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The booming of palms in Riau is a beautiful dream of the economics. But, this creates a nightmare for the social and environmental life. Sustainable palm plantation scheme becomes an inevitable challenge.

Mursyid Muhammad Ali looked really upset. Head of the Kuala Cenaku Village, Kuala Cenaku District, Indragiri Hulu Regency, Riau, welcomed me with a cold face. His thick moustache even discouraged me more.

“There had been many journalists who came from Sumatra, Java, Jakarta, and even Japan, the Netherlands, America and German. NGOs from inside and outside the countries also came here repeatedly. But forest fires keep blazing. Every year, things are like that,” his harsh statement opened our conversation. Due to smokes in a big fire last July, added Mursyid, at least 12 children in his village suffered from prolonged respiration problems and serious fever.

“I have complained with the police, sending a letter to the Regent, complaining to the Regional Council, to the Ministry of the Environment, but there has been no solution,” he continued in a rising voice, while spitting out rude words now and then.

For a while, I remained silent. Then he went to the back of his wooden house. The floor cracked every time he stepped on it. A moment later, he returned with a pile of papers. There were various things: from newspapers clippings about forest fires in his village and news reports with his quotations to maps and documents, letters of call and letters of protest he wrote to the regional elites.

Mursyid then told about the problems of forest and land in Kuala Cenaku. According to him, forest fire is only an impact of the real problem, which is more serious: land acquirement —including adat or customary land—by two big palm estate companies operating there.

From a total of 7,820 hectares of customary land in Kuala Cenaku and Kuala Mulia villages, Mursyid claimed that some 4.000 hectares land has been acquired.

“If they want to make partnership with the community, like what happen with other plantations, we can still accept (them). What’s more, isn’t making partnership with locals one of the requirements to get a plantation business permit? None of the employees is a local. All are newcomers,” he said.

I then brought up the issue of the village support fund provided by the companies as “compensation” for their land, amounting to between Rp 175 million to Rp 300 million for each village affected by the company estate concession. There were at least three affected districts: Seberida district (Paya Rumbai, Kelesa, and Pangkalan Kasai villages), Batang Gansal district (Belimbing, Ringin and Penyaguan villages) and Kuala Cenaku district (Kuala Cenaku and Kuala Mulia villages).

“Such amount of money was divided to many families, how much (did we get)? Kuala Cenaku village alone has about 1,557 families, just count by yourself how much we got.”

In the near future, according to Mursyid, all residents would stage a demonstration at the regent’s office to fight for their right. “We just want them to return the land to us as the authorized owners.”

A more extreme attitude was shown by Bahtrim, resident of a village four hour drive from Pekanbaru. “The residents had negotiated appropriately, but they did not take any heed. So, don’t blame us if we burn down their palm plantations,” he said furiously.

The people made not only a violence threat but also a political threat; if they do not get their land back, they would not support the incumbent regent who would be a candidate in the coming gubernatorial election.

IT still rained when we, photographer Dwi Oblo, two colleagues from WWF Ican and Sammy, Bahtrim and I passed along Cenaku river, in Kuala Cenaku village.

We were onboard on a boat in silence. Only the roar of the engine and the splash of the water that was heard now and then breaking the stillness. From a tree at the river edge, a long tailed monkey made a noise as if it called us.

But we know for sure that this was not a leisure trip. We were going to visit the location in the forest which caught fire in July in what was regarded as the biggest fire along the history of Riau. The village chief’s words had made me curious to see with my own eyes the condition of the burned land.

After the boat was tied up, I stepped on the wet peat land. The blackened logs made the area like a sea of charcoals. As far as the eye could see, what I saw were only burned fell tree branches. I could still breathe the thin smokes.

Information about the width of the forest that was on fire varied. I could understand because it must be difficult to estimate such vast land. But Bahtrim and several residents estimated that it was between 1,600 and 2,000 hectares. That was almost half of the land in Kuala Cenaku village.

As I had predicted, and like the information from the village chief, the peat land was burned to open palm estates. I saw new palm trees of about 60 cm high planted on 1×1 meter holes at the depth of about 2 meters. The planting activities took place two months after the fire was extinguished.

