This milestone report highlights ten years of RAN’s efforts to protect Indonesia’s globally important Leuser Ecosystem. Through desktop research, supply chain investigations, grassroots campaigns and corporate negotiations, RAN has exposed the big brands, including Mondelēz, Procter and Gamble, Nestlé and many others, responsible for the destruction of its biodiverse rainforests and carbon rich peatlands for palm oil expansion. Over years, these efforts have helped turn the Leuser region into a proving ground for responsible palm oil production and landscape-level, multistakeholder conservation initiatives. 

This emerging approach to multistakeholder initiatives in Aceh and North Sumatra brings together national, provincial and local governments, civil society, global brands, palm oil traders and smallholder farmers to work toward long-term solutions for the Leuser Ecosystem, and the local communities that depend on its forests for their livelihoods. It’s a growing, scalable strategy that shows how cooperation can keep forests standing while protecting community rights.

Ten years ago, Rainforest Action Network (RAN) responded to an urgent call from frontline allies in Indonesia. Fires, set illegally to clear land for industrial palm oil, were tearing through the Tripa peat swamp—home to one of the world’s densest populations of critically endangered Sumatran orangutans and other iconic species. The destruction ignited a campaign that would grow into one of the most sustained and strategic rainforest protection efforts in our history: the fight to save the Leuser Ecosystem.

Spanning over 6.5 million acres on the island of Sumatra, the Leuser is the last place on Earth where orangutans, tigers, elephants, and rhinos still coexist in the wild. It’s also a lifeline for millions of people and a globally significant carbon sink. Yet, the ecosystem has long been under siege—from industrial palm oil expansion, illegal logging, and corporate land grabs. RAN’s strategy was clear: expose the culprits, activate public pressure, and force the world’s largest corporations—brands, traders, and banks—to take responsibility.

Read RAN’s report 10 Years in the Leuser Ecosystem: A Rainforest Frontier Driving a New Era of Landscape Conservation, which outlines how RAN’s efforts have helped turn the Leuser region into a proving ground for an innovative approach to landscape conservation that involves investments by big global companies into initiatives that involve governments, civil society and smallholder farmer groups working together to achieve robust forest monitoring, responsible palm oil production, and enduring conservation solutions. The hope is that these emerging initiatives can be a scalable model that can be adapted and applied to other regions in Indonesia and other forest-risk commodity supply chains globally.

The post New Report: Ten Years in the Leuser Ecosystem appeared first on Rainforest Action Network.

RAN’s recent report, Orangutan Capital Under Siege, documenting illegal palm oil development within Indonesia’s nationally protected Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve, presented incontrovertible evidence that major brands like Procter & Gamble, Mondelēz, Nestlé, PepsiCo and Nissin Foods have still not closed the supply chain loopholes allowing tainted Conflict Palm Oil into their global supply chains. Widespread media attention of the November scandal has exposed banks, brands and palm oil traders for their failure to enforce their No deforestation commitments, even after years of repeatedly being presented evidence of their exposure to the destruction. 

RAN’s investigation, involving the use of commissioned satellites to capture unprecedented, high-resolution imagery showing the extent of the palm oil-driven crisis in the ‘orangutan capital of the world,’ has pressured several of the major players in the palm oil sector to admit culpability and offer fresh assurances they will finally, meaningfully address this long-exposed issue. 

RAN’s report called on all brands and traders to stop sourcing illegal palm oil produced within the protected wildlife reserve and to invest in multi stakeholder programs in the province of Aceh and the wider Singkil-Bengkung Trumon region that take immediate actions to address the crisis in this globally important hotspot for biodiversity and carbon sequestration.

There are some positive developments underway, but it is too early to say if these actions will finally, truly, result in an end to illegal deforestation and destruction of carbon rich peat forests that continues to occur at a worrying rate within the protected Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve. Some investigations have begun, and encouraging public responses have been issued by brands and traders exposed in the report. Now the key question is, are the actions taken by global brands–– and the agribusiness traders they source from–– enough to stop palm oil expansion in its tracks or will Conflict Palm Oil continue being used to manufacture products making their way into our homes?

Satellite images of Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve from 2016 and 2024 clearly show massive illegal deforestation spreading into the interior of the reserve.

COMPANY RESPONSES TO THE ORANGUTAN CAPITAL DEFORESTATION SCANDAL

Brands

Procter and Gamble responded to the report with an announcement of a suspension of sourcing from PT. Global Sawit Semesta (PT.GSS) and PT. Aceh Trumon Anugerah Kita (PT. ATAK) ––the two mills involved in the scandal. 

Unilever has had a suspension in place for PT. GSS since the last RAN scandal that caught the palm oil supplier sourcing illegally produced palm oil from inside the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve, but is yet to place PT. ATAK on its public no buy list. In order for these suspensions to be enforced their suppliers need to stop sourcing from the mills exposed in our report. 

Nestlé responded to the press claiming they will investigate our findings but has not yet announced a suspension of the two mills involved in the scandal. 

PepsiCo, Mondelēz and Nissin Foods have all failed to respond publicly despite being exposed for sourcing illegally produced palm oil from their suppliers. 

Nestlé, PepsiCo, and Mondelēz all lack a public grievance list that discloses the actions they are taking in response to their suppliers violations of their No Deforestation, No Peatland and No Exploitation policies.

Traders

Musim Mas, one of the three traders exposed for sourcing illegal palm oil from the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve, was the first to announce a suspension of sourcing from PT. Global Sawit Semesta. Musim Mas states its suspension is due to the mill not providing adequate evidence to clarify the findings in RAN’s investigations. Musim Mas is the only palm oil trader that has a dedicated landscape strategy for Aceh––the Indonesian province where the Leuser Ecosystem is located. In a first for the traders exposed in the report, Musim Mas also issued a new commitment to ‘join coordinated efforts by local, provincial, and central governments, enforcement agencies, NGOs, processors, local mills, and consumer brands to put an end to illegal deforestation in the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve’. This is a positive development that should be followed by its peers that were also exposed––the Royal Golden Eagle Group and Permata Hijau Group. 

The Royal Golden Eagle group––via its palm oil arm Apical–announced a suspension on sourcing from PT. Global Sawit Semesta but continues to refer to a denial that has been issued by the mill claiming that it is not sourcing from the broker UD Daya shown to be sourcing illegal palm in case 1 in the report. Apical has not yet issued a commitment to join collective efforts to stop illegal palm oil expansion in the protected reserve in the district of Aceh Selatan––the epicentre of destruction. Its landscape programs are limited to the neighbouring district of Aceh Singkil. 

Permata Hijau Group also issued a response but has failed to suspend either mill. Instead, the company states it has asked its supplier––PT. Able Commodities Indonesia––to engage with PT. GSS. Permata Hijau has no substantial investments in programs in Aceh that aim to protect the threatened forests of the Leuser Ecosystem, nor has it committed to investing in the establishment of new programs to address the crisis exposed in RAN’s report. 

Wilmar and Golden Agri Resources are two of the world’s largest palm oil producers and traders and both remain at risk of sourcing illegal palm oil from within the reserve from their network of mills in the region. Both have failed to issue a public response to the report. 

Mills

PT. GSS issued denials claiming that it is not sourcing from the broker UD Daya shown to be sourcing illegal palm in case 1 in the report. 

PT. ATAK has made a suite of commitments to clear up its act and a condition of remaining a supplier to Permata Hijau Group. This is the second time it has done so after being exposed as a new mill that lacked adequate traceability, monitoring and compliance systems to ensure it was not souring illegal palm oil from the reserve. PT. ATAK states it will require its suppliers to stop sourcing from illegal plantations mentioned in our report and others located within the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve. It has ‘reenforced’ its commitment to not source from plantations involved in deforestation since 2016 or located within the reserve and states it will hold supplier workshops, establish a grievance handling team and deforestation monitoring system to monitor their supply shed and develop a response protocol to address any instances of non-compliance by suppliers.

Banks

Despite media attention, all banks named in the report––Singapore’s DBS, UOB, and OCBC; French Bank BNP Paribas;  Malaysian banks Maybank and CIMB; Japanese bank MUFG, Rabobank, HSBC and ING––either declined to comment, citing client confidentiality or did not respond. 

PALM OIL COLLABORATION GROUP 

The Palm Oil Collaboration Group has failed to issue a public response to the concerns raised in the report on its development of the ‘Minimal Smallholder Deforestation (MSD)’ approach––a new loophole providing a pathway for untraceable ‘independent smallholder’ volumes of palm oil to be included in public reporting on the fulfillment of “No Deforestation’ commitments.

CONCLUSION

The primary rainforest habitat and carbon-rich peatlands protected within the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve are some of the highest priority forests for conservation on earth. Yet a lack of enforcement of No Deforestation, No Peatland and No Exploitation policies, effective monitoring and due diligence systems, and investment by household name brands is allowing for a death by a thousand cuts that is now quickly, existentially threatening this lush, irreplaceable natural treasure. There is simply no more time for half measures and unfulfilled promises.

