PERMITTING CRIME: HOW PALM OIL EXPANSION DRIVES ILLEGAL LOGGING IN INDONESIA- Press Conference

Tuesday, December 16, 2014/ 11am WIB (4am GMT)/ at Seribu Rasa Restaurant, Jl. Haji Agus Salim 128, Menteng, Jakarta Pusat, Indonesia

A new report by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), Permitting Crime: How Palm Oil Expansion Drives Illegal Logging in Indonesia, reveals how widespread illegality and corruption in oil palm plantation licensing in Indonesia is producing large volumes of illegal timber from clear-cut deforestation authorised under IPK (Izin Pemanfaatan Kayu) permits.

Government records have likely understated such timber production by at least 40 million cubic meters from 2000-10 and the problem persists.

The Government of Indonesia’s flagship forestry and timber trade reforms, notably the SVLK (Sistem Verifikasi Legalitas Kayu), have completely failed to address the issue – despite underpinning a bilateral trade agreement with the European Union.

Permitting Crime: How Palm Oil Expansion Drives Illegal Logging in Indonesia will be released at the press conference.

The report features detailed case studies exposing named companies, directors, owners and operators of rogue palm oil firms in Central Kalimantan and highlights weaknesses in Indonesia’s anti-illegal logging regime in a bid to pressure the Government into enforcing its own laws.