Aceh Selatan Is the Frontline of Palm Oil Expansion Threatening the Leuser Ecosystem
The forests and peatlands of Indonesia’s nationally protected Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve, within the world renowned Leuser Ecosystem, are globally important landscapes for conservation due to their nearly unparalleled importance as habitat for endangered biodiversity and for the region’s critical role as a carbon sequestration powerhouse. Yet, once again, Rainforest Action Network (RAN) is presenting fresh evidence of ongoing and emerging threats of illegal clearance and rainforest destruction related to the unchecked expansion of the palm oil industry in the reserve and surrounding region.
This is far from the first time that global brands have been alerted to their exposure to sourcing Conflict Palm Oil from ‘the Orangutan Capital of the World.’ RAN is escalating our call for urgent, immediate action by global brands in 2024 to cut offending mills and suppliers from their supply chains and to take meaningful action––alongside governments and the agencies responsible for managing and protecting the reserve––to end further expansion of palm oil infrastructure in this region.
In an effort to identify the underlying drivers of this crisis, RAN’s field investigators have identified and documented two new palm oil mills built in close proximity to the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve that may be driving the demand for illegal palm oil plantations across the district of Aceh Selatan. The recent establishment of two palm oil mills is a likely driver of the uptick in the clearance of new areas of peat forests to make way for new illegal palm oil plantations within the protected Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve.
Timelapse footage showing the construction of the new mill in close proximity to the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve, Aceh Selatan, Indonesia. TheTreeMap/Nusantara Atlas. December 2019 – December 2023
Map showing the location of the PT. Aceh Trumon Anugerah Kita (PT. ATAK) mill just outside the north-eastern boundary of the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve in Aceh Selatan, Indonesia. The map also shows the uptick in deforestation within the reserve after the new mill became operational in 2022 and 2023. Map provided by TheTreeMap/Nusantara Atlas.
The new mills that are threatening the Orangutan Capital of the World are PT. Aceh Trumon Anugerah Kita (PT. ATAK) and PT. Aceh Bakongan Eka Nabati (PT. ABEN). From this moment on, major brands like Procter & Gamble, Mondelēz, Nestlé, PepsiCo and Unilever need to place these mills on their No Buy Lists and increase their investments in jurisdictional programs designed to protect the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve from further destruction. The new mills have no published policies or commitments to prevent the sourcing of illegal palm oil from within the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve, nor do they have the systems in place to comply with market demands for responsibly produced palm oil which complies with the No Deforestation, No Peatland and No Exploitation (NDPE) policy benchmarks set by major brands.
Both new palm oil mills have been supported by the former Bupati (Major) of Aceh Selatan, Tgk Amran, who seems to be giving the greenlight to new crude palm oil mill developments in the district despite the uptick in deforestation, new canal development in carbon-rich peatlands, and land speculation for illegal palm oil development inside the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve.The decision of former district government representatives to approve and ceremoniously open or break ground for the new mills in Aceh Selatan is deeply concerning given the crisis in the protected areas in the district which is having a devastating impact on endangered species and is exacerbating flooding and human-wildlife conflict.
Map showing the location of the PT. Aceh Trumon Anugerah Kita mill and the PT Aceh Bakongan Eka Nabati mill in close proximity to the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve, Kluet peatland and the lowland rainforests in the Singkil-Bengkung Trumon region in South Aceh.
PT. Aceh Trumon Anugerah Kita (PT. ATAK) – a new mill driving palm oil demand since 2022
PT. Aceh Trumon Anugerah Kita (PT. ATAK) is a palm oil mill located in Kapa Seusak, East Trumon, in the district of Aceh Selatan, that may be responsible for the increase in illegal deforestation for palm oil in the nearby Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve. The mill was inaugurated by Tgk Amran, the former Regent of Aceh Selatan (South Aceh) in 2022 and sources palm oil from a network of brokers that collect palm oil from surrounding areas. It was approved to process 45 tonnes of palm oil fruits per hour, meaning it is driving a considerable demand for palm oil in the district of South Aceh.
Since becoming operational, the local community has sent a letter calling on the local government to stop the operation of the mill due to effluent from the mill polluting local waterways which are relied upon by the Pinto Rimba community. The community has requested investigations be undertaken by government agencies into the procedures and practices of waste management. In 2022, mediation efforts between the company and the Pinto Rimba community were carried out, but no common ground was reached.
