Wednesday, October 31, 2012


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,

Save Our Borneo,