11 May 2006 - Jakarta,
Indonesia - Two major Indonesian oil palm companies
have recently agreed to participate in identifying
and protecting high conservation value forests
(HCVF) in their oil palm concessions in Kalimantan.
Earlier this year, PT Astra
Agro Lestari Tbk., an Indonesia-based oil palm
plantation company signed a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) with WWF-Indonesia to work jointly on assessing,
protecting and managing HCVFs in their oil palm
concession. The concession chosen as pilot area
is located in Kutai Timur in East Kalimantan with
a size of about 14,600 ha.
More recently, PT SMART Tbk.,
another major palm oil producer in Indonesia,
also signed a MoU with WWF-Indonesia to undertake
similar activities in PT SMART’s oil palm concessions.
The areas selected for the joint project are located
in Ketapang in West Kalimantan and in Seruyan
in Central Kalimantan.
Both companies furthermore agreed
to apply the results and lessons-learned of the
HCVF application in their other concessions throughout
Indonesia, and to strengthen the capacity of plantation
staff in HCVF assessment, protection and management.
The projects are a positive
step towards a sustainable development agenda
in Indonesia, mainly in the field of forest protection
and sustainable palm oil.
