JAKARTA — Industrial plantations of trees to make paper and wood pellets are causing widespread and persistent environmental and social violations in Indonesia, despite claims to the contrary by the industry and government, a new report shows. A coalition of 13 NGOs, including Walhi, Indonesia’s biggest environmental watchdog, looked into the operations of 33 plantation companies and used ground investigations, satellite imagery and community interviews to find repeated violations between 2023 and 2025 across 11 provinces. Their report details the clearing of natural forests, destruction of peatlands, uncontrolled fires, pollution, encroachment beyond licensed concession areas, and ongoing land conflicts with local communities. The companies in question are all licensed to clear natural forest to plant acacia and eucalyptus, used to make paper and wood pulp, or calliandra and gliricidia, to make wood pellets that are burned to generate energy. “If a company is still clearing natural forests, it’s undermining efforts to meet carbon neutrality goals, since preserving forests within concessions is key to [those goals],” said Difa Shafira, the forestry lead at the Indonesian Center for Environmental Law (ICEL), part of the NGO coalition. The coalition presented its findings to the forestry ministry in mid-April, saying it hoped there would be follow-up action, given President Prabowo Subianto’s stated commitment to turning Indonesia’s forests into a net carbon sink. “Looking at the president’s vision and mission statements, there’s a stated priority to take firm action against polluters,” said Okto Yugo Setiyo, coordinator of Jikalahari, one of the NGOs. A ministry official…This article was originally published on Mongabay