In May 2018, Aidenvironment raised with us their concerns about land clearing activities conducted in and around PT. KPAM, one of the four concessions under PT. SNA Group, which is owned by IOI Corporation Berhad (IOI). These activities appeared to be conducted prior to and during the New Planting Procedure (NPP) submitted by PT. KPAM. In response to the concerns, IOI would like to provide the following explanation.
IOI has been aware of the land clearing activities referred to by Aidenvironment. The activities started in mid-2016 just outside the northern end of PT. KPAM’s boundary. Soon after, the group of people responsible for these activities started construction of a road and stacking lines inside the concession boundary. PT. KPAM immediately engaged the local authorities and police to stop the encroachment but despite a number of police interventions, these activities continued on and off for many months, apparently with the backing of some local community leaders. In May 2018, the excavator belonging to the group was seized and the excavator operator was detained by police for further investigation. IOI has been keeping RSPO informed about this issue and updating the public about it through IOI’s grievance list which is published on our website.
In a separate incident, but also concerning PT. KPAM, our team has recently discovered that mining operations have been launched by another third party along Brais river which runs through the middle of PT. KPAM concession. We are concerned about the environmental consequences of this operation and have informed the Bupati (Head of Regency) and the local Environmental Protection Agency about it. It appears that the operator has the required legal permits to conduct mining activities in the area which partially overlaps with the High Conservation Value (HCV) area in PT. KPAM concession. IOI will continue to tackle this issue in collaboration with the authorities and other stakeholders.
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