Oil Palm Background
Oil Palm and Human Rights
LifeMosaic: Oil Palm Work
Losing Ground report
‘Palmed Off’ advocacy film
‘Maju atau Mundur’ community film
Community Quotes
By 2012, palm oil is forecast to be the world’s most produced, consumed and internationally traded edible oil. Almost all palm oil (87% in 2006) is grown as an industrial plantation crop in Indonesia and Malaysia. The fastest rate of expansion is occurring in Indonesia. In early 2008, Indonesia already had a reported 7.3 million hectares of land under oil palm. and a further 20 million hectares of plantations are planned by 2020.
Oil palm plantations have been identified as a major contributor to rainforest destruction and associated pressures on species such as the orang-utan. In the decade between 1992 and 2003 orang-utan habitat declined by 5.5 million hectares, while the plantation area across Borneo and Sumatra increased by almost 4.7 million hectares. Oil palm plantation expansion is also known to contribute to forest fires and to the drying out of tropical peat-lands, which has been identified as a major contributing factor to global CO2 emissions.
It is increasingly apparent that expanding oil palm plantations lead to severe social impacts. About 60 million people in Indonesia are dependent on forests and forest products for their livelihoods. Most of the land that is intended for oil palm plantations is also the land on which indigenous peoples have lived since time immemorial.
However, the complexities of Indonesian laws mean that most of the customary lands of indigenous groups are considered under national law to be state land. When companies wish to set up new oil palm plantations they are given permits from the government. Oil palm expansion in Indonesia is a form of massive expropriation where the notion of the ‘public good’ is invoked as an excuse for the transfer from communal land tenure to private company control.
Although the state does not recognise community rights over land, companies nevertheless try to convince communities to relinquish any claims to the land, in order to secure their own financial investment and avoid civil conflict. Companies make promises to communities in the form of jobs, smallholdings and infrastructural development – and often do not fulfil these promises.
Remote communities often receive information only from the oil palm companies and from government officials who personally stand to gain from the plantations. Communities have little idea of the negative impacts of oil palm plantations, which include:
· The loss of forest resources that support their livelihoods
· Job insecurity and low wages on plantations
· Huge debts incurred by those who are ‘given’ smallholdings in plantation schemes.
· The loss of the material basis of indigenous culture.
· Water shortages from plantation establishment, especially forest clearance, and drainage
· Water pollution associated with oil palm mills and heavy pesticide and fertiliser use.
· The loss of communities’ ancestral domains to the state and to the companies.
· A rise in horizontal and vertical social conflicts.
Since 2006, LifeMosaic has coordinated a project on the human rights impacts of oil palm plantations in Indonesia, working in close partnership with Friends of the Earth and Sawit Watch. We have produced a one hour community film, a facilitators guide, an advocacy film, and a report into human rights impacts of oil palm expansion. Resources were based on testimonies from 20 communities impacted by plantation expansion across Indonesia. LifeMosaic coordinated the dissemination of the community film – through 20 partner NGO’s and by training community facilitators – to over one thousand communities across Indonesia.
‘Losing Ground – The human rights impacts of oil palm expansion in Indonesia’ by Sawit Watch, Friends of the Earth and LifeMosaic released on 11 February 2008. This report shows how Indonesian government policies and palm oil industry practices are harming the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities.
Losing Ground Executive Summary
Losing Ground Full Report
Local Economics (4mins 53)Water (3mins 52)Culture (3mins 05)Land and Conflict (4mins 30)
Moving Forward (2mins 05)
‘Maju atau Mundur’ community film
‘Maju atau Mundur: Suara dari Perkebunan Sawit’ (‘Moving forwards or losing ground: Voices from the Oil Palm plantations’) is a 1 hour educational film made with 20 indigenous communities who have experienced the impacts of oil palm plantations. The film aims to help community members in oil palm plantations or plantation expansion areas to make informed decisions on the future uses of their ancestral lands.
· Part I focuses on the impacts of oil palm and contains an Introduction, and chapters on Local Economics, Farming Systems, Water, Culture, Land and Conflict.
· Part II contains chapters on Community-Led Alternatives and Community Tactics for accepting or refusing oil palm.
‘Maju atau Mundur’ is now being distributed to thousands of communities in oil palm expansion areas across Indonesia, as well as being dubbed and distributed to communities in the Philippines.
Language: Bahasa Indonesia
Maju atau Mundur is not a present available in other languages. Enquiries about making use of the film in other countries should be aware that dubbing would be required.
Credit Union Leader, Indonesia
“If you join the oil palm plantation, you will live happily and comfortably. Instead of smoking the [cheap] Cakra cigarettes you will be able to smoke [the more expensive] Surya. Drink Coca-Cola instead of water. Your children can study in the USA. That is the kind of promises they make to attract those who do not understand the truth about oil palm plantations.”
Oil Palm Farmer, Indonesia
“It used to be easy for us to find roots in the forest for use in traditional medicines, but now it is difficult, now there aren’t any. Now that the forest is gone, all of that has disappeared. We also used to grow all sorts of crops. Now it has become impossible. The oil palm roots are everywhere, nothing grows.”
Rubber Farmer, Indonesia
“We can tap rubber trees early in the morning, and by 10 o’clock we are relaxed and back home. In the afternoon we can go to the fields. Compared to oil palm, this is much easier. In the oil palm plantation we become servants for rich people.”
Oil Palm Farmer, Indonesia
“He said this was State land and we had to hand it over. This is about the rights of the State, not your rights. No matter whether it was the land where we grew our crops, built our houses or used as homegardens, it was state land and they were going to take it. They threatened that if we opposed this, they would put us into jail. We felt helpless as small people and were afraid of the green and yellow uniforms, so we gave up. But I asked: what is to become of us, who live here, if all the land is converted into a plantation?”
Community Leader, Indonesia
“The problem with this waste is that up to a distance of approximately 7 km it kills all the fish in the river. We cannot even use it for washing ourselves. If we do, we get skin diseases, ulcers and itching.”
Community Member in Plantation Area, Indonesia
“Of course I am sad, how could I not be. Our graves used to be sheltered by large forest trees, now oil palm is all there is. Suddenly everything was destroyed to make way for oil palm. How could we not be sad?”
Village Leader, Indonesia
“He asked me if I had a land ownership certificate and I answered that every durian tree is a certificate, every tengkawang tree is a certificate and every rubber tree is a certificate. I am indigenous from here. My ancestors looked after and defended this land and so will we. I do not want outsiders to disturb us. We will not allow any companies to establish plantations on our land.”
