The Indonesian palm oil industry has seen tremendous growth in the past decade. Today, Indonesia is the world’s second largest exporter of palm oil.
JAKARTA, Indonesia (28 April 2011)_Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, Head of the President’s Delivery Unit for Development Monitoring and Oversight and Chair of the REDD+ Task Force today met with leaders from the Indonesian palm oil industry to seek their input on how the Government of Indonesia’s plans for sustainable economic growth can best be aligned with the palm oil industry’s plans for growth and expansion.
“It’s only through sustainable management of natural resources we can achieve the government’s target, with 7% economic growth and 26% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Providing Indonesia’s industry with access to degraded land is a cornerstone of our plans for sustainable economic growth and it’s one of the key areas the REDD+ Taskforce is working on,“ said Kuntoro.
Indonesia has more than 25 million hectares of degraded land. This means sufficient land is available for the future growth of palm oil and forestry industry, even when the most optimistic growth scenarios for thesesectors are taken into account. Palm oil makes a vital contribution to the Indonesian economy, but it’s also an industry where there is clear room for improvement in how resources are managed. A key initiative would be to moveaway from a land use system, where forests are converted for plantations, while degraded land remains unused.
“Sustainability has been a top of mind issue for the Indonesian palm oil industry for a long time. For a number of reasons, degraded land has been extremely difficult to develop and we welcome initiatives from the government that will allow for expansion into these areas,” said Joko Supriono, Secretary General Indonesian Palm Oil Producers Association (GAPKI), who participated in the dialogue.
“If we can work together and make this happen, it will be an important contribution to strengthening the sustainability of Indonesia’s palm oil industry,” added Joko Supriono. Indonesian palm oil industry has seen tremendous growth in the past decade. Today, Indonesia is the world’s second largest exporter of palm oil. More than 3 million people are employed in the Indonesian palm oil industry and palm oil companies currently generate export revenues of around USD 16 billion annually.
“With today’s dialogue we wanted to reach out to Indonesia’s palm oil industry and explain our plans for sustainable economic growth, and most importantly get their input on how we best can incorporate the needs of thepalm oil industry. This is not something that can be done over night, but my message was that the palm oil industry should have confidence in our ability to provide them with access to degraded land for expansion,” said Kuntoro.
The Government of Indonesia recently launched its economic corridor framework, which will be the roadmap for Indonesia’s sustainable economic growth.
It outlines Indonesia’s growth path for the next two decades, with a strong emphasis on infrastructure development in Indonesia’s outer regions. It’s a plan for sustainable economic growth that merge Indonesia’s commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions with clear and actionable steps for achieving strong and sustained economic growth. To achieve sustainable economic growth, the government is also keen on taking a step back to assess the associated impact of development on the country’s natural resources. Indonesia is committed to taking a two-year break duringwhich the government, with input from the private sector, will moderate theimpact of development on our natural resources and find solutions, away from the business as usual approach, to a new development pathway.
For further information, please contact: Aichida Ul-Aflaha Staff for Head of President’s Delivery Unit for Development Monitoring and Oversight
Tel: +62 21 350 0234, +62 21 352 2703 E-mail: aichida.ulaflaha@ukp.go.id
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