A canal about 4 meters wide halved the burnt area. According to Yumiko Uryu, a Japanese environmental analyst I met later in WWF office in Pekanbaru, that kind of canal was a must in a peat land area which would be converted into a new palm estate. The canal had the function as a drain to “pull” the water content inside the peat land. Besides, such canals apparently are also used to transport illegally-cut logs from the forest that would be converted as an estate. So, it is like to kill two birds with one stone.

This conformed what I found in the field. In the canal, logs were floating. The logs were arranged in two lines. Each log had a diameter of between 30 and 50 centimeters and about five meter long. I estimated the logs made lines of more than 300 meters long.

While I was observing the logs, a young man approached. I was a bit surprised. He was bare-chested. His name was Ijul, a local. The 22-year-old man admitted that he was the one who cut down the trees, flowing the logs through the canal and then brought them to the broker who would measure and buy them. “Before the companies get them, it would be better for us to take them. What’s more, the land is in dispute,” he said as if there was nothing wrong with what he did.

Ijul was not alone. There were five of his friends who helped him. The fencing company, a plywood manufacturer, bought the illegal logs from Ijul and his team for Rp 110,000 per cubic meter for mixed logs, and Rp 120,000 for meranti (like mahogany, Shorea spp). I tried to count them: about 150 logs, comprising of meranti and mixed logs. They were about 80 cubic meters. Meaning that if divided by six, each would receive Rp 1.6 million. “But it was the result of two-month working, bro,” Ijul added quickly.

“Not to mention the illegal levies for Mobile Brigade officers and the company plantation’s supervisors, each received Rp 4,000 for each log. And when we arrived at the downstream, we should give the police tips of varied amount,” he added.

He continued, “Rather than working in a company for Rp 25,000 a day, this is a better job,” he ended the conversation and went away.

I don’t know how many “Ijuls” were there in the village or other villages. What’s clear, the existence of illegal loggers within the rapid conversion of the forest into palm plantations and other industrial estates by companies actually weakens the position of the people themselves. Their struggle to get back the adat land amidst illegal logging activities conducted by the locals would make things become more difficult.

But the illegal loggers claimed they had no choice. Anto and Sijon, members of Ijul’s team, had the same excuse, which was almost classical: “It’s difficult to find a job here.”

WE HAD to go through a rough field to reach the house of Patih (Governor) Laman, head of the Talang Mamak tribe, one of the original Malay tribes in Riau who still survive until today.

The hilly landscape, added with the damaged road that was slippery after it rained forced our double-gear vehicle had to stop repeatedly.

We were here to find out news about the plan to “sell” a part of the adat land from Talang Mamak tribe to PT. Mega Nusa Inti Sawit (MNIS) which would expand their palm estate.

The kampong of Talang Mamak tribe was at the mountainous area in Sungai Ekok of Durian Cacar Village, Rakit Kulim District, Indragiri Hulu Regency. Sungai Ekok is a new village, after being separated from the main village of Durian Cacar. Besides in Durian Cacar, people of the Talang Mamak tribe spread in four districts, i.e. Batang Gansal, Cenaku, Kelayang, and Rengat Barat.

If you want to reach the location in a common four-wheel drive, you have to change your vehicle in the middle of Durian Cacar village with a double-gear car, or take a motorcycle instead. Because half an hour later, the road would not be friendly at all.

The house of Patih Laman was a stilt house, looked like betang (long house) in Kalimantan, but it was shorter. Four families of the children and grandchildren of Patih Laman live there.

Patih Laman (“patih” is the highest position in the Talang Mamak adat structure, while Laman is his real name) was affectionately just called “Mamak” by the residents. He was 86 years old, but Mamak claimed that he was still strong in farming. Manggalo (cassava), paddy, and rubber were the main sources of products for Mamak and some 46 families in Sungai Ekok village.

The smokes of rolled cigarette kept puffing from Mamak’s mouth and nose during our conversation. He had a broad horizon, his words were sharp but comprehensive. In front of the Regent, according to Mamak, he once said this: “Talang Mamak village is not an under developed village, but it was left behind!” For me, that is enough to show that he was a brave man.

His face became serious when I asked about the sale of some of the residents’ land to palm estate company PT. MNIS. “I only followed the wish of the people. They agreed, I agreed,” said the winner of a Kalpataru environmental award during Megawati’s administration.