More action is clearly needed to stop illegal palm oil tainting global supply chains and to stop the deforestation crisis in the Orangutan Capital of the World. While many of the responses and new commitments resulting from RAN’s latest investigation are encouraging and offer steps in the right direction, the reality is that piecemeal actions suspending individual actors will not by itself solve the underlying, systemic problems this report brings to light. What is urgently needed is genuine commitments, backed up by real investments, to close the loopholes identified and to address these failures in a sustained, transparent manner that includes full traceability to the plantation level and true accountability for all suppliers.

RAN will continue to monitor the situation and work with all parties to seek solutions that address the crisis unfolding in the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve.

The post Real Change in the Leuser or More False Promises? appeared first on Rainforest Action Network.

Apes from Space: Unprecedented Satellite Resolution Allows for Most Detailed Monitoring Ever of the ‘Orangutan Capital of the World’ 

This is the first time that high-resolution imagery of this level has been published, showing the extent of the palm oil development crisis in this region. This level of analysis is not possible using publicly available satellite imagery. It allows for the age of individual oil palms to be determined, indicating whether illegal plantations have been established outside of the compliance dates for the policies of major brands and banks.

Check out the imagery on Forest Frontlines––RAN’s new dedicated watchdog platform and NusantaraAtlas. 

The Key Findings from RAN’s Investigation are: 

• Widespread Illegal Palm Oil Production: 653 hectares (1,613 acres) of illegal palm oil plantations have been established within the Rawa Singkil Wildlife reserve, with 453 hectares (1,117 acres) classified as productive. This suggests that illegal palm oil could already be entering the supply chains of major global brands and traders.
• Impacted Brands and Banks: Major brands implicated include Procter & Gamble, Nestlé, Mondelēz, PepsiCo, and Nissin Foods, alongside banks such as MUFG, Rabobank, and HSBC. These entities risk exposure to illegal palm oil produced insourced from the reserve through their sourcing from, or financing of, traders caught sourcing illegal palm oil. Other banks exposed to further high-risk traders in the region include Singapore’s DBS, UOB, OCBC, BNP Paribas, and Malaysian banks Maybank and CIMB. 
• Increasing Deforestation Rates: Despite its status as a legally protected area in Indonesia, the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve saw a fourfold increase in deforestation between 2021 and 2023. An alarming 74% of total deforestation since 2016 occurred after the EUDR cut-off date of December 31, 2020, indicating a systematic disregard for legal protections and regulatory requirements. The unfolding crisis appears to be a systematic attempt to cause degradation in intact peat forest areas before the conclusion of the national government’s field validation of the reserve boundaries to officially reduce the reserve size and normalize the illegally cleared areas.
• New Loopholes: This investigation documents the rise of a new palm oil ‘laundering’ loophole in which wealthy land speculators use the cover of smallholder farmers to avoid accountability for illegal deforestation.  The evidence presented demonstrates that palm oil remains the main driver of illegal deforestation inside the reserve, and the actors responsible are primarily land speculators, not family-managed smallholder farms.

Global Brands Driving the Palm Oil Deforestation Crisis

Palm oil is being grown illegally inside the nationally protected Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve, and previous exposés published by RAN show that oil has been used to manufacture consumer goods products sold across the world by Procter & Gamble, Nestlé, Mondelēz, Colgate-Palmolive, PepsiCo, Unilever, Kao, and Nissin Foods. In 2019 and again in 2022, the brands named here were found purchasing palm oil from multiple mills that have continued to source palm oil resulting from the illegal clearing of lowland rainforests within the nationally protected Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve. These mills are located immediately next to areas of illegal encroachment into the reserve and, to this day, lack the necessary procedures to trace the location where the palm oil they sell is grown, an essential requirement for complying with the No Deforestation, No Peatlands, No Exploitation (NDPE) policies to which all of these brands have publicly committed.

RAN’s field investigations in September – October 2024 again found evidence that palm oil grown illegally inside the protected Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve is being supplied to a mill repeatedly exposed for sourcing and supplying illegal palm oil. The mill, called PT. Global Sawit Semesta, continues to be listed as a supplier to Procter & Gamble, Nestlé, Mondelēz, PepsiCo, and Nissin Foods. This means these brands are at risk of manufacturing their consumer products using illegal palm oil produced at the expense of the Orangutan Capital of the World.

Major traders Royal Golden Eagle Group (Apical), Musim Mas, Golden Agri Resources (1, 2, 3), Wilmar, and Permata Hijau Group have all confirmed their past sourcing relationships with PT. Global Sawit Semesta (PT. GSS) via published supplier or grievance lists. Apical and Musim Mas have issued reports claiming that PT. GSS has improved its traceability systems and stopped sourcing illegally produced palm oil after being exposed in RAN’s 2022 Carbon Bomb Scandals. PT. GSS also claimed to have put in place a mechanism that traces to the plantation in September 2022. The field investigations, conducted in September – October 2024, outlined in the report show how Royal Golden Eagle Group, Musim Mas, and Permata Hijau are sourcing from PT. Global Sawit Semesta, the same mill previously exposed for sourcing illegal palm oil in 2019 and 2022. This case shows once again that PT. GSS is still sourcing illegal palm oil grown inside the reserve, and the traceability and deforestation-free claims being made by palm oil traders Royal Golden Eagle Group, Musim Mas, and Permata Hijau Group, and global brands like Procter & Gamble, Nestlé, Mondelēz, PepsiCo and Nissin Foods, simply can not be trusted. Permata Hijau was also sourcing from another mill called PT. Aceh Trumon Anugerah Kita, which was caught sourcing illegal palm oil grown in the reserve.

A Way Forward: Collaborative Action Is Needed to Deliver a Solution for the Singkil Bengkung Trumon Region

The global market now demands palm oil free of deforestation, peatland development, and exploitation of communities and workers, especially in global biodiversity hotspots like the Leuser Ecosystem. However, these commitments still need to be adequately implemented on the frontlines of palm oil expansion in the Orangutan Capital of the World in Aceh, Indonesia, where deforestation is increasing. Advancements are needed in the palm oil industry because global brands and their customers remain exposed to illegal sources of Conflict Palm Oil grown by land speculators inside the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve.

Investments are needed in the establishment of multi-stakeholder programs that develop and implement a shared and just vision to protect the lowland rainforests and peatlands of the Singkil-Bengkung region from further destruction. These programs should also diversify economies and drive investments in low-carbon, community-led, small-scale agriculture that respects the rights of communities and smallholder farmers to manage their lands and improve livelihoods. RAN calls on all brands and traders complicit in the Singkil crisis to invest in these programs without delay.

Summary of responses received to our findings 

All banks named in the report either declined to comment, citing client confidentiality or did not respond. Four of the brands, and all five traders, responded regarding their sourcing of illegally produced palm in 2024 from PT. Global Sawit Semesta (PT.GSS) and PT. Aceh Trumon Anugerah Kita (PT. ATAK).

PepsiCo responded saying they have previously logged a case involving PT. GSS via their Agricultural Grievance Mechanism and that the mill is not a direct supplier of PepsiCo. However, the mill is listed in its published palm oil mill list for 2023 and PepsiCo confirmed that RGE (Apical), Musim Mas, and Permata Hijau––the palm oil traders shown to accept illegally produced oil palm from PT. GSS in October 2024––are currently indirect suppliers.

Nestlé responded, saying they would immediately engage with their direct suppliers to investigate the allegations against PT. GSS, and should remedies be needed, they will take the necessary action. Nestle stated that they do not source from PT. ATAK, despite the mill being listed in their most recent palm oil supply disclosure via their sourcing from Wilmar Adani. 

Procter & Gamble responded saying that they have investigated the cases and identified suppliers that were providing palm oil sourced from PT. GSS and PT. ATAK. They stated their suppliers claimed to have already executed suspension on PT. GSS, but given the concerns raised they have issued a suspension of both PT. ATAK and PT GSS from their supply chain, and will soon revise the status of these grievances to reflect the decisions and actions taken. 

Nissin Foods responded, saying they would raise this case with their suppliers, and Mondelēz failed to respond.

Royal Golden Eagle (Apical), Musim Mas, and Permata Hijau have all confirmed their direct or indirect sourcing from PT. GSS and have committed to investigating our allegations further. Apical states that PT. Global Sawit Semesta has taken immediate action to suspend any palm oil sourcing from the broker named in our report–RAM Ud. Iqbal Jaya–until investigations are completed.

Permata Hijau confirmed its direct sourcing from PT. ATAK. Permata Hijua disputes RAN’s claim that they continue to buy from mills that are on the no-buy lists of our peers. They state they have their ‘own no-buy list which has been calibrated with our peers’ and buyers’ and to the best of their knowledge do not buy from mills that are banned by our peers for NDPE non compliance.’

Golden Agri Resources (GAR) and Wilmar confirmed they no longer source from PT. GSS and PT. ATAK. GAR, Wilmar, and Musim Mas all claim to have continued to work with another mill called PT. Runding Putra Persada on corrective actions and that that mill is no longer sourcing illegal palm oil from within the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve. These claims have not been subject to independent verification.