PT. Aceh Trumon Anugerah Kita (PT. ATAK) is a palm oil mill that may be responsible for the increase in illegal deforestation in the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve. Kapai Seusak, Trumon Timur, Aceh Selatan. GPS Coordinates 02°51’01.95″N 97°48’40.07″E
Brokers in yellow and black trucks leaving the PT. ATAK mill after delivering palm oil fruits collected from the surrounding areas in the Trumon corridor in Aceh Selatan. A tanker is arriving to collect Crude Palm Oil from the mill. GPS Coordinates: 02°51’36.64″N 97°47’17.42″E
Office of PT. Aceh Trumon Anugerah Kita, Trumon, Aceh Selatan. GPS Coordinates 02°51’36.64″N 97°47’17.41″E
Small and medium size trucks that are operated by a network of brokers deliver fresh fruit bunches of palm oil that have been collected from the surrounding area which includes the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve. GPS Coordinates 02°51’34.95″N 97°47’21.28″E
Heavy machinery being used to move palm oil fresh fruit bunches at the PT. ATAK mill. GPS Coordinates 02°51’34.95″N 97°47’21.28″E
Piles of palm oil fresh fruit bunches that have been delivered by brokers to PT. ATAK, Trumon, Aceh Selatan. GPS Coordinates 02°51’34.95″N 97°47’21.28″E
Storage tanks filled with Crude Palm Oil at the PT. ATAK mill. GPS Coordinates 02°51’36.64″N 97°47’17.42″E
Map showing the location of the PT. Aceh Trumon Anugerah Kita mill in close proximity to the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve and the lowland rainforests in the Singkil-Bengkung Trumon region in South Aceh.
Global palm oil supplier Permata Hijau caught sourcing from a controversial new palm oil mill within the Orangutan Capital of the World
The palm oil from the PT. PTAK mill is making its way into global supply chains via palm oil giant Permata Hijau. Permata Hijau’s own published supplier lists show it has sourced from the mill in 2023 for its refinery in Medan, North Sumatra. This refinery is called PT. Permata Hijau Palm Oleo and it supplies specialty fats and biodiesel. Permata Hijau has been repeatedly exposed for sourcing Conflict Palm Oil from the Leuser Ecosystem––including from mills that have been excluded from supply chains of other major traders due to their violation of No Deforestation, No Peatland and No Exploitation policies. Permata Hijau Group has also been called out as a major leakage refinery in Indonesia with a combined capacity of over 2 million tonnes per year. Despite its appalling track record it remains a supplier to Cargill, which in turn supplies major brands.
Permata Hijau’s own published supply list shows sourcing of palm oil from PT. PTAK for its refinery in Medan, North Sumatra called PT. Permata Hijau Palm Oleo.
PT. Aceh Bakongan Eka Nabati (PT. ABEN) – a new mill under construction
A second palm oil processing mill is under construction at Ujung Mangki, Bakongan in Aceh Selatan. The groundbreaking for the mill––called PT. Aceh Bakongan Eka Nabati–happened in August 2023 with the support of Tgk Amran, the former Regent of Aceh Selatan (South Aceh). This mill is projected to process up to 30-35 tonnes per hour of palm oil, with the investment value reaching 120 billion Indonesian Rupiah.
A sign at the site of the new PT. Aceh Bakongan Eka Nabati (PT ABEN) palm oil mill development in Ujung Mangki, Bakongan, Aceh Selatan. GPS Coordinates 02°56’02.40″N 97°25’41.98″E
Map showing the location of the PT. Aceh Bakongan Eka Nabati mill in close proximity to the Kluet Peatland and the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve in the Singkil Bengkung Trumon region in South Aceh.
A sign at the ‘groundbreaking’ for the new PT. ABEN mill by Bupati (Major) of Aceh Selatan, Tgk Amaran, August 2023.
Timelapse footage showing the construction of the new PT. Aceh Bakongan Eka Nabati (PT ABEN) mill in close proximity to the Kluet Peatland and Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve in the village area of Ujung Mangki, in the sub district of Bakongan, in Aceh Selatan, Indonesia. GPS Coordinates 02°56’02.40″N 97°25’41.98″E TheTreeMap/Nusantara Atlas. March 2023 – January 2024
Aceh Trumon Anugerah Kita (PT. ATAK) and PT. Aceh Bakongan Eka Nabati (PT. ABEN) are new palm oil mills that are threatening the Orangutan Capital of the World. Major brands like Procter & Gamble, Mondelēz, Nestlé, PepsiCo and Unilever––and their suppliers––need to place these mills on their No Buy Lists and increase their investments in programs to protect the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve from further destruction. Any sourcing of refined palm oil products from Permata Hijau must be suspended immediately from traders like Cargill that has continue to be supplied by Permata Hijau despite its controversial track record of sourcing Conflict Palm Oil produced at the expense of lowland rainforests and peatlands in the Leuser Ecosystem.