But this does not mean that he did not make any effort to defend their land. Negotiation between the company and the patih and the residents’ representatives was tough. Mamak had come to Jakarta and Pekanbaru to meet the company’s management to find the best solution. The final agreement, residents agreed to sell a total of 800 hectares land outside the 1,000 hectare protected forest, under the scheme of pancung alas (share division based on the tradition) 70:30; 70 for the company, 30 for the residents. Meaning, despite the sale, the residents would still have the right to 30% of the land (about 240 hectares). Upon the condition that the land would be cultivated as a palm plantation under a partnership scheme.

I got different information from the company, Wisnu Oryza, Manager of Document and License PT. MNIS, said that what the company did was providing compensation, not buying. “What’s more, the one who first asked for cooperation in cultivating the land was their party. We happened to look for land for the development of our palm processing plant,” he said. The land was not 800 hectares as mentioned by Mamak, but 500 hectares with about 150 hectares cultivated by the people themselves. What Wisnu also emphasized was that the land belonging to the Talang Mamak tribe could be converted. “Not adat forest like what certain parties claimed,” he said.

According to Samsul Komar from Forest Crime Unit of WWF Riau, who is affectionately called Ican, the 30 % of the land would not be given to the people for free. “Usually people had to pay the land in installment with the yields of the palm plantation,” he explained.

But Wisnu denied this. The installment payment was not to buy land, but for the palm investment (plant investment credit) facilitated by the company. “All plantation companies anywhere do the same thing,” Wisnu said.

If this agreement is effective without any hindrance, for the second time, Talang Mamak would be “set aside” by the development of the plantation. In 1970s, they were forced to move from their original residence at the foot of the hill as forest concession holders were coming. Now, not only they have to go, they would also lose their land. But looking at how Mamak reacted to his partnership with the company, he looked satisfied enough.

However not all adat elder within Talang Mamak tribes approved this sale. Patih Laman knew it. Several batin (one level below patih) of this tribe strongly opposed on the ground that the adat land should belong to the traditional communities for good. Batin Mayor was mentioned as an adat elder who strongly opposed it. Unfortunately, when I wanted to see him in his house he was away.

Patih Laman’s decision also resulted in dissatisfactory which led to the emergence of “new patih” with their own followers. There are at least four patih now. While the Talang Mamak adat system only recognizes one patih. But until today, this issue does not create significant horizontal conflicts.

According to Wisnu, there were “patih” who had the heart to sell the community’s land to newcomers who came to settle in the area under the government resettlement program. “He offered them land in the area where we have cooperation with the residents of Sungai Elok Village. While his patih status is also questionable. We have an official letter saying that his patih status is not recognized,” explained Wisnu.

Annuardi, a unit head at the District Office at the Kilan Village, one of the closest villages to Talang Mamak kampong, did not oppose the sale of Talang Mamak tribe’s land. But he regretted the small portion of land received by the residents. The former tiger hunter whose life is close to Talang Mamak tribe said that the portion should be increased to 50 percent, or at least 40 percent.

“But what can I do? Because from the very beginning I was not involved,” said the father of two.

Annuardi admitted that the yield of palm plantations was quite attractive. “The newcomers from Java lead a good life here. From palm plantations, their economics improved drastically,” he said, adding that their life used to be miserable.

“The government provided them land supposed to be planted with crops. But crops could not grow here, which made them frustrated. Until finally the palm estate company came, which changed their fortune by 180 degrees,” explained Annuardi.

The newcomers’ success has in some ways led to social jealousy among the native residents, who are used to sap rubber and grow paddy in the fields.

Native villagers in Riau do not really like growing palms. While they do not have a long history with palms, the complicated way to keep the plants growing becomes an obstacle. Besides, the expansion of newcomers (other than those coming from Java under the government’s resettlement program), for example those from North Sumatra, seems to marginalize the native residents.

THE EXPANSION of palm estate plantation, the opening of forest for industrial estates by illegally cutting the trees, burning and slashing them, and the clearance of natural forest, has dwindled drastically the closed forest in Riau Province.

In the past 20 years, the natural forest in the province decreased by about 56.8 percent. The average of losses suffered by Riau is about 182,140 hectares of natural forest annually or 15,178 monthly. According to WWF’s data, until the end of 2005, only 2,743,198 hectares forest was left in Riau, or only 33 percent of the land area. From the area which was left, only 10 percent which could become the habitat of elephants, including the land in Tesso Nilo forest block and in Bukit Tigapuluh. As a result, conflicts between elephants and human beings were unavoidable. To reduce the conflict, one of the things that could be done was to make part of Tesso Nilo a national park.

