REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Environmental Affairs and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya has been collecting inputs from various stakeholders for evaluating Government Regulation No.71/2014 on Peatland Ecosystem Protection and Management.

"We will accommodate every input. We argue, and if necessary, we will take up this issue with the economic minister," Nurbaya stated here on Wednesday.

The government regulation has been mired in a controversy since businessmen engaged in cultivation and plantation activities in peatland areas perceive the regulation as a threat.

But, on the other hand, environmental NGOs are of the viewpoint that the regulation is too lenient and could pose a threat to peatland ecosystems.

Minister Nurbaya remarked that while deciding about the peatland regulation, she would take into consideration a balance of economic and environmental interests.

According to the environmental affairs and fishery ministry's Secretary General Hadi Daryanto, the government has conducted a scientific study regarding the sustainable management of peatland resources.

In the meantime, a spokesman of the Association of Indonesian Oilpalm Businessmen (Gapki) earlier noted that the implementation of Government Regulation No.71/2014 on protection and management of peatland ecosystems would harm current and future investment potential.

"The Government Regulation (PP) Number 71 of Year 2014 on the Protection and Management of Peatland Ecosystems is a cause of major concern for us because the size of palm oil plantations in peatland areas is very large, around 1.7 million hectares," Gapki Secretary General Joko Supriyono recently remarked.

If the regulation is implemented, the existence of palm oil plantations in peatland areas will be considered as a violation of the law, he stated during an investors' meeting held in the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM).

"If the government regulation is imposed, not only palm oil plantations but other businesses will also be affected. Investments worth Rp256 trillion might be cancelled. It will be a major loss, both in terms of job creation and regional development," he pointed out.

Ikuti Whatsapp Channel Republika