InfoSAWIT English - Greenpeace Southeast Asia welcomed the Forest Stewardship Council’s (FSC) decision to disassociate from Korindo after FSC and Korindo failed to put in place independent verification of progress on forest certification scheme.

Kiki Taufik, head of the Greenpeace Southeast Asia forest campaign, said in a statement sent to InfoSAWIT: “The Forest Stewardship Council Board has finally come to its senses and decided to kick Korindo out of its forest certification scheme for deforestation and human rights abuses. It is better late than never."

"However, the Indonesian government keeps handing out forests to companies like Korindo, allowing them to violate the rights of Indigenous People and communities while they operate with impunity."

Kiki Taufik said that it is crucial that buyers and certification bodies "call out Korindo for its greenwashing" and "lack of transparency in its supply chains."

He highlighted that there are 312 indigenous tribes, including voluntary isolated peoples in Papua. 

According to Greenpeace's statement, to the date, "none of them have obtained formal legal recognition and protection of their lands."

"The most important first step is for world governments to protect the environment and to recognise Indigenous land rights- specifically to put an end to land grabbing whether in Papua, in the Congo, or in the Amazon”.

In the wake of a joint investigation by Greenpeace, Forensic Architecture and the BBC, the Indonesia's House of Representatives (DPR) launched an inquiry into Korindo’s conduct.

The findings from the inquiry have not yet been made public.

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