So, based on Decree No. 255/Forestry Minister-II/2004, on July 19, 2004 the establishment of 38,576 hectare Tesso Nio National Park (TNTN) was declared. Administratively, TNTN spread over two areas, Pelalawan and Indragiri Hulu Regencies.

But the history of Tesso Nilo actually has been written on a dark paper. In the journey heading to the park location, Sammy, a communication staff member of WWF Riau told about the history of Tesso Nilo.

Land in Tesso Nilo used to be the land of a forest concession holder (PT Dwi Marta) whose license expired in 2001. The land was then transferred to state-owned forestry company Inhutani IV. After the operation term of Inhutani IV ended in 2003, preparation to make it a national park started. “Meaning, TNTN was established not on pure natural forest, as 50 percent of it had been cleared,” said Sammy. This is already a problem.

What were found later were irregularities in the national park border. “It turned out that, out of the 38,576 hectares, part of it overlapped with 3,000 hectares land cultivated by the acacia concession holder PT. Riaupulp (formerly RAPP) and between 3,000 and 4,000 hectare plantations of PT. Inti Indosawit,” said Sammy.

Settlement of this border line dispute remains unclear until today. Stakeholders repeatedly discussed the matter, trying to find the solution. The Ministry of Forestry has also proposed several alternatives, for example, including the overlapping area into the TNTN, providing the right to cultivate the land to the company upon the condition that the company should find another plot of area as replacement, and several other alternatives. “Until now, there is no decision.”

While the border problem had not been settled, another problem emerged. Data of WWF’s Geographical information system (GIS) in 2006 revealed that trees on about 7,000 hectares of land in TNTN had been cut down by illegal loggers. Some of them opened people’s palm plantations. The last survey showed that the number of squatters in the national park reached 722 families.

Therefore calculation showed that out of 38,576 hectares of land in TNTN, about 14,000 hectares land was no longer appropriate for elephants’ habitat because it was not adequate for their home range. Similar things happened with the tigers’ habitat. “Conflicts with human beings is the main cause of tigers’ death currently. And one of the triggers is the lack of natural forest as their habitat,” said Sunarto, a researcher of tiger ecology. Thus some suggested the expansion of TNTN.

However when the efforts to expand TNTN were being made, weak monitoring of three concession holders operating within the border of TNTN made it more difficult to control the cutting down of trees in the forest. The construction of plantations’ infrastructure such as corridors for the transportation of logs without any tight supervision allowed squatters to get an easy to get into the park.

Finally, what was rampant within the national park and its surrounding area was the sale of land for squatters and the operation of land mafia which involved heads of the village cooperative units. Amidst media spotlight and the government’s strict action against illegal loggers recently, the business of illegal land sale became a “perfect” escape.

ISKANDAR has never had any idea that his life would be like this. The image of tall and slender palm trees appeared in his mind for a moment while someone offered two hectare land to buy. What made him speechless was that he was only asked to pay Rp 2.5 million in advance to get 0.25 hectare of land plus a wooden house. The rest of 1.75 hectares land could be paid in Rp 200,000 monthly installment.

To get Rp 2.5 million, Iskandar and his wife, Ira, must sell their valuables in Belilas Village. In pursue of prosperous life from a two-hectare palm plantation, they must sacrifice, that’s what Iskandar thought.

But, there are two important things the Cianjur-born man did not know. First he did not know that the 0.25 hectare land was part of TNTN area. Second, he had never known the location of the rest of 1.75 hectare land promised by the seller.

Iskandar, who has lived in TNTN area for almost a year, trust the seller because he had a letter signed by batin (adat figure). The letter gave Iskandar the permission to cultivate some hectares of land. “I only thought that if batin had approved, that’s enough,” he said.

Iskandar now lives on the wooden house in the 0.25 hectare land in the TNTN area. Everyday he works in a palm plantation belonging to somebody else. He did not pay the Rp 200,000 installment anymore. He felt that he had been deceived. And so did some 200 other people.

