It didn’t take long for palm oil producers to respond to Norway’s recently signed US$1 billion grant, given in exchange for a two-year moratorium on any new clearing of Indonesia’s rainforest and peatlands. Association of Palm Oil Producers secretary-general Joko Supriyono urged the government to reassess the planned moratorium, citing that its members were struggling with forest concessions that contained unproductive land not suitable for productive growth. Indonesian Palm Oil Commission executive director Rosediana Suharto went further, noting that developing countries including Indonesia need to prioritize economic development over the environment.

The lines drawn between the environmentalist groups, industry and government are becoming increasingly clearer and could sharpen further going forward. In the middle is the government, trying to maintain a balance between its international commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and its need to attract investment in natural resources to spur economic growth and create jobs. On the sidelines are the silent majority, increasingly urbanized and not sufficiently sensitized to
the impacts of deforestation in Indonesia’s more remote islands.

Most have income levels that barely cover basic sustenance, while those more fortunate are just too few and detached from the issues to make a real difference.