Planned plantations may cause losses

The Jakarta Post, Nov 17, 2005:

Planned plantations may cause losses

Anissa S. Febrina, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government's plan to establish the world's largest area of oil

palm plantations, which would also serve as a buffer zone, along the

border between Indonesia and Malaysia on Borneo island will in fact

lead to economic losses, an environmentalist group says.

"If the government carries on with the plan to fell tropical forests

there and give the land over to plantations, it will badly affect the

local economy," Greenomics Indonesia executive director Elfian

Effendi said on Wednesday.

The non-governmental organization estimates that potential losses in

the long run could reach Rp 27 trillion (US$2.7 billion) annually due

to environmental degradation.

According to documents obtained from a consortium of state plantation

firms -- PT Perkebunan Nusantara No. I to XIV -- that have been

obtained by Greenomics, there is a plan to convert 1.8 million

hectares of land to oil palm plantations.

The planting of one million hectares would be funded by Chinese

investors and would be located in West Kalimantan, while the

remaining 800,000 hectares would be located in East Kalimantan.

The overall cost of the project would amount to some US$8 billion.

"The planned plantation would decrease the quality of ecological

support and lead to economic losses in the agricultural, trade,

industry and transportation sectors," Elfian said.

He added that communications would be badly affected as people and

industry in the area were highly dependent on river

transportation. "If rivers are degraded because of the plantation

scheme, people would have difficulties moving their goods."

The problem would later affect trade and industry.

"The conversion of the land will also trigger natural disasters in

the future. If this happens, the local budget that was originally

allocated for the development will have to be reallocated to repair

the damage," he added.

Of 2.3 million hectares of plantation in West Kalimantan, some 1.5

million hectares have been abandoned. Greenomics has suggested that

the abandoned land be revitalized instead of converting conservation