The Indigenous people of Sipora say NO to deforestation on Mentawai Island
Is the threat to the forest on the Mentawai island of Sipora intensifying? Two years after the permit for 20,000 hectares, the logging company Sumber Permata Sipora has now submitted the environmental impact assessment. At a public hearing, Indigenous people and environmental groups demand the government immediately revoke the permit.
The threat to forests on Sipora is growing: the company PT Sumber Permata Sipora (SPS) has submitted the required environmental study. However, it has not yet been accepted. Before the final decision is made, a government committee held a public hearing on May 22nd. Representatives from thirty Indigenous communities along with various NGOs, including the Indigenous Alliance (AMAN Mentawai), the environmental organizations WALHI West Sumatra and YCM-Mentawai, the legal aid organizations PBHI and LBH and the Mentawai Student Forum were present.
Previous to this study and hearing, the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry granted SPS a permit on March 28th, 2023 to log 20,706 hectares of forest on Sipora for the production of timber.
Sipora is one of the Mentawai Islands, west of Sumatra. It is only 61,518 hectares, but is characterized by a breathtaking diversity of wildlife, including primate species found only in this area. The culture and traditions of the Indigenous people are still very much alive, preserving nature and successfully defending it against logging and palm oil companies.
The island's Indigenous people consider themselves to be the owners of the land and forest. 14,000 hectares of the area approved for logging has already been transferred to the Indigenous people through a governmental decree – but is not yet legally recognized. The leaders read out a letter at the hearing:
We reject the presence of PT Sumber Permata Sipora in our Indigenous territories and forests."
They are calling on the Minister of Forestry to immediately stop all licensing procedures and revoke the permit.
"Eight villages are particularly affected by the plan, as there are 18 watersheds in the vicinity. If the forest is cut down, it can lead to flooding, water shortages and other environmental disasters."
And it’s not only disasters they fear: the plant life they depend on for food is at risk. Deforestation would severely damage the ecosystem and threaten wildlife, including the four endangered species of primates.
Please don’t sacrifice Sipora for timber!
The committee hearing was also a result of public pressure and our petition NO to the wholesale deforestation of the Mentawai Islands!
Sign, if you haven’t already, because the final decision still lies with the Indonesia government.
Join the Mentawai Indigenous People and environmental defenders in demanding the Minister of Forestry:
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Reject the environmental impact assessment.
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Revoke the logging permit.
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Accelerate the official recognition of Indigenous communities and their right to this land. All islands of the Mentawai group are at risk, including Pagai, Sipora and Siberut.
Withdraw the logging permit that is destroying the island of Sipora. Grant the population formal land rights!
What happens next is the government’s Environmental Impact Assessment Committee in Jakarta will discuss the study prepared by SPS. And it is very likely that the committee will accept it.
This would be disastrous, paving the way to wholesale deforestation on the island of Sipora.
Please help the people of Sipora put a stop to this by signing and sharing our petition against the wholesale deforestation of this Mentawai island!
Article about the endemic primates on Sipora: Rainforest Journalism Fund: Mentawai Endemic Primates on Sipora Island Threatened with Habitat Loss
Video about the destruction of the habitat of the endemic primates of Sipora: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jUfPgflUqY
