[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 39 (Thursday, March 5, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2822-S2823]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     PROTECTING INDONESIA'S FORESTS

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, at a time when the world seems to finally 
be speaking in one voice about the need for dramatic action to stop 
global warming, an article in the Jakarta Post on February 13 reminds 
us that many difficult obstacles lie ahead.
  It is well known that Indonesia's forests, and particularly its peat 
swamps, store huge amounts of carbon. When the trees from these areas 
are cut and burned, which is happening due to illegal logging and to 
make way for the cultivation of oil palm, they emit even larger amounts 
of carbon into the atmosphere.
  These forests are also home to one of the world's four species of 
endangered great apes, the orangutan, whose survival in the wild is far 
from certain.
  President Yudhoyono has spoken of the importance of protecting the 
habitat of the orangutan. The U.S. Agency for International Development 
has been supporting this effort for years, and it is finally beginning 
to show results. It is focused on improving law enforcement and 
addressing the economic needs of the people living in areas of Borneo 
and Sumatra where the orangutans live, so they do not cut down the 
forests.
  While illegal logging remains a problem in Indonesia, it is less of 
one than it was not long ago thanks to President Yudhoyono's 
government. What looms as potentially an even greater threat to the 
orangutan, and to climate change, is the expansion of oil palm 
plantations.
  The Jakarta Post article says Indonesia's Minister of Agriculture 
plans to permit the cultivation of oil palm in millions of hectares of 
peat swamps. The article indicates that the Minister appears to believe 
that this would not contribute to global warming because while cutting 
the peat forests would result in emissions of greenhouse gases, oil 
palm trees would absorb carbon.
  As convenient as that might sound, it defies both logic and science. 
Indonesia is already among the largest emitters of carbon in the world 
and the peat swamps are the primary cause. Any significant expansion of 
cutting and burning of peat forests would contribute to climate change. 
It would put Indonesia on the wrong side of an issue of critical, 
global importance at a time when it should be setting an example for 
responsible forest management. It would put Indonesia on the wrong side 
of history.
  The United States deserves its share of criticism for consuming, and 
wasting, vast amounts of fossil fuels and being a major contributor to 
global warming. Many years have been squandered debating whether human 
development is a significant cause of climate change, even though the 
overwhelming view of scientists is that it is.
  Fortunately, we are past that point. Today there is almost universal 
recognition that we must act together, and urgently, to stop the 
destruction of forests and the wasteful use of energy that contribute 
to climate change.

[[Page S2823]]

President Obama has made clear that he intends to make this issue a 
priority and invest in alternative energy technologies that do not emit 
greenhouse gases.
  Indonesia, like Brazil and Central Africa, is fortunate to possess 
among the last significant expanses of tropical forests on Earth. The 
example set by President Yudhoyono and his government will profoundly 
affect the lives of people everywhere, as well as future generations. I 
join those in the environmental and scientific communities in urging 
the Minister of Agriculture to reconsider his position.
  Finally, it is important to note that American companies are among 
those that import Indonesian palm oil. China and Singapore are other 
major importers. They should consider the consequences of using a 
product that is produced in a manner that causes serious harm to the 
environment. It is time for corporate America to review its 
manufacturing and marketing practices to ensure they are consistent 
with our collective responsibility to stop global warming.
  I ask unanimous consent to have the Jakarta Post article printed in 
the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                 [From the Jakarta Post, Feb. 13, 2009]

                   Govt To Allow Peatland Plantations

                        (By Adianto P. Simamora)

       The Agriculture Ministry will issue a decree to allow 
     businesses to dig up the country's millions of hectares of 
     peatland for oil palm plantations.
       Gatot Irianto, the ministry's head of research and 
     development, said his office was currently drafting a 
     ministerial decree that would explain in detail the mechanism 
     to turn the peatland areas into oil palm plantations, a move 
     that many say will further damage the country's environment.
       ``We still need land for oil palm plantations. We must be 
     honest: the sector has been the main driver for the people's 
     economy,'' he said Thursday on the sidelines of a discussion 
     about adaptation in agriculture, organized by the National 
     Commission on Climate Change.
       The draft decree is expected to go into force this year.
       ``We've discussed the draft with stakeholders, including 
     hard-line activists, to convince them that converting 
     peatland is safe,'' he said.
       ``We promise to promote eco-friendly management to ward off 
     complaints from overseas buyers and international 
     communities.''
       Indonesia is currently the world's largest crude palm oil 
     (CPO) producer, and is expected to produce about 19.5 million 
     tons this year.
       Overseas buyers, however, have complained about Indonesia's 
     CPO products, saying they are produced at the expense of the 
     environment.
       Activists point to the massive expansions of plantations, 
     including in peatlands, for the deaths of large numbers of 
     orangutans in Kalimantan and Sumatra and for releasing huge 
     amounts of carbon emissions into the atmosphere.
       Indonesia has about 20 million hectares of dense, black 
     tropical peat swamps--formed when vegetation rots--that are 
     natural carbon storage sinks.
       A hectare of peatland can store between 3,400 and 4,000 
     tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), but emits a much 
     larger amount when burned.
       Asked about the contribution to global warming, Gatot said 
     trees planted in peatlands would absorb greenhouse gas 
     emissions.
       ``The peatland will produce emissions only in the opening 
     of the land, but this will be reabsorbed after new trees are 
     planted,'' he said.
       However, a World Bank report from 2007 showed Indonesia was 
     the world's third biggest carbon emitter after the US and 
     China, thanks mainly to the burning of peatlands.
       A Wetlands International report from 2006 said Indonesia's 
     peatlands emitted around 2 billion tons of CO2 a year, far 
     higher than the country's emissions from energy, agriculture 
     and waste, which together amount to only 451 million tons.
       The country would have ranked 20th in the global carbon 
     emitter list if emissions from peatlands were not counted.
       The ministerial decree is being drafted at a time when 
     President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is still preparing a 
     decree on peatland management in an effort to help combat 
     global warming.
       The draft of the presidential decree, drawn up in 2007, 
     calls for tightened supervision on the use of peatlands 
     across the country.

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