Women, assisted by their children, are doing brisk business selling the ‘satay’ to the visitors.

Indigenous communities in Central Kalimantan are calling on the government to stop a pilot project to alleviate the destruction of forests amid fears that it would prompt conflicts between local communities.

People living in and around forested areas in the province said they were not adequately informed about the plan and thus confused about Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation or REDD Plus.