PUBLICATIONS

Political developments concerning Indonesia's environment and natural resources during the April-May 2020 period were dominated by the Draft Job Creation Law (RUU Cipta Kerja) and the ratification of the Mineral and Coal Law (RUU Minerba). The deliberation of the Job Creation Bill is confirmed to continue by the House of Representatives (DPR) even during its recess period, and the Presidential Letter (Surpres) regarding this bill has been challenged in the State Administrative Court (PTUN) by a civil society coalition. Meanwhile, the revision of the Mineral and Coal Law Number 4 of 2009 was passed by DPR Commission VII and the government, but civil society plans to file a judicial review due to the forced deliberation process and problematic substance.

Other issues include protests from the Indonesian Government and the Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC) against a World Health Organization (WHO) publication that described palm oil as unhealthy, which eventually led to the revision of the article by WHO. Furthermore, the Ministry of Trade revoked Ministerial Regulation No. 15 of 2020, which eliminated the mandatory V-Legal document for forestry industry product exports, following criticism from environmental activists and the European Union. While activists welcomed the revocation, concerns remain regarding the planned revision of other regulations related to Sustainable Production Forest Management (PHPL) and Timber Legality Verification System (SLK), as well as objections from furniture entrepreneurs to the downstream implementation of SVLK.