East Kotawaringin

East Kotawaringin is the district that contributes the largest regional income for Central Kalimantan. This district is dense with oil palm plantations and has the highest conflict intensity. Here the expansion of oil palm plantations is conducted on a massive scale each year, both by converting agricultural land as well as forests. This district also has the largest area of severely degraded land in Central Kalimantan, and the highest poverty rate after East Barito³². The government of Central Kalimantan is trying to boost rice production so that the region would have more than enough rice for local consumption and trade³³. Ironically, Tute Lelo, the head of Central Kalimantan Bureau for Agriculture and Stockbreeding, states that East Kotawaringin, along with Seruyan and West Kotawaringin, has converted most of its arable land into oil palm plantations.³⁴ If the expansion is not immediately checked, there are concerns that it will disrupt local food security.

East Kotawaringin has an area around 16,796 square kilometers (1.68 million hectares), comprising 17 subdistricts, 17 villages (village heads are elected by communities), and 161 wards (the ward chief or lurah is appointed by the regent). The district was established as a consequence and part of the establishment of Central Kalimantan province in 1953. The people of East Kotawaringin (Kotim, as it is called) rely on the Mentaya river basin. The district was the mother of two other districts that were carved out of it in 2002; the other two districts are Seruyan and Katingan.

The population in 2012 reached 380,443, which comprised 101,628 households. In 2012 more than 53 per cent of the workforce (total 162,479 people) only had an elementary education at most. So far, records show that the average number of poor families in the last

32 Dayak Pos, 29th February 2009

33 Banjarmasin Pos, 5th August 2008

34 Dayak Pos, 12th August 2008

34 five years is 10,500 families. Three villages are considered to have the largest poor population: Antang Kalang, Cempaga, and Mentawa Baru or Ketapang (Sampit). This last one is also the village with the highest population (78,183 people; 21,031 households).

Like other districts in Central Kalimantan, Kotim relies on natural resource exploitation to increase its regional income (Pendapatan Asli Daerah, PAD). According to WALHI’s records, from Kotim’s total area, 440,295 hectares (26.69 per cent) are already controlled by forestry concession companies; 13,183 hectares (0.8 per cent) are controlled by mining companies; and 437,325 hectares (26.51 per cent) are controlled by oil palm plantations. This means that 46 per cent of the total district area has not been conceded. However, the status of this remaining area is “pending clearing”. Indonesian Statistics (BPS) 2013 data show that almost the entire area of this district is categorised as “production forest”, both permanent production forest (35.05 per cent of total district area) and limited production forest (64.80 per cent of total district area). In other words, the entire forest area in this district has been consecrated to generate regional income. Not even one hectare is allocated as conservation area to ensure environmental sustainability.

Before oil palm plantations expanded, Kotim relied on forest resources to generate regional income (PAD). Since the district was granted regional autonomy, the local government has been issuing small-scale Forest Concession Permits (Hak Pengelolaan Hutan, HPH), also known as 100-hectare HPHH, to boost regional income. This HPHH system was initially considered to provide the local communities with better access to forest resources. In the short term, the local community—especially its affluent members—enjoyed profits from harvesting timber. In the long term, however, the 100-hectare HPHH has brought more negative impacts: forest degradation, marginalisation of communities, and the increase of illegal logging activities due to weak law enforcement (some community members also take part in illegal logging activities). The system has also muddied matters of tenurial rights, and is threatening the livelihood of local communities.

The development of industries in Central Kalimantan in general, and in Kotim in particular, has seen a transition from forestry to large-scale plantation industry. Even though the forestry industry still contributes to regional income, the disappearing forests have caused the government to seek alternative sources of regional income, such as palm oil. Between 2008 and 2010, the size of the combined areas used for palm oil plantaions in Kotim increased from 292,531 hectares to 469,120 hectares.

In the records of East Kotawaringan’s Bureau of Forestry and Plantation, there are 47 oil palm plantation companies. Recently the Kotim government has launched the “One Million Hectare Oil Palm Land” program, but according to staff of Kotim’s Bureau of Forestry and Plantation there is no more land left. In Parenggean subdistrict alone—which we’ve selected as a location for our study—almost 20 companies are operating, among others: PT Sapta Karya Damai, PT Karya Makmur Bahagia, PT Unggul Lestari, PT Uni Primacom, PT Katingan Indah Utama, PT Surya Inti Sawit Kahuripan, PT Mukti Sawit Kahuripan, PT Wana Yasa Kahuripan Indonesia, PT Swadaya Sapta Putra, PT NSP, PT Tumas Agro Subur Kencana I, PT Tunas Agro Subur Kencana 2, PT Tunas Agro Subur Kencana 3, PT Sarana Prima Multi Niaga, PT Bina Hutan Lestari, PT Hutan Sawit Lestari, PT Windo Nabatindo Lestari, PT Bangkit Giat Usaha Mandiri. Eight of those companies already have their own Crude Palm Oil (CPO) mill—they are: PT Uni Primacom, PT Karya Makmur Bahagia, PT

35 Katingan Indah Utama, PT Surya Inti Sawit Kahuripan, PT Tunas Agro Subur Kencana, PT Bangkit Giat Usaha Mandiri, PT Sarana Prima Multi Niaga, and PT Swadaya Sapta Putra.³⁵ All of these companies operate in areas formerly conceded to the forestry industry (with HPH).

