New Government Expected to Revise Peatland Regulation

Jakarta (Antara) - The new government of upcoming President Joko Widodo, better known as Jokowi, is expected to revise the Government Regulation on the Protection and Management of Peatland Ecosystem (PP Gambut). Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) Chairman Sofjan Wanandi stated here on Friday that the revision is intended to help the forest- and palm oil plantation-based industries to continue to generate foreign exchange and create jobs. Sofjan noted that the existing PP Gambut has even affected mainstay industries including plantation forest, wood products, pulp and paper, and palm oil. "The regulation that could be interpreted arbitrarily and appears retroactive was certainly not good for the nation's mainstay industries," he emphasized during a public dialog on "The Prospect of Investment and the Creation of Employment Based Comparative Excellence." In the meantime, Secretary General of the Forestry Ministry Hadi Daryanto has proposed that business players should file for a judicial review in the Supreme Court to overturn PP Gambut. "Thus, while waiting for the revision of PP Gambut, please file for a judicial review in the Supreme Court," Hadi added. (*)