Indonesian government challenges another green group over freedom of information request
The Indonesian government is going to the Supreme Court over an NGO’s freedom of information request for detailed maps of land on which oil palm companies have been licensed to operate in Kalimantan, the country’s portion of Borneo island. Civil society groups have tried for years to pry away the maps, said to be crucial if the public is to effectively monitor an industry rife with illegality. Oil palm plantation firms routinely clear outside of their permitted areas, destroying forests and community lands with little oversight from local officials. The lack of clarity over who has been authorized to operate in precisely which areas can play into the hands of companies who dismiss watchdog allegations as based on faulty data. “We as members of the public want to participate” in the nation’s governance of its natural resources, said Linda Rosalina, a campaigner with Forest Watch Indonesia, the group behind the request.