The Palm Oil Collaboration Group responded to the comments made in our report on its development of a new loophole in the implementation of deforestation-free commitments, which it refers to as the ‘Minimal Smallholder Deforestation (MSD)’ approach. This approach seeks to define predetermined geographic regions as de-facto ‘negligible risk’ areas, thereby sidestepping traceability and deforestation-free requirements. The initiative confirmed the development of the Minimal Smallholder Deforestation approach and that it will be trialed in reporting on the implementation of deforestation-free commitments via the NDPE Implementation Reporting Framework (NDPE IRF) in 2025.

The Palm Oil Collaboration Group described the Minimal Smallholder Deforestation Approach as a risk-based approach to traceability for independent smallholders with the objective that this acts as an initial screening process to identify priority forest frontiers where the palm oil industry can direct resources and efforts to shift smallholders to NDPE compliant practices. They referred to initiating an open-source validation process for the spatial data that will be used to identify sourcing areas with ‘negligible risk’ status. RAN continues to raise concerns to the POCG on the MSD approach providing a pathway for untraceable ‘independent smallholder’ volumes of palm oil to be included in public reporting on the fulfillment of “No Deforestation’ commitments. 

The post “Orangutan Capital” Under Siege: New Evidence Shows Illegal Deforestation in Indonesia’s Leuser Ecosystem appeared first on Rainforest Action Network.

After decades of hard-fought international pressure campaigns by local organizations, international NGOs and consumers, an auspicious new global standard has been established for implementing ‘No Deforestation’ commitments and identifying, assessing and protecting tropical forests from industrial commodity expansion. The High Carbon Stock and High Conservation Value approaches are tools used to identify forests and  lands which are off limits for development. Scaling up the use of these tools in Intact Forest Landscapes and on the frontlines of commodity expansion will  be a gamechanger in the fight against deforestation and Indigenous rights violations. Recent developments in the Indonesian province of Aceh provide reason for cautious optimism and highlight the need for major brands and commodity traders to provide the support and investments needed to undertake large-scale mapping of HCV areas and High Carbon Stock forests in their supply chains. 

Aceh Province in Indonesia, is home to some of the world’s most biodiverse tropical rainforests, including the world-renowned Leuser Ecosystem. It is the last place where Sumatran orangutans, elephants, tigers, rhinos and sun bears all roam the same habitat. The Leuser Ecosystem provides livelihoods and water for millions of people who depend on its forests and peatlands. These peatlands also play a substantial role in regulating the global climate by storing massive amounts of carbon. When these peatlands are drained or set on fire, thousands of years of stored carbon is suddenly released into the atmosphere. Apart from that, deforestation and drying of peat swamps destroys the economic resources of Indigenous communities who live by catching limbat fish (Clarias nieuhofii) in peat waters. But now the fate of the Leuser Ecosystem is at a crossroads.

Map: Aceh Province, Indonesia

Deforestation for palm oil, new roads, illegal logging, and mining are major threats. Despite being protected under Indonesian national law, lowland rainforests in the Leuser Ecosystem have been an epicenter of destruction for palm oil.  Well-known global brands like Mondelēz, Nestlé, Kao, and Nissin Foods are driving the destruction of the Leuser Ecosystem through their use of Conflict Palm Oil.

After years of being exposed for their role in driving the destruction of rainforests, major brands and palm oil traders like Wilmar International, Musim Mas, and Golden Agri Resources have set a new standard for responsible palm oil production. This standard requires the protection of areas that have High Conservation Values and High Carbon Stock forests. If implemented by all traders and global brands that use palm oil to manufacture consumer goods products, this standard called No Deforestation, No Peatland and No Exploitation (or in short NDPE) could end deforestation for palm oil in Aceh and the Leuser Ecosystem. 

This moment offers hope during a rapidly escalating global climate and biodiversity crisis. 

In response to the implementation of NDPE policies by global buyers, the Government of Aceh has announced a Sustainable Palm Oil Roadmap that commits to the protection for HCV areas and HCS forests. District governments in Aceh Tamiang, Aceh Timur, and Aceh Singkil have partnered with PepsiCo, Unilever, Musim Mas, and Apical to undertake desktop HCV-HCS Assessments in their jurisdictions with the help of trained practitioners and civil society organizations. 

The collective action that is being taken by civil society organizations, communities, and governments to identify High Conservation Value areas and High Carbon Stock forests in Aceh that require protection is a major breakthrough. Now what is needed is more resources and support to scale up these efforts across the province, including through the involvement of communities whose customary forests are located inside or surrounding the Leuser Ecosystem.  

Watch our new video that showcases action that is being taken by civil society organizations and communities to identify High Conservation Value areas and High Carbon Stock forests that deserve protection. 

Local organizations have been trained to use the tools created by the High Carbon Stock Approach to identify High Carbon Stock forests. By documenting the age and diversity of trees in the forest, they can determine if the vegetation is a viable forest that needs to be protected from deforestation for palm oil development.  

Diagram showing how viable forests are identified for protection using the High Carbon Stock Approach. 

Identifying High Conservation Value (HCV) areas with biological, ecological, social, or cultural values considered critically important is an integral part of the approach. HCV areas include areas with high biodiversity, rare or threatened ecosystems (HCV 1), intact forest landscapes (HCV 2), rare ecosystems or habitats (HCV 3), or areas that provide critical services like water catchments (HCV 4). Cultural sites, sacred customary forests, and sites and resources that are fundamental to meeting the basic needs of Indigenous or local communities are known as HCV 5 or 6 areas. HCV 5 and 6 areas must be identified through engagement with Indigenous Peoples and local communities. The HCV concept was developed nearly 20 years ago by the HCV Network. 

The mapping of HCV areas and HCS forests requires field-level engagement with Indigenous communities––like those in the villages of Bunin and Jambo Reuhat in the district of Aceh Timur––to identify areas of customary forests, community gardens, ancestral grave sites, places of worship in former old villages and village customary lands to ensure governments and the palm oil sector recognize these areas. This is an important step towards legal recognition of their territories. Field-level engagement at the village or Mukim level is also needed to validate large-scale HCV-HCS maps that have been developed through desktop assessments.

As global recognition of the importance of forests grows, there is also greater importance for increasing the capacity of local communities and organizations to protect and manage the rainforests of the Leuser Ecosystem. That is why Rainforest Action Network is calling on major brands that are responsible for driving palm oil expansion in the Leuser Ecosystem to invest in new programs that train communities, local civil society organizations, and governments in the mapping of High Carbon Stock forests and High Conservation Value forests across Aceh. 

Join us as we call on brands like Mondelēz, Nestlé, Kao, Nissin Foods––and their palm oil suppliers Wilmar, Golden Agri Resources, Royal Golden Eagle, Musim Mas, and Permata Hijau Group––to invest in efforts to identify rainforests and customary forests that must be protected from exploitation in the Leuser Ecosystem and across Aceh.

The post New Global Conservation Standards Applied to World-Renowned Leuser Ecosystem appeared first on Rainforest Action Network.

Analysis of satellite imagery has once again found that deforestation for palm oil continues within the concession of PT. Surya Panen Subur II (PT. SPS II) in Tripa Peatland in Aceh. A total of 155 hectares (383 acres) has been cleared across several locations with the concession. PT. SPS II is a notorious palm oil producer that was convicted of illegally and intentionally using fire to clear critical habitat within the globally important lowland forests and peatlands of the Leuser. PT. SPS has waged fierce, years-long battles against officials to avoid paying the fines they owe and taking the steps needed to remediate the damage they have caused.

Peatlands are extremely carbon-rich landscapes that, when left alone, are some of the most effective areas for longterm carbon sequestration on the planet. Conversely, when these swampy areas are artificially drained of water and then cleared through burning in preparation for palm oil plantation development, they release catastrophic, globally significant quantities of climate disrupting pollution into the atmosphere. Palm oil expansion has devastated Aceh’s peatlands within the world-renowned Leuser Ecosystem for decades. 

One of Aceh’s three major peatlands is located in an area called Tripa, which once contained over 61,000 hectares (150,734 acres) of lowland forests with over 52,000 hectares (128,495 acres) composed of carbon rich peatlands. Since 2000, almost 20,200 hectares (50,000 acres) of land within Tripa has been converted to oil palm plantations due to the growing global demand for palm oil. The area of forested peatlands has been reduced to around 7,300 hectares (18,000 acres) of fragmented, but important, patches of peat forests. Thousands of hectares of these last peat forests in Tripa peatland remain within the palm oil concession allocated to PT. Surya Panen Subur II by the government of Indonesia. 

Located in the districts of Nagan Raya and Aceh Barat Daya in the Indonesian province of Aceh, the Tripa peatland is an important ecosystem that regulates the freshwater cycle and floods, has been a resilient buffer zone from tsunami disaster, a vital source of livelihoods and sustenance for local communities, and is a valuable carbon store with peat domes of more than 5 meters depth. The Tripa peatland was once known as the “orangutan capital of the world” but due to the decimation of the forests due to oil palm expansion the local population of Sumatran orangutans has been tragically reduced. More than 4% of the known global population of this Critically Endangered species were once found in the Tripa Swamp. Despite the damage caused from decades of irresponsible palm oil production, Tripa peatland remains an important landscape for the protection and restoration of peatlands in Aceh.

