Sawit Watch

Background

Sawit Watch was established in 1998, investigating the large Indonesian forest and land fires in 1997/1998. It has 143 individual members and works in 17 provinces.

Vision  

Sawit Watch envisages social changes for smallholder farmers, labourers and indigenous peoples towards ecological justices.

Mission

→ Establish, provide and manage data and information; 

→ Increase the capacity of smallholders, labourers and indigenous peoples; 

→ Facilitate conflict resolution between smallholder farmers, labourers and indigenous peoples and large-scale oil palm plantations; 

→ Establish synergy of movement amongst smallholder farmers, labourers and indigenous peoples;

→ Encourage the adoption of state policies in favour of smallholders’, labourers’ and indigenous peoples’ interests. 

Key Activities

1) Carrying out studies on policies and regulations related to oil palm plantation development and its impacts on smallholder farmers, labourers and indigenous peoples;

2) Monitoring the development practices and activities of oil palm plantation companies and their credit-backer financial institutions;

3) Developing alternative economic models to the large-scale monoculture oil palm plantation model;

4) Facilitating conflict resolution related to the development and management of large-scale oil palm plantations;

5) Promoting enabling conditions for policy changes favourable to smallholder farmers, labourers, and indigenous peoples;

6) Carrying out public education to promote environmentally-based development models;

7) Carrying out campaigns towards ecological justices;

8) Facilitating communities dialogues with government, parliament and the private sector for the resolution of conflicts and for policy changes related to oil palm plantations in Indonesia;

9) Carrying out organisational development and capacity building for members.

Enabling and Supporting Systems

1) Public Interest Lawyer Network (PILNET) 

–      150 individual members

–      120 lawyers

–      Human rights defenders and activists

2) Village information centre (Pusat Informasi Kampung)

–      120 ongoing

–      83 established village information centres

3) Union of Oil Palm Farmers (Serikat Petani Kelapa Sawit)

Advocacy approaches: Joint National and International Interventions

2007 – United Nations, Committee on Racial Discrimination

Mechanism: Early Warning and Urgent Action Procedures on mega project along West to Eastern Kalimantan

Result: Strong recommendations to Indonesia

2007 – World Bank/IFC

Mechanism: Accountability mechanism, complaint procedure of CAO

Result: Suspension of funding on palm oil world wide (2009-2010)

2010 – United Nations, Special Rapporteur on Right to Food

Mechanism: Submission on palm oil case and statement of rights to food

Result: Positive recognition of the problems and issues

2011 – United Nations, Committee on Racial Discrimination

Mechanism: Early Warning and Urgent Action Procedures on MIFEE

Result: Strong recommendation to Indonesia

2011 – Indonesia  Constitutional Court

Mechanism: Judicial review against Plantation Act (Law 18/2004)

Result: Constitutional Court revokes article 21 and 47