On 6 July 2011, the Netherlands Minister of European Afaairs and International Cooperation Ben Knapen visited West Kalimantan to meet with local NGOs and learn about the challenges and opportunities for sustainable production and trade. Aidenvironment assisted the NGOs in the preparation of their joint statement, which was presented during the meeting at WWF’s West Kalimantan office.

The NGOs highlighted the enormous pressure on the remaining forests and community lands in West Kalimantan, where large scale plantation development is set to take up over 40 percent of the province’s land area. Some districts, such as Ketapang, have even allocated 70 percent of their territory to oil palm and tree plantations. The NGOs called upon the Dutch government, industry and financial sector to stop investing in further plantation expansion and to help sort out land conflicts on existing estates. The NGOs also shared their successes, including developing the marketing of certified forest honey produced by local communities in Kapuas Hulu District, the World Bank review on oil palm investments, triggered by land conflicts in Sambas District, and the network of Credit Unions, which unite over 430,000 people throughout Kalimantan.

Deforestation for oil palm expansion in West Kalimantan

Appreciative of the Netherlands’ efforts to “green up” commodity imports, Aidenvironment suggested to the Dutch mission that NGOs continue to be enabled to monitor certification schemes such as RSPO and FSC. If too many certificates are issued to satisfy the market drive, the credibility of certification will suffer, as already demonstrated by numerous cases of non-compliance in Kalimantan. Aidenvironment furthermore highlighted the opportunities to engage the Dutch rubber industry in a common effort to support community rubber farmers, which account for around two-thirds of all Credit Union members in Kalimantan.

Knapen thanked the NGOs for their input. He recognized that they were confronted with “the ugly face of unregulated capitalism”, which he had observed from the air earlier that day when he flew over the environs of Pontianak. Knapen had nonetheless detected optimism that the concerns could be addressed. He emphasized that problems must be resolved locally, and that the Dutch mission will continue to take NGO input seriously and keep on listening and facilitating processes that aim to address their concerns.

Aidenvironment assisted the Dutch Embassy in determining the Minister’s flight route, which included a tour over areas deforested and burned by smallholder and corporate oil palm plantations, agroforestry landscapes, rubber factories and tin mining.

Meanwhile, in a backroom of the WWF office, Aidenvironment and local NGO staff not attending the formal gathering held an informal side meeting with local law enforcement officers who had accompanied the Dutch entourage. They discussed the numerous cases of illegal oil palm expansion inside forest reserves in West Kalimantan.