This latest investigation builds on the findings of countless exposé since 2011. The latest investigation was undertaken in October 2020 when RAN found that forest clearing continued in the last intact peat forests within PT. SPS II’s concession for the establishment of palm oil plantations and that a new palm oil trader–– PT. Inno-Wangsa Oils & Fat of the Tanimas Group–– was responsible for selling Conflict Palm Oil from Tripa to global markets. RAN called for urgent action to be taken by major brands to halt sourcing from the Tanimas Group, effective immediately or to place it on a ‘No Buy’ list until it adopts a No Deforestation, No Peatland and No Exploitation (NDPE) policy, and stops sourcing from companies that have destroyed the Tripa Peatland. 

In 2022, RAN called on brands and traders to work together with governments and communities to stop further palm oil expansion into all three peatlands in the Leuser Ecosystem, to protect remaining peat forests and restore degraded peatlands with existing palm oil concessions, and to resolve longstanding land conflicts with communities. The spike in deforestation in the first five months in 2024 in PT. SPS II’s concession shows that any interventions undertaken by brands––and their suppliers that source from mills surrounding Tripa peatland including Golden Agri Resources, Wilmar, Musim Mas and Permata Hijua – have not been effective in stopping deforestation in Tripa Peatland.

The maps below show the sites of deforestation in the last patches of forests inside PT. SPS II’s concession in Tripa peatland. 

Satellite image of forest cover and cleared lands inside PT. Surya Panen Subur II concession in Tripa Peatland in May 2024

Forest loss inside PT. Surya Panen Subur II concession in Tripa Peatland in May 2024

Satellite image of forest cover and cleared lands inside PT. Surya Panen Subur II concession in Tripa Peatland in April 2024

Forest loss inside PT. Surya Panen Subur II concession in Tripa Peatland in April 2024

Satellite image of forest cover and cleared lands inside PT. Surya Panen Subur II concession in Tripa Peatland in March 2024

Forest loss inside PT. Surya Panen Subur II concession in Tripa Peatland in March 2024

Satellite image of forest cover and cleared lands inside PT. Surya Panen Subur II concession in Tripa Peatland in February 2024

Forest loss inside PT. Surya Panen Subur II concession in Tripa Peatland in February 2024

Satellite image of forest cover and cleared lands inside PT. Surya Panen Subur II concession in Tripa Peatland in January 2024

Forest loss inside PT. Surya Panen Subur II concession in Tripa Peatland in January 2024

The post Deforestation Spikes in Leuser Ecosystem’s Iconic Tripa Peatland Region appeared first on Rainforest Action Network.

This is the story of the struggles and demands of the Jambo Reuhat community, one of many communities in the Indonesian province of Aceh working to reestablish their customary rights against the overwhelming forces of global capital driving palm oil expansion into their territories. While it is a microcosm of the destruction and conflict caused by reckless palm oil development across the region, this is also a story of hope. Even in the midst of the global climate and biodiversity crises, there are real opportunities for communities to be supported to do what they do best––to manage their customary forests and defend them from deforestation and exploitation by commodity producers. The Jambo Reuhat community has recently begun mapping their territories and documenting the values of their customary forests. The results are clear. Forests that remain on their lands are high in conservation, carbon, and social values and warrant protection from further palm oil development. 

The importance of supporting Indigenous Peoples as a core strategy of international efforts to stop the climate and biodiversity crises cannot be overstated. Despite representing less than five percent of the world’s population, Indigenous Peoples steward more than a quarter of Earth’s land and seas and protect roughly 80 percent of global biodiversity. Besides being morally right, it is well established that the most effective and efficient way to keep ecosystems intact and forests standing is to safeguard the land rights of the Indigenous communities whose livelihoods depend on them. As is too often the case around the world, centuries of colonialism and industrial resource extraction have displaced and disenfranchised thousands of Indigenous communities across Indonesia. 

Hard fought campaigns to achieve corporate policies against deforestation and human rights abuse, as well as government initiatives, are beginning to address systemic conflicts between local communities and agricultural producers that supply basic commodities like palm oil and wood pulp to household brands including Mondelēz, Nestlé, Colgate-Palmolive and many others. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to achieving successful remedies for past and current harms. Each landscape, and each community’s history and needs are unique and require solutions tailored to the specifics of each particular place. 

Jambo Reuhat’s customary territory and forests  

Jambo Reuhat village is one of the customary communities in Sumatra’s Aceh Province that are seeking legal recognition of their land rights and the return of ancestral lands that have been allocated by the government to two companies for palm oil production––PT. Bumi Flora and PT. Dwi Kencana Semesta. 

The customary forests in the Jambo Reuhat community’s territory hold significant cultural, ecological, and economic value for the local community. They are also home to critically endangered Sumatran elephants as well as sunbears, deer, a multitude of monkeys, native forest bees and a rich abundance of birdlife. The area is a crucial habitat corridor for Sumatran elephants, providing needed connectivity between surrounding forest patches, which are currently engulfed by sprawling oil palm plantations. The region’s lush rainforest is filled with a huge variety of trees and plants that have economic and ecological value. Especially important are resin trees, tualang wood (honeycomb wood), many trees in the ficus family, bamboo forests, rattan, jernang (dragon’s blood red resin) and many others with high biodiversity values. 

Aceh’s long history of conflict and community management of customary forests

Located in Banda Alam, East Aceh, Jambo Reuhat is one village that has been impacted by Aceh’s broader historical context. The story of the Jambo Reuhat community is emblematic of the struggles faced by customary communities across Aceh to protect their lands and resources amidst an onslaught of historical challenges, including colonialism, armed conflicts, post military occupation and oppressive government policies. 

The province of Aceh has a long history of customary communities managing and stewarding their forest resources through customary laws and practices, deeply intertwined with the region’s cultural, social, and environmental heritage. From the time when Aceh had an autonomous government, communities relied on the rich biodiversity of the forest for their livelihoods, practicing sustainable methods of resource management that were passed down through generations. Community management of customary forests continues today, with the potential to be scaled up across 819 mukims in Aceh. A mukim is an administrative division that is unique to Aceh––it is a federation of several villages under customary law. Mukims play an important role in the stewardship of customary forests as each mukim has customary forest management laws which are very complex and are upheld by communities in accordance with the spirit of protecting the forest. 

Colonization and the arrival of extractive industries

The arrival of European colonial powers, particularly following the Dutch war which was declared in 1873, brought significant changes to Aceh’s land tenure and resource management systems. The Dutch colonial administration introduced centralized governance structures and began to assert control over land and natural resources, often at the expense of Indigenous land rights. The Dutch implemented forestry policies aimed at maximizing resource extraction and revenue generation. This often led to the marginalization of Indigenous communities and their customary land management practices. Forest areas were converted for commercial logging, agriculture, and plantation development, displacing Indigenous peoples from their ancestral lands. This included the establishment of the first palm oil plantation in Aceh by a Belgium company––now known as PT. Socfin––in 1911.

After Indonesia gained independence from Dutch colonial rule in 1945, efforts were made to address historical injustices and empower Indigenous communities. However, the post-independence government continued to pursue policies that prioritized economic development over Indigenous rights and environmental conservation. Challenges persist, including conflicting interests between conservation goals, commercial exploitation of natural resources, and the rights of Indigenous communities. 

During the Indonesian government’s military occupation period in Aceh, which lasted from the late 1980s to the early 2000s, customary forests faced significant challenges and transformations. The military presence in Aceh was primarily aimed at suppressing the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), an armed separatist group that sought independence from Indonesia. During this time illegal logging was rife and communities were forced to flee their customary forests.

In the post-conflict period, palm oil expansion has skyrocketed to cover over 700,000 hectares of lands in company-owned plantations that were allocated by the national, provincial and district governments and in small landholdings outside concessions that are controlled by land speculators––including ex combatants from the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). The palm oil sector has largely established plantations without the Free, Prior and Informed Consent of customary communities––many of which returned to their ancestral territories to find them under the control of palm oil companies. Many land conflicts remain unresolved today and there has been little progress in government-led efforts to recognize and formalize customary forest management rights in Aceh. 

However, Aceh is a province of Indonesia that continues to have a special autonomous status which gives the local government greater authority, including in the management of its forests, which stretch over 10 million acres (over 4 million hectares). In 2023, the Indonesian government announced the recognition of customary land rights of 15 communities in Aceh––a historic first for the region. District governments in Aceh have also announced jurisdictional programs–– like the one recently launched by the Bupati of Aceh Timur––that include much needed programs to map customary forests in the north-east of the Leuser Ecosystem. 

A dedicated network of local civil society organizations are working together on additional proposals for customary forests in the districts of Aceh Selatan, Aceh Barat Daya, Aceh Utara, Aceh Timur, Aceh Tamiang and Nagan Raya and international organizations have also begun supporting programs that advance community-based forest management and securing land tenure rights for Mukims in Aceh. It is critical that efforts advance towards the legal recognition of customary rights for Mukims across all of these districts, including Aceh Timur, which is where the Jambo Reuhat village is located. 

