Wilmar reacts angrily to ”defamatory” FoE palm oil report

Wilmar, one of the world’s largest players in the palm oil market, has reacted angrily to what it sees as an “erroneous, misleading and defamatory” report about the conduct of its palm oil operation in Indonesia. The report, ‘Policy, practice, pride and prejudice’, published yesterday (3rd July) by Friends of the Earth Netherlands, accuses Wilmar of illegally logging rainforests, setting forests on fire and violating the rights of local communities in Indonesia.
In a statement, issued today (4th July) Wilmar responded by saying; “As a leading global palm oil player with one of the largest plantation land banks in Indonesia and Malaysia, we believe Wilmar International Limited has become a convenient target for Friends of the Earth Netherlands (FoE), which has made a number of serious allegations about the Group. We have made a point-by-point rebuttal of these allegations and we regret that FoE has decided to disregard our position and proceeded to publish its erroneous, misleading and defamatory report.”

– We adhere strictly to a zero burning policy and do not engage in any logging activities.

– We will only develop plantations on land, which is approved by the government for the cultivation of oil palms.

– Although land tenure and rights in Indonesia remain ambiguous, Wilmar will work to ensure that all mutual agreements with communities and individuals in Indonesia are clearly defined, documented and legally established, thus demonstrating clear evidence of long term land use rights for our land. Wilmar will not threaten or diminish, directly or indirectly, the resources or tenure rights of the local communities. We diligently strive to ensure that we are using land to which we have a legal right and in which the country’s government recognises us as the rightful entity to manage the land in question. If there are land disputes, we seek to resolve them. Fair compensation will be provided to local communities in the event of loss or damage affecting legal or customary rights, property, resources or livelihoods. Wilmar will endeavour to undertake all measures to help avoid such a loss or damage.

– We are committed towards contributing to the local communities in which we operate by providing opportunities for residents to carve a livelihood for themselves to raise their economic and social well-being. We wish to highlight that like many plantation owners in Indonesia, our operations provide gainful employment opportunities to thousands of local residents in the rural areas. We also provide infrastructure and amenities such as clinics, community halls, creches, schools, places of worship and recreational facilities for our plantation employees.

Biofuel Review, link to FoE report included.