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Mighty Earth’s Campaign: Burning Paradise

  1. A report titled “Burning Paradise” from Mighty Earth (August 2016)
  1. Mighty Earth accuses Korindo of deforestation, illegal burning, and neglecting the welfare of the indigenous people of Papua.
  2. On September 1, 2016, Mighty Earth held a press conference and stated that their investigation indicated that Korindo was carrying out intentional burning for land clearing.
  1. On September 5, 2016, Korindo held a press conference to rebut the baseless accusations from Mighty Earth by providing objective evidence. The news media then publish Korindo’s counterclaim press release which stated that:
    • The land developed for Korindo oil palm plantations has obtained the government permit, and Korindo only developed APL (Areal Penggunaan Lain, which are areas designated for non-forest development).
    • The hotspots seen in Korindo’s operational area were caused by an extremely long drought phenomenon in 2015 known as Super El-Nino.
    • Korindo has always respected and upheld the rights of the residents throughout the development of the plantations.
    • For more detail, please see this document.
  1. Shown below are the results of verification done by the government of Indonesia and the independent, impartial third party (FSC):
    • On February 16, 2016, the Papua Forestry Office stated that the hotspots that had appeared inside PAL’s concession were caused by the extremely long drought and hunting activities by the residents around the plantations. On the same day, the South Halmahera Forestry Office stated that GMM had never conducted illegal deforestation activities and had never done land clearing using fire. On August 24, 2016, the Merauke Forestry and Plantation Office stated that BCA and DP did mechanized land clearing without using fire.
    • In July 23, 2019, FSC released an overview of the investigation result regarding the allegations that Korindo did land clearing using fire. The overview stated that the Mighty Earth allegations were untrue.
    • On February 17, 2017, GAKKUM KLHK (the Ministry of Environment and Forestry’s Environmental and Forestry Law Enforcement) sent a letter with the serial number S.43/PHLHK/PPH/GKM.2/2/2017 to the Indonesian Embassy in Spain stating that oil palm plantations under Korindo have never committed any illegal deforestation activities. Information about the correspondence was revealed to Korindo by GAKKUM KLHK.
  1. As a form of responsibility for community rights, Korindo has continued CSC (Corporate Social Contribution) programs that focus on 5 main pillars; education, health, economy, environment, and infrastructure. Korindo CSC Report can be found further here. An example of Korindo’s contribution to the health sector is the establishment of the Asiki Clinic for the locals in Papua which was inaugurated in September 2017. In 2019, the clinic won a national award for being the second-best FKTP (First Level Health Facilities) out of 6,800 clinics that work with BPJS (Social Health Insurance Administration Body). Korindo has also shown its commitment to fulfilling FPIC (Free, Prior, and Informed Consent) program which can be seen in detail in Korindo Indigenous Report 2020.
  2. In September and October 2016, Mighty Earth sent letters to ask companies in Korindo’s supply chain which includes palm oil, wood products, and wind tower buyers to end business with Korindo. Korindo decided to file a lawsuit for Mighty Earth’s actions had impacted Korindo’s reputation.
  1. Based on the verification done by the government of Indonesia and FSC as the third party, Korindo did not conduct any illegal deforestation activities and land clearing using fire. Korindo carries out its responsibilities to the community through CSC programs and is committed to the FPIC principle by maintaining communication with communities and upholding the rights of indigenous people.
  2. Korindo follows the regulations in Indonesia and works closely with the communities, which are shown through the implementation of the moratorium after completing the HCV/HCS assessment. On November 10, 2016, Korindo officially announced a moratorium for PT Tunas Sawa Erma, PT Berkat Cipta Abadi, and PT Dongin Prabhawa. On February 21, 2017, Korindo announced a moratorium for PT Papua Agro Lestari and PT Gelora Mandiri Membangun.
  3. In September 2019, Korindo Group filed a defamation lawsuit against Mighty Earth in the German court.
  4. The legal dispute between Kenertec Power System, a manufacturer of wind towers and part of Korindo Group, and Rainforest Rescue (Rettet den Regenwald e.V.) and the Center for International Policy, Inc., Mighty Earth’s fiscal sponsor, has been settled. Korindo’s public statement regarding the settlement of the lawsuit can be seen here.
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