Threats to Jambo Reuhat community from palm oil expansion 

Land tenure conflicts in Jambo Reuhat have occured since the early 1990s, between the local community and two palm oil companies called PT. Bumi Flora and PT. Dwi Kencana Semesta, when these companies started opening palm oil plantations in areas overlapping the Jambo Reuhat Village customary area. The conflict escalated in 1993, when the Indonesian Government granted concession rights to PT. Bumi Flora without sufficient consultation with the Jambo Reuhat village or the Mukim of Kuta Dayah. At that time, Aceh was under the status of a Military Operations Area (DOM), in order to overcome the Free Aceh Movement, the central government severely restricted civil liberties, including the rights to assemble and express opinions. The central government also enforced strict supervision and intimidation of community activities that are deemed to disrupt security and order.

The two palm oil companies’ concession areas overlap thousands of hectares of Jambo Reuhat’s community endowment, including community gardens, property, a mosque,  meunasah (houses of worship/traditional halls from the old villages of Seuneubok Buket Kawa Seuneubok Alue Kacang, Alue Seunong and Seuneubok Tuha Farm), cemeteries, and areas of customary lands belonging to the community. These lands are the ancestral heritage of Jambo Reuhat since the Seuneubok Lada era. Today, Jambo Reuhat’s customary forest is surrounded by palm oil plantations that threaten the availability of water for Jambo Reuhat irrigation, which irrigates around 2,625 hectares (6,487 acres) of rice fields. The Jambo Reuhat customary forest is also a very important buffer zone for the prevention of catastrophic flood risk for five sub-districts in East Aceh. The risk of flooding has been greatly increased for the Jambo Reuhat village and dozens of other villages in the downstream area after forests were cleared for palm oil plantations. In the last two years, there have been numerous destructive floods which have resulted in houses being submerged in water and yellowed rice being unable to be harvested and left rotting. 

The Jambo Reuhat forest still provides habitat for a remarkable array of biodiversity, both fauna and flora, but it remains at risk of being converted into palm oil plantations. The presence of the palm oil plantations have cut off the Jambo Reuhat community’s access to their customary forests. To reach their forest, the community now must navigate through a palm oil plantation area which is currently abandoned, with a damaged dirt road. This land tenure conflict between the Jambo Reuhat community and PT. Bumi Flora and PT. Dwi Kencana Semesta is ongoing to this day and there has been no dignified resolution. 

There is new hope that the challenge of overlapping boundaries can be overcome through securing agreements to revoke palm oil permits, or change the boundaries of palm oil concessions, via jurisdictional programs like the one recently launched by the Bupati of Aceh Timur and that this program can support the next phase of mapping of the Jambo Reuhat’s customary forests in the north-east of the Leuser Ecosystem.  

New hope and opportunities to secure protections for customary forests 

Recently, the Jambo Reuhat community has started a new initiative to map its customary territory in the hope that doing so can advance efforts to secure legal recognition of their rights to their customary forests and lands for future generations. The first phase of participatory village mapping has been carried out to identify the boundaries of traditional territories and communal assets, as well as the High Conservation Values of their customary forests, using the High Carbon Stock Approach (HCSA). The results are clear. Forests that remain on their lands are high in conservation, carbon, and social values and warrant protection from further palm oil development. The HCSA is a globally recognized land use planning tool for identifying viable forests that need to be protected from deforestation that occurs to convert rainforests to palm oil plantations. Plantation companies like PT. Bumi Flora and PT. Dwi Kencana Semesta must adhere to the HCSA standard to supply palm oil to global traders and consumer brands with ‘No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation’ (NDPE) commitments.

Global brands that source palm oil from Aceh Timur have a significant role to play in ensuring that their suppliers––including PT. Bumi Flora and PT. Dwi Kencana Semesta––  adhere to ‘No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation’ (NDPE) requirements, especially the recognition of Indigenous rights, and investing in ‘forest positive’ programs that are being established by the district government. There is a significant opportunity to ensure that “forest positive” jurisdictional programs that are established by major brands ––such as PepsiCo, Unilever, Mondelēz, Nestlé and Colgate Palmolive, in partnership with traders, local governments and customary rights holders advance local bylaws and participatory mapping efforts that enable the recognition of customary forests. There is hope that the governments of Aceh and Indonesia can once and for all address overlapping claims with palm oil companies and revoke palm oil concessions on lands proposed for customary or village forests. 

The post Customary Communities Fight Palm Oil Producers for Land Rights in Sumatra appeared first on Rainforest Action Network.

In response to a Rainforest Action Network (RAN) investigation exposing illegal palm oil development in the Leuser Ecosystem, called the Carbon Bomb Scandals, consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble (P&G) committed to work with its suppliers to restore illegal palm oil plantations in a lush rainforest region of Sumatra’s Leuser Ecosystem known as the “orangutan capital of the world.” RAN has gathered fresh evidence that this commitment is not being fulfilled, despite an increase in deforestation and burning of carbon-rich peatlands in the globally important conservation area in Indonesia. 

Fires burn following illegal deforestation within, and surrounding, the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve, Aceh Selatan. February 2024. GPS Coordinates: 02°44′ 57.768″N 97°39’2.82″E.  

Fires burn following illegal deforestation within and surrounding the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve, Aceh Selatan. February 2024. GPS Coordinates: 02°45′ 33.198″N 97°39′ 9.354″E.

New forest clearance and canal development inside the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve, Aceh Selatan, Indonesia. August, 2023. Credit: Paul Hilton/Global Conservation.

P&G suppliers Wilmar, Golden Agri Resources (GAR), Musim Mas and Royal Golden Eagle group were all exposed for sourcing illegally produced palm oil from inside the nationally protected Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve. After validating RAN’s findings, the traders committed to work with their supplier Mr. Mahmudin to return illegally planted areas inside the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve to the authorities so they could be restored. 

Burning of peatlands to make way for Mr. Mahmudin’s illegal palm oil plantation inside Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve. Palm oil grown on the illegally cleared land was later supplied by Mr. Mahmudin and a network of brokers and mills to major brands including Procter & Gamble.

Nearly a year after being exposed, P&G suppliers issued updates saying the illegal plantations will not in fact be returned by their problematic supplier, Mr. Mahmudin. It is clear that Mr. Mahmudin has backpedaled on his commitment and that he is confident he can continue to operate his illegal plantation with impunity while continuing to supply his palm oil products into the network of mills supplying the big traders and global brands like P&G.

Mr. Mahmudin established an illegal palm oil plantation on deforested lands inside the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve. The deforestation occurred after Procter & Gamble’s December 2015 deforestation cut-off date. 

Musim Mas, GAR,  Wilmar and Apical of the Royal Golden Eagle group are now saying they have excluded Mr. Mahmudin from their supply chains due to his refusal to return illegal plantations to the reserve. RAN’s investigations, as well as verification reports published by the traders, have shown that the mills and associated network of palm oil brokers supplying these traders don’t have adequate traceability or No Deforestation, No Peatland and No Exploitation (NDPE) compliance systems. This means these traders can’t truly provide any assurances that this exclusion of palm oil produced by Mr. Mahmudin will be enforced. 

Musim Mas, GAR and Wilmar have categorically refused to commission independent verification of the traceability and compliance systems of the mills they continue to source from that are located near the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve. Independent verification is required to assess if the systems they claim have been put in place since the publication of the Carbon Bomb Scandals are adequate and can be relied upon to ensure no sourcing of illegal palm oil grown by Mr. Mahmudin–– and other local elites––inside the reserve. In the absence of evidence collected via independent verification exercises, the mills supplying Procter & Gamble and other major brands remain at risk of sourcing illegal palm oil produced inside the nationally protected Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve.

P&G remains a major laggard in global efforts to end deforestation and in 2023 it placed its investors further at risk by actually announcing a weaker forest-risk commodity policy than it previously had. P&G refused to suspend Mr. Mahmudin at the time of the Carbon Bomb Scandals, citing his commitment to return illegally planted palm oil plantations to the authorities so they could be restored. P&G also failed to ban or suspend the mills that have been repeatedly exposed by RAN for accepting illegal palm oil grown inside the reserve. P&G recently announced that its supplier has ‘excluded Mr. Mahmudin from P&G’s supply chain’ and it has instructed its other suppliers to follow suit. To date, P&G has failed to work together with its suppliers and the government authorities to ensure the illegal palm oil plantation is restored to peat forests. 

P&G remains at risk of sourcing illegal palm oil as its July 2023 mill list shows that it has sourced from seven mills at risk of sourcing illegal palm oil––PT. Global Sawit Semesta, PT. Bumi Daya Agrotamas, PT. Ensem Sawita Lestari, PT. Perkebunan Lembah Bakti I, PT. Perkebunan Lembah Bakti II, PT. Runding Putra Persada and PT. Delima Makmur. This is the latest case of a failure of P&G and its suppliers to deliver on their no-deforestation commitments. This failure is a particular tragedy because this undelivered commitment to complete restoration of the 11 acres of illegal plantation would have set a crucially important precedent. This is because at least 620 additional acres of illegal plantations have already been established within the boundaries of the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve. 

Map of illegal palm oil plantations inside Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve and forest loss inside the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve after the deforestation cut-off date in Procter & Gamble’s palm oil sourcing policy.

