Palangkaraya-Indonesia, October , 2012
Special To:
Bundeskanzler
[Mrs. DR. Angela Markel]
In
Berlin-Germany.
Dear Madam,
Save Our Borneo
[SOB] is civil society organization that is located in Palangkaraya-Central.
Its working area covers all Kalimantan.
SOB works is prior the justice and equity principle, respect to all
community’s rights, encourage the fair natural sources distribution especially
all that based on natural sources.
Recently, SOB
concentrate in local community facilitation in struggling the fair natural
sources distribution and their life’s rights where these issues appear because
of natural sources exploitation problems especially forest and land that
massive oil palm expansion in Indonesia particularly in Kalimantan.
Important to be
noticed is that oil palm expansion compulsion at our land (Dayak, Melayu,
Kutai, Banjar, etc) in Kalimantan because of world energy demand and trend of
bio-diesel usage, especially which is consumed by America, East Asia and
Europe, and also consumed by your country – Germany.
We know that
your country have strong commitment in terms of reducing carbon emission and
glasshouse effect, this commitment should be supported by friendly, clean and
accountable energy consumption and food policy.
Crude palm oil
[CPO] for power plant that spread and consume in your country give direct
effect for reforestation, environmental degradation, land robbery owned by
community, manipulation, and corruption in elite level where plantation
investment of oil palm is developed.
Herewith, as
consumers country-if your policy do not boundary and do not arrange strict
regulation on investment and consumption of palm oil then it can be said that
you and your country seriously contribute to reforestation, environmental
disaster, and community’s land robbery, manipulation and corruption as well.
We believe that
you and your country do not really want to contribute to the negative which is
at stated above, but we are realize that your country need energy and food from
palm oil. One thing that we should firmly state that we decline the policy
about fulfilling the energy and food that cause reforestation, environmental
disasters, community’s land grabbing, manipulation and corruption as well.
We seriously
protest and objection on German bank investment to palm oil industry in
Indonesia, we also objection on palm oil consumption for alternative energy
which is claimed as “bio-energy”, because actually oil palm plantation cannot
be said as a environment friendly.
Oil palm
plantation use chemistry ingredients like herbicide, pesticide, fungicide, and
fertilizer. It destroy water and river ecosystem because of CPO mill
waste.
Social impact
will affect to local community whose working area become smaller and narrower
for ethno-agro-forest. As time passing, community’s production tools getting
disappear because of oil palm expansion.
Based on what
mentioned above, once again we assert our protest and objection on investment
and your government policy on oil palm plantation sector and oil palm that
plant in Indonesia, especially in Kalimantan because it create problems of life
and life sources getting harder for communities.
We also
objection on a moment information dissemination that said oil palm is
“bio-fuel”, because actually palm oil is obtained from unfriendly environment
process, full of corruption, Human Rights violations, especially rain tropic
forest in our area.
We wish these
issues would be concern of you and your country on energy policy and decision making
of your country.
Thank you very
much,