Corrupt oil palm plantation licensing in Indonesia drives up the volumes of illegal timber, according to a report out Tuesday from the Environmental Investigation Agency.
New oil palm plantation owners, who receive licenses for their business via nefarious means, prepare their property by clear cutting. That process is creating large amounts of illegal timber. While the government is aware of the problem, a summary of the report said records understate the illegal timber production by at least 1.41 billion cubic feet.
Forestry reforms, such as the SVLK (Sistem Verifikasi Legalitas Kayu), have failed to address the issue, according to the summary.
The report, “Permitting Crime: How Palm Oil Expansion Drives Illegal Logging in Indonesia,” will be released Tuesday at 4 p.m. GMT, following a press conference in Indonesia.