The images below show the destruction that has persisted  inside, and surrounding, the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve despite RAN repeatedly elevating the crisis in the Orangutan Capital of the World to Procter & Gamble, Mondelēz, Nestlé, Colgate Palmolive, Unilever, PepsiCo, Mars, Kao, Nissin Foods and the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF).

Fires burn following illegal deforestation within and surrounding the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve, Aceh Selatan. February 2024. GPS Coordinates: 02°45′ 29.964″N 97°39′ 13.7944″E 

Fires burn following illegal deforestation within and surrounding the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve, Aceh Selatan. February 2024. GPS Coordinates: 02°45′ 0.3″N 97°39′ 1.818″E.

Fires burn peatlands within the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve, Aceh Selatan. February 2024. GPS Coordinates: 02°44′ 46.002″N 97°39′ 11.46″E.

Deforestation within the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve, Aceh Selatan. October 2023. Credit: Paul Hilton/Global Conservation

New illegal drainage of peatlands inside and surrounding the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve, Aceh Selatan. February 2024. October 2023. Credit: Paul Hilton/Global Conservation.

New illegal drainage of peatlands inside the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve, Aceh Selatan. October 2023. Credit: Paul Hilton/Global Conservation.

Peat forest destruction inside the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve, Aceh Selatan. October 2023. Credit: Paul Hilton/Global Conservation.

New canal development inside the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve, Aceh Selatan, Indonesia. August, 2023.

New forest clearance for oil palm plantations between the coast and the boundary of the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve, Aceh Selatan, Indonesia. August, 2023.

New forest clearance and canal development inside the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve, Aceh Selatan, Indonesia. August, 2023.

This uptick in deforestation is especially disturbing because, even as overall deforestation has declined across Indonesia as a whole, we are seeing a countertrend of steady, year over year escalation of illegal primary forest destruction inside one of the most climate critical and globally important habitat areas for endangered wildlife species left in Indonesia. The Leuser Ecosystem’s Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve, known as the Orangutan Capital of the World, is one the most highly protected national forest areas in the country, and yet in 2019 we documented nearly 70 acres of forest clearance, which increased in 2020 to 106 acres, increasing again in 2021 to 408 acres, again growing in 2022 to nearly 1,770 acres and growing to a shocking 4,398 acres in 2023.

Already, in the first 6 months of 2024, we have exposed the construction of new mills that will drive further expansion of palm oil into the Orangutan Capital of the World. This builds on worrying trends we documented over the past year, when we exposed new deforestation hotspots along the eastern border of the reserve and new drainage canals being illegally dug into carbon-rich peat swamp areas of the reserve. 

With global brands and the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) having now made public commitments to end exactly this kind of destruction for palm oil development, this death by a thousand cuts is extremely worrisome and demands an immediate response. Procter & Gamble must follow through on its commitment to support restoration of illegal palm oil plantations within the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve. Brands in the CGF must enforce their No Deforestation, No Peatland and No Exploitation policies with suppliers, close the loopholes in traceability systems that are allowing illegally produced palm oil to be smuggled into their supply chains, and invest in collaborative programs designed to protect and restore the Leuser Ecosystem’s rainforests and peatlands, especially those facing an onslaught within the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve in the district of Aceh Selatan, Indonesia.

Join us as we call on P&G to uphold its commitment to restore peat forests in the orangutan capital of the world. 

Map showing remaining forests within the Singkil-Bengkung Trumon region where the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve is located. The Singkil-Bengkung Trumon region is a priority region within the globally important Leuser Ecosystem that is threatened by palm oil expansion. Planet satellite imagery. The yellow stars show fires within the region in January 2024.

Peat forests that are the orangutan capital of the world remain at risk of illegal palm oil expansion within the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve 

The post P&G Accused of Failing to Deliver on Public Commitment to Restore Illegal Palm Plantations in Leuser Ecosystem appeared first on Rainforest Action Network.

In recent weeks, following years of reported declines in deforestation by palm oil companies, new reports are documenting an alarming uptick in forest destruction for palm oil across Indonesia. This concerning trend is clearly evident in the lush, carbon-rich rainforests in the south west of Indonesia’s world-renowned Leuser Ecosystem. 

RAN is releasing fresh footage of deforestation within a globally important biodiversity hotspot amidst some of the last remaining lowland rainforests of the Leuser Ecosystem, in the district of Subulussalam. Satellite analysis shows shockingly large-scale clearance by a new rogue actor––called PT. Sawit Panen Terus––that has cleared over 1333 hectares (2800 acres) in the last year alone. Even worse, the evidence reveals that the rate of clearing has accelerated in the last 6 months. 

The forest clearing is taking place in an area called the Singkil-Bengkung Trumon region that is renowned to be a deforestation hotspot in the supply chains of major brands. The clearing is taking place in nearby parts of the Leuser Ecosystem that have been destroyed for palm oil plantations by controversial palm oil producer PT. Laot Bangko ––a known supplier to major brands. Neighboring mills such as the PT. Samudera Sawit Nabati and PT. Global Sawit Semesta that are likely to source palm oil from this rogue actor once the plantation matures have been repeatedly exposed for driving deforestation in the area. A new mill called PT. Aceh Trumon Anugerah Kita (PT. ATAK) that has been constructed nearby may also be a driver of this case of plantation establishment. 

Major brands like Mars, Nestlé, Colgate Palmolive and palm oil traders Fuji Oil (and others) report on their efforts to decrease deforestation for palm oil in this district––and in the operations of controversial palm oil suppliers in the region such as PT Laot Bangko––through their funding of Earthworm. It is clear that these efforts have failed to establish collaborative forest monitoring and response systems that are effective in halting deforestation across the district of Subulussalam.   

The images and maps below show the destruction caused by PT. Sawit Panen Terus to the lowland rainforests inside and adjacent to the Leuser Ecosystem:

Bulldozers are being used by PT. Sawit Panen Terus to destroy significant areas of lowland rainforest in the Leuser Ecosystem, in the district of Subulussalam, Indonesia. February 2024. GPS Coordinate: 2°47’23.1″N 97°59’05.1″E

Large scale clearance of rainforests by PT. Sawit Panen Terus for a new palm oil plantation in the district of Subulussalam, Indonesia. February 2024. GPS Coordinates 2°47’19.9″N 97°58’45.0″E

Large scale clearance of rainforests by PT. Sawit Panen Terus for a new palm oil plantation in the district of Subulussalam, Indonesia. February 2024.  GPS Coordinates 2°47’19.9″N 97°58’45.0″E

Large scale clearance of rainforests by PT. Sawit Panen Terus for a new palm oil plantation in the district of Subulussalam, Indonesia. February 2024.  GPS Coordinate 2°47’23.1″N 97°59’05.1″E

Large scale clearance of rainforests by PT. Sawit Panen Terus for a new palm oil plantation in the district of Subulussalam, Indonesia. February 2024.  GPS Coordinates 2°47’19.9″N 97°59’05.0″E

Map showing the indicative area of PT. Sawit Panen Terus’s clearing of lowland rainforests for a new palm oil plantation in the district of Subulussalam, Indonesia. February 2024. The map shows parts of the lowland rainforest that have been cleared and are located within the boundary of the Leuser Ecosystem (shown by green line).

Large scale clearance of rainforests by PT. Sawit Panen Terus for a new palm oil plantation in the district of Subulussalam, Indonesia. February 2024. 

Large scale clearance of rainforests by PT. Sawit Panen Terus for a new palm oil plantation in the district of Subulussalam, Indonesia. February 2024. 

Large scale clearance of rainforests by PT. Sawit Panen Terus for a new palm oil plantation in the district of Subulussalam, Indonesia. February 2024. 

Large scale clearance of rainforests by PT. Sawit Panen Terus for a new palm oil plantation in the district of Subulussalam, Indonesia. February 2024. 

The Singkil-Bengkung rainforest in the Leuser Ecosystem presents an increasingly rare opportunity, because it is still not too late to achieve top priority carbon sequestration and conservation goals, for Indonesia and the world, but that window of opportunity is now. Deforestation is on the rise across the Singkil-Bengkung Region and the main driver is palm oil expansion. The high stakes for local communities, threatened wildlife and the global climate demand a thoughtful, coordinated, solution-oriented approach by all parties to achieve long term conservation goals and sustainable economic prosperity.

The global market now demands palm oil that is free of deforestation, peatland development, and exploitation of communities and workers, especially in global biodiversity hotspots like the Leuser Ecosystem. Urgent action is needed to reverse the decade-long trend of deforestation, draining and burning of the Singkil-Bengkung peatlands; to minimize flooding events along the once stable and meandering Alas and Bengkung Rivers; and to address the economic impoverishment that drives wildlife poaching, illegal logging and land clearing.

Global brands –– and therefore their customers –– remain exposed to deforestation-tainted Conflict Palm Oil. This problem continues due to a lack of investment in traceability and compliance systems, low palm oil prices, competition for higher- quality oil palm fruit amongst a network of underperforming mills, and an absence of capacity building in best agricultural practices. There is an opportunity to diversify economies and drive investments in low-carbon, community-led, small-scale agriculture that respect the rights of communities and smallholder farmers to manage their lands, improve livelihoods, and enable the long-term protection and management of peatlands and lowland rainforests critical for the survival of the Sumatran orangutans, tigers, rhinos and elephants.

