14 DAY TRIAL // News from Indonesia says that, this past Wednesday, a court in the Meulaboh district ruled that a palm oil company by the name PT Kallista Alam was guilty of having violated several environmental laws.
More precisely, the company was found guilty of having destroyed orangutan habitat in northwestern Sumatra, information shared with the public says.
After careful consideration, the court decided that a fine of $30 million (€22.07 million) was enough to teach the palm oil company a thing or two about environmental protection and also restore the forests that PT Kallista Alam illegally cleared and burned in the country's Aceh Province.
Mongabay details that Senior Judge Rahmawati SH was the one who ordered the palm oil company to pay $30 million in fines and reparations.
The judge explained that, of said sum of money, $9.4 million (€6.91 million) would constitute compensation for the damage that the palm oil company caused to natural ecosystems in the area.
The remaining $20.6 million (€15.15 million) would serve to restore the damaged forests, the judge further detailed.
In case anyone was wondering, the area that palm oil company PT Kallista Alam saw fit to illegally clear and burn is located in the Tripa peat swamp in northwestern Sumatra.
Conservationists explain that it is a stronghold for orangutans, which happen to be an endangered species. Hence, the region is protected by law.
Commenting on Judge Rahmawati SH's decision to fine PT Kallista Alam, Muhammad Nur, the current chairman of Friends of the Earth Indonesia, pointed out that, “This is a clear message to companies working in Aceh who think they can destroy protected forests and get away with it.”
“The Judge’s decision in this case clearly illustrates a move towards improved law enforcement against environmental offenders in the region,” Kamaruddin, a lawyer for communities in the Tripa area, further stressed.
Interestingly enough, it appears that four other palm oil companies currently operating in this part of Indonesia risk being dragged to court and made to pay for violations of environmental laws in the not so distant future.
“Each faces the possibility of serious financial consequences as a result of their illegal clearance, burning and drainage of Tripa’s unique peat swamp ecosystem.”
“Some of the company Directors and senior management also face the prospect of prison terms in cases against them for their actions on the ground,” Friends of the Earth Indonesia reportedly said in a statement.