Ministry Of Environment And Forestry Called WWF Losing Its Own Reputation

Location of PT ABT's RE which was sealed by KLHK in September 2019 (Photo: KLHK document)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) regrets that the statement of the WWF Indonesia Foundation regarding the termination of the cooperation carried out by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry is a one-sided action and is detrimental to WWF's reputation.

The termination of the collaboration between the Ministry of Environment and Forestry and the WWF Indonesia Foundation based on the Decree of the Minister of Environment and Forestry Number SK.32 / Menlhk / Setjen / KUM.1 / 1/2020 dated 10 January 2020 concerning the End of Cooperation between the Ministry of Environment and Forestry and the WWF Indonesia Foundation.

'' Is it permissible and justified for WWF's move to unilaterally formulate a work plan, then raise funds from abroad and domestically without an official report to the Ministry of Environment and Forestry? Also, is it permissible and justified for WWF's actions that unilaterally expand the scope of the 1998 cooperation agreement? "Said Director General of Conservation of Natural Resources and Ecosystems (KSDAE) of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Wiratno, Thursday (30/1/2020).

"Of course it is absolutely not allowed and not justified. WWF has practiced such practices for many years. It must end, "he added.

Wiratno questioned the responsibility of the Board of Trustees and the Governing Body of the WWF Indonesia Foundation, which did not realize that their organization had committed violations of cooperation principles, fieldwork violations, and substance violations over the years.

Wiratno also questioned the ethics of WWF's organization, which has been cooperating under the authority of the government (KLHK), but they never submitted a progress report on cooperation to KLHK.

"WWF did not submit an official report to the Ministry of Environment and Forestry as part of the implementation of the cooperation agreement. Is WWF's unilateral act like that permissible and justified? This is clearly intolerable because WWF is destroying governance in a partnership with government institutions, ”said Wiratno.

Wiratno emphasized that another fundamental thing related to the end of the collaboration between KLHK and WWF was the case of forest and land fires (karhutla) that occurred again in the concession area of WWF's Ecosystem Restoration (PT ABT) in Jambi in 2019.

"This is a recurring forest and land fire incident, because in 2015, forest and land fires also occurred in the WWF concession area," he explained.

Forest and land fires in the PT ABT Jambi concession (Photo: KLHK documentation, August 2019).

Referring to legal and field facts regarding forest and land fires in WWF's concession, Wiratno denied WWF's statement claiming that the Ministry of Environment and Forestry had harmed the organization's reputation.

'' On the contrary, WWF has harmed its own reputation, by using a one-sided cooperative approach. Don't blame the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, but this is the duty of the Advisory Board and the Governing Body for the WWF Indonesia Foundation to fix it internally, ”explained Wiratno.

In addition, Wiratno reminded WWF to immediately focus on improving its own reputation by allocating its resources to complete the facilities and infrastructure for controlling forest and land fires in its concession.

"That is one of the priorities to urge WWF to fulfill its legal obligations within 90 working days from mid-January 2020, considering that currently WWF's concession is in the status of being sanctioned by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry due to the 2019 forest and land fires," he said.

“WWF companies are also required to restore burnt areas in their concession areas. Do not let WWF neglect this matter because of WWF's position as the majority shareholder. If it fails, this will clearly be directly related to WWF's reputation, ”added Wiratno.

Regarding WWF's official statement considering the legal option for terminating the cooperation by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Wiratno invited this option to be taken.

"Go ahead if WWF plans to file a lawsuit. The Ministry of Environment and Forestry is very prepared with more than sufficient legal facts to prove the serious violations that WWF has committed over the years in implementing the cooperation agreement," said Wiratno.

Wiratno added that the Ministry of Environment and Forestry is accustomed to accepting lawsuits from companies, especially those involved in forest and land fires.

'' WWF's company concession is also involved in forest and land fires, has been sealed, and is currently carrying out sanctions. So, WWF is welcome to file a lawsuit against the steps to end the cooperation taken by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry. We will treat WWF as the owner of a company involved in forest and land fires, ”said Wiratno.