Governments and communities, together with the brands and palm oil companies responsible for the impacts of the profit- driven plantation agriculture model, can invest in lasting solutions. Collaborative forest and peatland monitoring and response systems must be established that can enforce their policies throughout supply chains all the way to the forest floor in the Leuser Ecosystem. The systems that are in place are clearly failing to halt new deforestation for palm oil.  

Investments must also be made by brands like  Mars, Nestlé, Colgate Palmolive in long-term solutions that support the protection and restoration of the Singkil-Bengkung region and the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve. The harm caused to the environment and communities whose customary rights have not been recognized must be addressed. Much-needed improvements to the palm oil industry, which is relied upon by tens of thousands of smallholder farmers, must be delivered. Together, stakeholders must develop a common and just vision to halt the destruction of the Singkil-Bengkung region.

The post New Rogue Actor Documented Destroying the Leuser Ecosystem appeared first on Rainforest Action Network.

The forests and peatlands of Indonesia’s nationally protected Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve, within the world renowned Leuser Ecosystem, are globally important landscapes for conservation due to their nearly unparalleled importance as habitat for endangered biodiversity and for the region’s critical role as a carbon sequestration powerhouse. Yet, once again, Rainforest Action Network (RAN) is presenting fresh evidence of ongoing and emerging threats of illegal clearance and rainforest destruction related to the unchecked expansion of the palm oil industry in the reserve and surrounding region.

This is far from the first time that global brands have been alerted to their exposure to sourcing Conflict Palm Oil from ‘the Orangutan Capital of the World.’ RAN is escalating our call for urgent, immediate action by global brands in 2024 to cut offending mills and suppliers from their supply chains and to take meaningful action––alongside governments and the agencies responsible for managing and protecting the reserve––to end further expansion of palm oil infrastructure in this region.  

In an effort to identify the underlying drivers of this crisis, RAN’s field investigators have identified and documented two new palm oil mills built in close proximity to the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve that may be driving the demand for illegal palm oil plantations across the district of Aceh Selatan. The recent establishment of two palm oil mills is a likely driver of the uptick in the clearance of new areas of peat forests to make way for new illegal palm oil plantations within the protected Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve. 

Timelapse footage showing the construction of the new mill in close proximity to the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve, Aceh Selatan, Indonesia. TheTreeMap/Nusantara Atlas. December 2019 – December 2023

Map showing the location of the PT. Aceh Trumon Anugerah Kita (PT. ATAK) mill just outside the north-eastern boundary of the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve in Aceh Selatan, Indonesia. The map also shows the uptick in deforestation within the reserve after the new mill became operational in 2022 and 2023. Map provided by TheTreeMap/Nusantara Atlas.

The new mills that are threatening the Orangutan Capital of the World are PT. Aceh Trumon Anugerah Kita (PT. ATAK) and PT. Aceh Bakongan Eka Nabati (PT. ABEN). From this moment on, major brands like Procter & Gamble, Mondelēz, Nestlé, PepsiCo and Unilever need to place these mills on their No Buy Lists and increase their investments in jurisdictional programs designed to protect the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve from further destruction. The new mills have no published policies or commitments to prevent the sourcing of illegal palm oil from within the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve, nor do they have the systems in place to comply with market demands for responsibly produced palm oil which complies with the No Deforestation, No Peatland and No Exploitation (NDPE) policy benchmarks set by major brands. 

Both new palm oil mills have been supported by the former Bupati (Major) of Aceh Selatan, Tgk Amran, who seems to be giving the greenlight to new crude palm oil mill developments in the district despite the uptick in deforestation, new canal development in carbon-rich peatlands, and land speculation for illegal palm oil development inside the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve.The decision of former district government representatives to approve and ceremoniously open or break ground for the new mills in Aceh Selatan is deeply concerning given the crisis in the protected areas in the district which is having a devastating impact on endangered species and is exacerbating flooding and human-wildlife conflict. 

Map showing the location of the PT. Aceh Trumon Anugerah Kita mill and the PT Aceh Bakongan Eka Nabati mill in close proximity to the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve, Kluet peatland and the lowland rainforests in the Singkil-Bengkung Trumon region in South Aceh. 

PT. Aceh Trumon Anugerah Kita (PT. ATAK) – a new mill driving palm oil demand since 2022 

PT. Aceh Trumon Anugerah Kita (PT. ATAK) is a palm oil mill located in Kapa Seusak, East Trumon, in the district of Aceh Selatan, that may be responsible for the increase in illegal deforestation for palm oil in the nearby Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve. The mill was inaugurated by Tgk Amran, the former Regent of Aceh Selatan (South Aceh) in 2022 and sources palm oil from a network of brokers that collect palm oil from surrounding areas. It was approved to process 45 tonnes of palm oil fruits per hour, meaning it is driving a considerable demand for palm oil in the district of South Aceh. 

Since becoming operational, the local community has sent a letter calling on the local government to stop the operation of the mill due to effluent from the mill polluting local waterways which are relied upon by the Pinto Rimba community. The community has requested investigations be undertaken by government agencies into the procedures and practices of waste management. In 2022, mediation efforts between the company and the Pinto Rimba community were carried out, but no common ground was reached.

PT. Aceh Trumon Anugerah Kita (PT. ATAK) is a palm oil mill that may be responsible for the increase in illegal deforestation in the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve. Kapai Seusak, Trumon Timur, Aceh Selatan. GPS Coordinates 02°51’01.95″N 97°48’40.07″E  

Brokers in yellow and black trucks leaving the PT. ATAK mill after delivering palm oil fruits collected from the surrounding areas in the Trumon corridor in Aceh Selatan. A tanker is arriving to collect Crude Palm Oil from the mill.  GPS Coordinates: 02°51’36.64″N 97°47’17.42″E 

Office of PT. Aceh Trumon Anugerah Kita, Trumon, Aceh Selatan. GPS Coordinates 02°51’36.64″N 97°47’17.41″E 

Small and medium size trucks that are operated by a network of brokers deliver fresh fruit bunches of palm oil that have been collected from the surrounding area which includes the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve.  GPS Coordinates 02°51’34.95″N 97°47’21.28″E 

Heavy machinery being used to move palm oil fresh fruit bunches at the PT. ATAK mill. GPS Coordinates 02°51’34.95″N 97°47’21.28″E 

Piles of palm oil fresh fruit bunches that have been delivered by brokers to PT. ATAK, Trumon, Aceh Selatan. GPS Coordinates 02°51’34.95″N 97°47’21.28″E  

Storage tanks filled with Crude Palm Oil at the PT. ATAK mill. GPS Coordinates 02°51’36.64″N 97°47’17.42″E  

Map showing the location of the PT. Aceh Trumon Anugerah Kita mill in close proximity to the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve and the lowland rainforests in the Singkil-Bengkung Trumon region in South Aceh.

Global palm oil supplier Permata Hijau caught sourcing from a controversial new palm oil mill within the Orangutan Capital of the World 

The palm oil from the PT. PTAK mill is making its way into global supply chains via palm oil giant Permata Hijau. Permata Hijau’s own published supplier lists show it has sourced from the mill in 2023 for its refinery in Medan, North Sumatra. This refinery is called PT. Permata Hijau Palm Oleo and it supplies specialty fats and biodiesel. Permata Hijau has been repeatedly exposed for sourcing Conflict Palm Oil from the Leuser Ecosystem––including from mills that have been excluded from supply chains of other major traders due to their violation of No Deforestation, No Peatland and No Exploitation policies. Permata Hijau Group has also been called out as a major leakage refinery in Indonesia with a combined capacity of over 2 million tonnes per year. Despite its appalling track record it remains a supplier to Cargill, which in turn supplies major brands. 

Permata Hijau’s own published supply list shows sourcing of palm oil from PT. PTAK for its refinery in Medan, North Sumatra called PT. Permata Hijau Palm Oleo. 

PT. Aceh Bakongan Eka Nabati (PT. ABEN) – a new mill under construction 

A second palm oil processing mill is under construction at Ujung Mangki, Bakongan in Aceh Selatan. The groundbreaking for the mill––called PT. Aceh Bakongan Eka Nabati–happened in August 2023 with the support of Tgk Amran, the former Regent of Aceh Selatan (South Aceh). This mill is projected to process up to 30-35 tonnes per hour of palm oil, with the investment value reaching 120 billion Indonesian Rupiah.

A sign at the site of the new PT. Aceh Bakongan Eka Nabati (PT ABEN) palm oil mill development in Ujung Mangki, Bakongan, Aceh Selatan. GPS Coordinates 02°56’02.40″N 97°25’41.98″E

Map showing the location of the PT. Aceh Bakongan Eka Nabati mill in close proximity to the Kluet Peatland and the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve in the Singkil Bengkung Trumon region in South Aceh.

A sign at the ‘groundbreaking’ for the new PT. ABEN mill by Bupati (Major) of Aceh Selatan, Tgk Amaran, August 2023.

