PUBLICATIONS

The Palm Oil Moratorium, officially Presidential Instruction No. 8 Year 2018, was signed on September 19, 2018, binding eight officials to suspend and evaluate palm oil plantation licenses and improve productivity. It is a three-year policy applicable only to licenses proposed in forest areas, aiming to protect remaining natural forests and target problematic existing licenses through evaluation and law enforcement. The Instruction also addresses community land rights by ordering the acceleration of land titles for smallholders and the evaluation of the "20% rule" for community plantations.

The effective implementation of the moratorium faces challenges due to its quasi-legislation status, its short three-year validity, and issues with information disclosure and lack of a built-in monitoring mechanism or civil society participation. Key stakeholders have varying perspectives, with the government emphasizing smallholder productivity and land legalization, the industry focusing on license conflict resolution and productivity, and civil society stressing law enforcement, transparency, and public participation.