Parenggean subdistrict has an area of 1,584 square kilometres³⁶, populated by around 11,000 households or almost 38,000 people. Around 30 per cent of its residents are indigenous Dayak, and half of the indigenous Dayak are categorised as poor.

The distance between Parenggean subdistrict and Sampit, the capital of Kotim, is merely 105 kilometres and can easily be covered in 1-2 hours by car. In reality, though, the journey from Sampit to Parenggean may take up to 5 hours, because the roads are severely damaged, potholed, bumpy, and muddy.

The roads’ condition is largely caused by the constant passing of numerous heavy-duty trucks, now belonging to oil palm plantation companies. In the past, these trucks belonged to logging companies. They did not only transport logs along the river Tualan, but also by land.

The first oil palm company that established itself in Parenggean was the Korea-owned PT Trasindo. Since 2001 this company is no longer operational; in the middle of riots, the Trasindo office was torched. The company was then liquidated by banks. The Trasindo land was actually certified for use by the migrant communities (certificates SP 1, SP 2, SP 3G, and SP 4 G attach to the land). On that land 770 hectares had been planted with oil palm. After Trasindo had ceased operations, entered PT Uni Primacom, and then PT Makin, and then others. The increase in oil palm plantation area in Kotim is illustrated in the following graph.

35 Progress of Oil Palm and Rubber Plantations Development in East Kotawaringin 2013 (Perkembangan Pembangunan Perkebunan Kelapa Sawit dan Karet kabupaten

Kotawaringin Timur tahun 2013), East Kotawarigin Regional Bureau of Forestry and Plantation (Dinas Kehutanan dan Perkebunan Pemerintah Daerah Kabupaten Kotawaringin Timur).

36 East Kotawaringin Figures (Kotawaringin Timur dalam Angka) 2012, East Kotawaringin Statistics (Badan Pusat Statistik Kabupaten Kotawaringin Timur).

36 The expansion of oil palm plantations in Kotim has brought consequences.

First, it increased the region’s vulnerability to conflict. There are many unresolved cases of land disputes. In Telawang subdistrict, for instance, by 2012 there has been a backlog of 115 land dispute cases.³⁷ The head of the Integrated Team (Tim Terpadu), Putu Sudarsana, stated that since its formation in 2009 the Integrated Team has received around 200 land-dispute cases. People believe that there are more land dispute cases taking place in Kotim than reported.

Second, the expansion of oil palm plantations has made the region more vulnerable to flooding. After forests were cleared, rivers overflow more easily, especially when there is high volume of rainfall. Kotim is particularly vulnerable because most of its areas are lowlands, the district’s highest point is only 60 meters above sea level. Sampit, the district’s capital, and even the regent’s office, is regularly flooded³⁸.

The life of riparian communities is increasingly under threat due to environmental degradation. In this district there are four main tributaries of Mentaya river: Cempaga, Tualan, Sampit and Seranau. These rivers are increasingly polluted by the intensification of forest clearing and operation of oil palm plantations. According to a local health personnel, the communities that rely on these rivers for drinking water are more vulnerable, especially to diarrhoea and nutritional problems, which mainly affect children. In mid 2011 the

37 http://www.jpnn.com, accessed 8th January 2012.

38 http://www.jpnn.com, accessed 12th July 2012.

37 government announced a “Diarrhoea Emergency”³⁹. Children suffering from malnutrition are predominantly found in villages in remote areas⁴⁰.

From an economic perspective, Kotim has advantage due to the presence of Haji Asan airport and Ketapang port in Sampit. The Ketapang port is the loading and unloading point for the province; it plays a role as the gateway for the trading of goods, which will generate income for the regional budget. Forest, plantation, and mining products are also transported to domestic and foreign destinations through the port Sampit. The two dominant export destination countries are Malaysia and China. The main export materials are iron ore, zircon, crude palm oil (CPO), and rattan (up to 2010). The speed with which oil palm plantations have expanded is also evident in the continuous increase in export value of crude palm oil that leaves this district. Throughout the 2007-2011 period as much as 251.71 thousand tons of crude palm oil were brought out of this district with an exchange value of USD 196.43 million. The plantation sector, more than other agricultural sectors, has contributed between 13-16 per cent of the entire value circulation in recent years. Unfortunately, thus far the entire value circulation has been absorbed out of this district.

Below are descriptions of the living conditions of local communities in the three selected districts, before and after the establishment of oil palm industries.