Timelapse footage showing the construction of the new PT. Aceh Bakongan Eka Nabati (PT ABEN) mill in close proximity to the Kluet Peatland and Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve in the village area of Ujung Mangki, in the sub district of Bakongan, in Aceh Selatan, Indonesia. GPS Coordinates 02°56’02.40″N 97°25’41.98″E TheTreeMap/Nusantara Atlas. March 2023 – January 2024

Aceh Trumon Anugerah Kita (PT. ATAK) and PT. Aceh Bakongan Eka Nabati (PT. ABEN) are new palm oil mills that are threatening the Orangutan Capital of the World. Major brands like Procter & Gamble, Mondelēz, Nestlé, PepsiCo and Unilever––and their suppliers––need to place these mills on their No Buy Lists and increase their investments in programs to protect the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve from further destruction. Any sourcing of refined palm oil products from Permata Hijau must be suspended immediately from traders like Cargill that has continue to be supplied by Permata Hijau despite its controversial track record of sourcing Conflict Palm Oil produced at the expense of lowland rainforests and peatlands in the Leuser Ecosystem.

The post New Palm Oil Mills Threaten Orangutan Capital of The World appeared first on Rainforest Action Network.

Despite the urgent need to protect the world’s last standing rainforests, deforestation outside government allocated concessions continues in Indonesia’s extraordinary Leuser Ecosystem. RAN’s investigators have once again documented illegal expansion into nationally protected areas in the Leuser Ecosystem in the district of Aceh Tamiang on the island of Sumatra. RAN first highlighted this deforestation hotspot in April 2022 when we exposed deforestation inside the Gunung Leuser National Park by a civil servant from Medan called Mr. Bukhary.

In recent months, more extensive forest clearance has been documented by Mr. Bukhary and another local actor called Mr. Jumady within the surrounding area. Despite this case being brought to the attention of major global brands, RAN has been able to document that a further 475 acres of forests were cleared in the indicative areas of Mr. Bukhary’s lands into 2024. 

To our knowledge, there has been no government or supply chain interventions taken during this period to stop the destruction even though the district government of Aceh Tamiang has public commitments to end deforestation and PepsiCo, Unilever and others claim that collaborative forest monitoring systems are being used to identify and respond to deforestation across the district. 

These investigations show that lowland rainforests of the Leuser Ecosystem are systematically being cleared to make way for palm oil plantations that will produce fruits that will ultimately find their way into the supply chains of major brands like Procter & Gamble, Mondelēz, Colgate Palmolive, Nissin Foods, Nestlé, PepsiCo and Unilever. A recent report by RAN shows that none of these brands have effective traceability systems that can be relied upon to keep deforestation-tainted Conflict Palm Oil out of their supply chains and consumer goods products.  

In 2023, Aceh Tamiang has rightfully been celebrated as one of the districts in Aceh with the lowest rates of deforestation––due in part to positive impacts of jurisdictional programs that have been established and aim to achieve No Deforestation, No Peatland and No Exploitation practices across all actors in the district’s palm oil sector. RAN’s investigation shows that these efforts are not enough––more action is needed to stop palm oil driven deforestation in critically important lowland rainforests in Aceh Tamiang, including within the formally protected Gunung Leuser National Park. The park, in addition to being recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the last stronghold essential for the continued survival of critically endangered wildlife species including Sumatran orangutans, Sumatran tigers, and Sumatran elephants.

While the pattern of deforestation documented here is smaller than the scale witnessed over the past few decades of industrial palm oil expansion within government-allocated concessions across Indonesia, it remains deeply concerning as the primary remaining threat to the remaining lowland forests of the Leuser is a ‘death by a thousand cuts.’ In an increasing number of cases, this pattern of small-scale deforestation outside concessions is wrongly cited by actors in the palm oil industry as the impact of smallholder farmers clearing forests to establish family-managed palm oil farms. RAN’s investigations have shown that the deforestation outside concessions is significant, forests are being cleared through the use of expensive machinery, and is ultimately driven by land speculators – local elites that have the resources and influence needed to get away with deforestation and plantation establishment within protected areas. Despite industry efforts to shift blame, the culprits of this new wave of destruction are local elites – not smallholder family farmers that are increasingly being supported to achieve certification for their family plots of palm oil farms located outside the Gunung Leuser National Park in the surrounding villages.  

In this investigation, one of these local elites exposed is Mr. Bukhary ––a Medan based retired civil servant and the other is known locally as Mr. Jumady. The images below show the destruction documented in recent months in two main areas near Tenggulun village in the district of Aceh Tamiang. The deforestation hotspot caused by Mr. Bukhary is shown below in  the northern tip of the Gunung Leuser National Park (purple area). The red dots show the locations of recent clearing. The blue dots towards the bottom of the map show the locations where RAN’s investigators documented recent logging and clearance within the Gunung Leuser National Park by Mr. Jumady.

Ongoing deforestation by Mr Bukhary inside Gunung Leuser National Park 

The images below show the scale of ongoing deforestation by Mr. Bukhary inside the Gunung Leuser National Park, near Tenggulun village in the district of Aceh Tamiang. The lowland rainforests of the Leuser Ecosystem are systematically being cleared by Mr. Bukhary, who hopes to sell his palm oil to nearby mills that supply major palm oil traders like Apical of the Royal Golden Eagle Group, Musim Mas, Golden-Agri Resources and Wilmar. These traders are the main suppliers to global brands including Procter & Gamble, Mondelēz, Colgate Palmolive, Nissin Foods, Nestlé, PepsiCo and Unilever. 

Deforestation by Mr. Bukhary GPS Coordinates 04°01’03.72″N 98°02’57.64″E 

A sign erected by Mr. Bukhary, claiming ownership rights. GPS Coordinates: 03°57’45.61″N 98°01’02.72″E 

In March 2021, Mr. Bukhary erected a sign claiming his legal ownership rights to land after a district court decision affirmed his claims to ownership of the land. The land now controlled by Mr. Bukhary includes lands that were once forests inside the boundaries of the Gunung Leuser National Park. The steps through which Mr. Bukhary gained permission to convert lands that were formerly within a protected area are unclear––as this activity is prohibited under Indonesian law unless exceptions are granted by the Minister for Environment and Forestry. The lands claimed by Mr. Bukhary were formerly part of the neighboring district of Langkat, in the province of North Sumatra, so exceptions may have been granted by district and provincial governments of North Sumatra. 

Between March 2021 and RAN’s April 2022 expose,150 acres were cleared and significant deforestation has continued since then as well as throughout 2023. A further 475 acres of forests were cleared in the indicative areas of Mr Bukary’s lands in 2023. The maps below show the areas cleared throughout June to December 2023: 

Satellite map showing forest loss in the indicative area of Mr. Bukhary’s palm oil plantation, December 2023 

Satellite map showing forest loss in the indicative area of Mr. Bukhary’s palm oil plantation, November 2023 

Satellite map showing forest loss in the indicative area of Mr. Bukhary’s palm oil plantation, October 2023 

Satellite map showing forest loss in the indicative area of Mr. Bukhary’s palm oil plantation, September 2023 

Satellite map showing forest loss in the indicative area of Mr. Bukhary’s palm oil plantation, August 2023 

Satellite map showing forest loss in the indicative area of Mr. Bukhary’s palm oil plantation, July 2023 

Satellite map showing forest loss in the indicative area of Mr. Bukhary’s palm oil plantation, June 2023. Satellite analysis shows forest clearance persists in early 2024. 

Satellite map showing forest loss in the indicative area of Mr. Bukhary’s palm oil plantation, Jan 2024.

Mr. Bukhary’s ownership rights remain contested. In 2022, following the issuance of the district court decision, conflicts continued to re-emerge with residents whose lands overlap with those claimed by Mr. Bukhary. Residents from the Adil Makmur II, Tenggulun Village and the Independent Swakarsa Forest Farmers Group continue to challenge the decision of the district court. The conflict between these parties persisted for over a year and reached a climax when the police arrested three residents of the village. 

Illegal logging and deforestation by Mr. Jumady inside Gunung Leuser National Park 

The images below show the scale of new road development and deforestation by Mr. Jumady inside the Gunung Leuser National Park, near Tenggulun village in the district of Aceh Tamiang. Illegal logging is also rampant in the area.

Piles of logs from illegal logging operations within protected forests. The forests are being logged and cleared to make way for palm oil plantations GPS Coordinates 03°57’05.89″N 98°00’15.40″E 

Mr. Jumady’s excavator used to clear forests for palm oil GPS Coordinates 03°57’46.91″N 98°01’45.11″E 

Deforestation by Mr. Jumady to clear lands for palm oil plantations GPS Coordinates 03°57’05.66″N 98°00’18.62″E 

These cases show that, despite some progress made to reduce deforestation inside concessions in the Leuser Ecosystem, even the last remaining, critically important forests inside protected areas of the Gunung Leuser National Park have not been adequately shielded from illegal logging and Conflict Palm Oil expansion. These world heritage areas are globally important elements of Indonesia’s extraordinary natural heritage, and once destroyed they can never be recovered. To keep these irreplaceable forests standing, much more effort is needed by major brands and their suppliers to stem forest destruction by local elites outside concessions, including within Aceh’s most important protected areas.

The post Illegal Deforestation Persists in Indonesia’s Gunung Leuser National Park appeared first on Rainforest Action Network.