The Jakarta Post
JAKARTA: Greenomics Indonesia, a leading NGO on forestry issues, lambasted Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan for issuing a new decree on Dec. 31, which would pave the way for 44 companies to get new forestry licenses.The decree was issued just a day before the government planned to impose a moratorium on new permits both in natural forests and peatlands as stipulated under the climate deal between Indonesia and Norway.“It is reasonable to assume the decree was intended to save 44 companies from having to comply with the moratorium regulations,” Greenomics’ executive director Elfian Effendi said in a statement made available to The Jakarta Post on Thursday.He said that with the new decree, the licenses for the 44 plantation firms could be processed although the moratorium would be applied this year.The 44 companies applied for permits for a total area of 2.9 million hectares, most of...