An illegal logger cuts down a tree to be turned into planks for construction in a forest south of Sampit in Indonesia's Central Kalimantan province in this November 14, 2010 file photo. Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono inked into law a two-year moratorium on new permits to clear primary forest, as part of a $1 billion climate deal with Norway, a presidential advisor on climate change said on May 19, 2011. REUTERS / Yusuf Ahmad

Writing by Neil Chatterjee; Editing by Ramthan Hussain; Additional reporting by Niluksi Koswanage in KUALA LUMPUR, David Fogarty in SINGAPORE and Alister Doyle in OSLO
20 May 2011 JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia revealed a long list of exemptions on Friday to a two-year moratorium on new permits to clear forest, a concession to the hard-lobbying plantation industry in the world’s top palm oil producing nation that vexed green groups. The moratorium, taking effect on Friday after a five-month delay, will exempt permits already given in principle by the forestry ministry and extensions of existing permits, as well as projects to develop supplies of energy, rice and sugar. The exemptions were wider than expected after pressure from firms worried about expansion and a forestry ministry concerned about losing billions each year in revenue from chopping down forests in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy. “There was lots of pressure on the Indonesian government from the palm oil industry about this ban since we bring in significant investments. Today’s final details show that agreeable concessions have been made,” said a Malaysian planter with assets in Indonesia, who declined to be identified. … “This is a bitter disappointment. It will do little to protect Indonesia’s forests and peatlands. Seventy-five percent of the forests purportedly protected by this moratorium are already protected under existing Indonesian law, and the numerous exemptions further erode any environmental benefits,” said Paul Winn of Greenpeace Australia-Pacific. Norway’s environment ministry declined comment on the moratorium. Officials said they were still studying the details. … President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Thursday also signed a decree to allow underground mining activities in protected forests for 20 years, provided conditions such as an environmental assessment have been met, likely to further upset green groups but provide relief for miners such as Newmont, Eramet and Bumi Resources. Yudhoyono’s adviser on climate change, Agus Purnomo, said the forest moratorium will not hinder planters’ expansion. “There is no limitation for those who want to develop business-based plantations. We are not banning firms for palm oil expansion. We are just advising them to do so on secondary forests,” Purnomo told a news conference. …

Indonesia forest moratorium softens blow for planters