The Rimba Raya Biodiversity Reserve REDD Project

G2.4. ‘Without Project’ Scenario Effects on ProjectZone CommunitiesDescribe how the ‘without project’ reference scenario would affectcommunities in the project zone, including the impact of likely changesin water, soil and other locally important ecosystem services.Palm Oil and communities in IndonesiaThe damaging impact of oil palm plantations on the environmentin Souteast Asia is already well documented, including forestdestruction, fires, the loss of orangutan habitat, pollution andsedimentation of rivers, and the oxidation of peatlands leading tomassive carbon dioxide emissions. But the impact of oil palmimpact extends far beyond environmental damage, harming thevery communities it purports to help through usurpation ofcommunity land, conflict that sometimes leads to violence, andthe perverse diminishment of economic opportunity.Legally, once land has been identified by a company wanting todevelop a new plantation, the local communities and indigenouspeoples must be consulted about the development andappropriate levels of compensation. An environmental impactassessment (EIA) must also be carried out before a land usepermit is granted. Evidence suggests, however, that this processis rarely adhered to on the ground. Many communities reportthat they are not consulted at the appropriate stages of thepermitting process and only discover that their land has beenallocated for palm oil when the bulldozers arrive to clear theirancestral territories. When community consultations do takeplace, these are often flawed, and palm oil companies do notpermit communities to influence decisions on oil palm plantationdevelopment. Companies also frequently fail to explain tocommunities that the land they relinquish will not be returned tothem at the end of the HGU (allocated land use) period, but willinstead devolve to the State.The rapid expansion of oil palm plantations in Indonesia leads tohundreds of disputes and conflicts over land involvingdemonstrations, land occupations, displaced persons, arrests,beatings, torture, and deaths. As of January 2008, Sawit Watch,an Indonesian NGO, has monitored 513 active conflicts betweencompanies and communities in the oil palm plantation sector inIndonesia. These conflicts involve 135 companies from 23groups, both private and state-­‐owned.Sawit Watch believes that 1,000 communities may be involved inoil palm-­‐related conflicts in Indonesia. Information collated bythe Consortium for Agrarian Reform (KPA) from media sourcesand by member organizations in 19 provinces shows thatbetween mid-­‐1998 and early 2002:• At least 479 local people and activists defendingcommunity rights were tortured in 41 conflicts.• At least 12 were killed in 14 conflicts.• At least 134 were shot in 21 cases.• At least 25 were abducted in seven cases.• At least 936 were arrested in 77 cases.• At least 284 houses or huts were burned down ordestroyed in 25 cases.• No less than 307,954 hectares of peasants' land wasaffected by crop damage, destruction and burning.• No less than 1,901 peasants and activists werethreatened in 157 cases.The debate around the expansion of the oil palm industry issometimes framed in terms of trade-­‐offs between the crop’s121