Forestry Investment News
Critics rally against forest investment meeting in Indonesia
25/09/2013
A rally against the Forest Investment Plan (FIP) meeting held this week has been staged by civil society organisations who are against the activities discussed at the meeting.
The meeting – which was attended by participants from eight countries – was held at the Hotel Inna Garuda in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, from 24 to 26 September.
Dozens of activists from the Yogyakarta Civil Societies Alliance to Reject the Forest Investment Plan staged the rally in front of the hotel, saying that the FIP - which was part of the Climate Investment Fund (CIF) – was threatening the rights of indigenous people who lived in the forests. The activists also said that the plan did not adopt a participatory-based mechanism.
Hamzal Wahyudin, spokesperson for the Yogyakarta Civil Societies Alliance to Reject the Forest Investment Plan, told The Jakarta Post: “The FIP does not involve local communities who depend on forests for their livelihoods. Debt funds being used to finance the program will also burden the people.”
The eight countries taking part in the meeting were Brazil, Peru, Mexico, Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Laos, Ghana and Indonesia. They are aiming to pilot the plan which aims to lower carbon emissions that come about as a result of deforestation and forest degradation.
However, Hamzal said: “With the investment plan, the Government will take full control of the forests, which might threaten the existence of customary tribes.”
IB Putera Parthama, Forestry Ministry economy and international trade expert, said that customary tribes “had been involved in the FIP implementation,” the newspaper reported.“Many of them did not show up but they were invited,” he said.
The meeting – which was attended by participants from eight countries – was held at the Hotel Inna Garuda in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, from 24 to 26 September.
Dozens of activists from the Yogyakarta Civil Societies Alliance to Reject the Forest Investment Plan staged the rally in front of the hotel, saying that the FIP - which was part of the Climate Investment Fund (CIF) – was threatening the rights of indigenous people who lived in the forests. The activists also said that the plan did not adopt a participatory-based mechanism.
Hamzal Wahyudin, spokesperson for the Yogyakarta Civil Societies Alliance to Reject the Forest Investment Plan, told The Jakarta Post: “The FIP does not involve local communities who depend on forests for their livelihoods. Debt funds being used to finance the program will also burden the people.”
The eight countries taking part in the meeting were Brazil, Peru, Mexico, Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Laos, Ghana and Indonesia. They are aiming to pilot the plan which aims to lower carbon emissions that come about as a result of deforestation and forest degradation.
However, Hamzal said: “With the investment plan, the Government will take full control of the forests, which might threaten the existence of customary tribes.”
IB Putera Parthama, Forestry Ministry economy and international trade expert, said that customary tribes “had been involved in the FIP implementation,” the newspaper reported.“Many of them did not show up but they were invited,” he said.
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