Now they are really confused about where to complain. The problem is, the land where they live on is claimed as part of the Air Hitam Village, Palalawan District, Pelalawan Regency while the land certificate was issued by the Indragiri Hulu Regency. In the past regional head election, they were “forced” to vote in Pelalawan Regency. Practically, they were beaten by two kinds of mafia: land mafia and politics mafia. And Iskandar could only submit to his fate if he is driven away by the TNTN management at any time.

NOW the question is: Should palm estates burden such big, heavy environmental and social sins forever?

Maybe this is the same question that lingers in the mind of Reinier de Man, a business consultant from the Netherlands assigned by WWF six years ago to explore the possibility of sustainable palm plantation scheme.

The result was a series of discussions based on the inauguration meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, August 21-22, 2003, attended by 200 participants from 16 countries. The output of this meeting was the adoption of Statement of Intent (SOI) agreement which was not legally binding to support the sustainable palm plantation development process. Per August 31, 2004, as many as 47 organizations had signed SOI.

Then, a forum known as Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was established and later became the global certification institute for sustainable palm plantation. RSPO was officially established on April 8, 2004 with headquarter in Zurich, Switzerland, and secretariat in Kuala Lumpur.

Indonesia as an important player in crude palm oil industry like it or not must follow the rhythm in the global world. The reason is clear: the market is so critical. RSPO certification becomes a “new ecolabel” because buyers will not buy palm oil which damages the environment and social life.

According to Suhandri, Coordinator of Policy Unit of WWF Riau who is also coordinator of the monitoring program of the conversion of forest to palm plantation, there are at least three aspects that should be fulfilled by a palm estate in order to be categorized as sustainable. First is the environmental aspect. Several questions related to this aspect that should be answered are: is there any population and habitat of wild animals that is threatened? Is the condition of land can be preserved? Can they preserve the biodiversity and other related things? Second, the socio-cultural aspect: is there any native tribe living in the area? Is there any tree or forest considered sacred by the locals and should not be cut down? etc. Third, the economic aspect: do people in surrounding areas rely on the land to make a living?

“At least there were eight criteria, which was then reduced, so that there are 39 articles that must become the foundation for the evaluation in the RSPO certification process,” said Suhandri.

Several parties, especially NGOs, now start to question why the process to build the understanding about those criteria took such a long time, while in other countries things relatively develop faster. So, until today RSPO is regarded as remaining to focus on the discussion and not implementation. Facts in the field showed that none of the plantations fully implemented the RSPO principles. The implementation was rather held up due to the multi-party characteristics. Meanwhile there were a few companies which voluntarily run pilot projects.

I got the chance to look around palm plantation under the RSPO implementation process, i.e. PT. Ivo Mas Tunggal (IMT), a company under Sinar Mas (Simas) group in Kandis Village, Siak District.

Almost like Suhandri, Hendi Hidayat, Senior Supervisor Environmental Department of Simas who took me around also said that biodiversity, environmental issue like the use of chemical fertilizer, and waste management, as well as social issues like the involvement with native tribes were important parameter that must be taken into account in the opening of a plantation.

“We (Simas) clearly have no problem with biodiversity because this plantation was opened about 20 years ago on the land formerly cultivated by a forest concession holder, or APL, not natural forest,” said Hendi.

One of the efforts to preserve the biodiversity and to cope with the negative impacts of palm monoculture is by allowing other plants like bushes, flowers, ferns and others to grow wildly among the palm trees.

Despite all of the explanation about how plantations preserve the environmental aspects or how the welfare of the farmers is, I am more interested in the facts that this company paid great attention to researches. According to Dr. Jean-Pierre Caliman, the French agronomy consultant who has been working with Simas for 11 years, the budget for research allocated by Simas reached 3.5 million dollars a year.

“It happens that the company owner also understands about the importance of research,” he said. The use of predators to prey the pests, like owls to destroy rats, and flowers such as Turnera subulata, Casia tora, and Antigonon to attract fire worms become an alternative to pesticides.

A big homework for this palm estate is probably the solution over methane gas emissions (CH4, one of glass house gases) that comes out from eight waste ponds measuring 175X30 meters each. Caliman admitted that until today there had not been any efforts to measure and handle of this emissions. “We already think about it, and that will become our next priority. It’s only a matter of time.”

Published in National Geographic Indonesia October 2007 edition. Prepared for participation in Blog Action Day.