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Astra Agro Lestari Tbk

Aug 2022According to grievances made by Wahana Lingkungan Hidup Indonesia (WALHI) and Friends of the Earth (FoE), three subsidiaries of PT Astra Agro Lestari Tbk (AAL), namely PT Mamuang, PT Agro Nusa Abadi dan PT Lestari Tani Teladan in Central Sulawesi have been involved in a land dispute and criminalization of the local community

Following WALHI/FOE submiited grievances, Econusantara has released a verification report detailing their findings, in which field verification took place from 25 May 2022 - 12 June 2022. Below are the summary report of the findings:
1. PT Mamuang
- PT Mamuang and the local community are both claiming the same 50 ha of land
- Alleged criminalization of farmers
2. PT Agro Nusa Abadi
- Alleged land grabbing of aproximately 5,000 ha from farmers in 4 villages
- Operating without HGU
3. PT Lestari Tani Teladan
- Alleged land grabbing of approximately 100 ha of land from farmers
06 Dec 2022Permata Group engaged with AAL and asked for clarification regarding Econusantara's report.
08 Dec 2022AAL has responded to Permata Group regarding Econusantara's (ENS) report as follows:
1. PT Mamuang
- PT Mamuang obtained its Rights To Cultivate (Hak Guna Usaha or "HGU") land title certificate in 1997
- The land claim allegations against PT Mamuang were based on a document issued many years after issuance of PT Mamuang land title certificate
- The criminal case brought against Mr. Hemsi was purely a criminal case based on charges of theft of fruit in Block C26 and had nothing to do with PT Mamuang nor any of AAL's subsidiaries

Click Here for the result of the court decision

2. PT Agro Nusa Abadi
- PT Agro Nusa Abadi (ANA) is in the process of obtaining its HGU certificate, in which one of the steps is to verify the potential overlapped land with the land owners
- Based on PT ANA's documentation, currently the remaining land under the compensation process is around 730 ha

3. PT Lestari Tani Teladan
- PT Lestari Tani Teladan (LTT) obtained its HGU in 1995
- The land grabbing allegation against PT LTT regarding 100 ha in the FoE report is contradicted by the ENS report, which states that PT LTT did not take community land
- In fact, the community asked PT LTT to enclave 60 ha of its HGU due to the threat of erosion posed by the Lariang river

Click Here for AAL's Detailed Responses to the allegations
10 Jan 2023In light of the allegation, AAL has committed to take all grievances and reports seriously by formulating an action plan, starting by appointing an independent third party to review the allegations further

In addition, AAL have worked with Conflict Resolution Unit (CRU) to review and design their Respect for Human Rights Policy

Click Here for AAL's Responses on their website
31 Mar 2023AAL has appointed Econusantara as the indenpendent third party to conduct in-depth investigation in regards to FoE allegations

Click Here for AAL's Official Appointment of Econusantara
12 May 2023AAL published its first progress update on the verification process
Click Here for AAL's Response on their website
26 May 2023AAL published its second progress update on the verification process
Click Here for AAL's Response on their website
09 Jun 2023AAL published its third progress update on the verification process
Click Here for AAL's Response on their website
23 Jun 2023AAL published its fourth progress update on the verification process
Click Here for AAL's Response on their website
07 Jul 2023AAL published its fifth progress update on the verification process
Click Here for AAL's Response on their website
21 July 2023AAL published its sixth progress update on the verification process
Click Here for AAL's Response on their website
04 Aug 2023AAL published its seventh progress update on the verification process
Click Here for AAL's Response on their website
18 Aug 2023AAL published its eight progress update on the verification process
Click Here for AAL's Response on their website
01 Sept 2023AAL published its ninth progress update on the verification process
Click Here for AAL's Response on their website
15 Sept 2023AAL published its tenth progress update on the verification process Click Here for AAL's Response on their website
29 Sept 2023AAL published its eleventh progress update on the verification process Click Here for AAL's Response on their website
13 Oct 2023AAL published its twelfth progress update on the verification process Click Here for AAL's Response on their website
27 Oct 2023AAL published its thirteenth progress update on the verification process Click Here for AAL's Response on their website
10 Nov 2023AAL published its fourteenth progress update on the verification process Click Here for AAL's Response on their website
24 Nov 2023AAL published its fourteenth progress update on the verification process Click Here for AAL's Response on their website
27 Nov 2023Econusantara released a verification report pertaining recommendations that can be taken by AAL for its subsidiaries as seen below:
1. PT Lestari Tani Teladan
a. Explore options to grant the community's request for the 14 hectares of land in residential areas and cemetery grounds, together with village officials and local government.
b. FoE/Walhi to provide further evidence as the HGU's referred do not match with PT LTT's HGU permits.
c. Due to differences in data issued by BLH and BBIHP, PT LTT/AAL is advised to be proactive in ensuring that these complaints are handled properly at the field level.

2. PT Mamuang
a. Hemsi's land claim in Block C26 has been clearly discussed in this report. It is recommended that improvements in relations between PT Mamuang and Hemsi be carried out using a peaceful approach, and programs to improve the welfare of the surrounding community be intensified.
b. Establish a good relationship with KT-SRJ through more intensive program approaches.
c. Confiscation of the Tado Kabuyu Indigenous community, it is hoped that interested parties will be able to provide more detailed and precise data to confirm the object of the claim in question.
d. Continue and intensify programs that can improve the welfare of the Tado Kabuyu Indigenous People so that they get the same opportunities as other Indonesian people.

3. PT Agro Nusa Abadi
a. Involve key parties including the government, community and NGOs/assistant groups, to a resolution that can be accepted by all parties.
b. Regarding overlapping objects claimed by every group or individual whose land claims overlap needs to exercise restraint in order to avoid horizontal conflict and be able to find solutions together.
c. Recommended to immediately complete the processing of the Rights to Cultivate (HGU).

Click Here for the official ENS verification report
08 Dec 2023Response in the Accusation of Intimidation and Coercion by the Security of AAL To Local Communities in Rio Mukti, Sulawesi

Click Here for the Response
09 Feb 2024ENS was brought on board to help AAL create an Action Plan to implement the suggestions made by ENS's Independent Verification of Allegations. AAL will release the finalised Action Plan and provide stakeholders with a monthly progress update

Click Here for the Official Statement
04 Apr 2024AAL will soon be establishing an action plan to follow up the verification report published by ENS. During the past two months, Team of AAL and ENS have held several meetings to prepare and finalize the Action Plan. Currently, the action plan is in the review stage by the Robertsbridge team to ensure all recommendations made in ENS's independent are accomodated.

Click Here for the Official Statement
28 Apr 2024WALHI published another article regarding their action, along with representation of Central Sulawesi communities and FoE, protested outside Astra International and Mandarin Oriental, owned by Jardine Matheson. They accused PT Mamuang, PT Lestari Tani Teladan, PT Agro Nusa Abadi, and PT Sawit Jaya Abadi 2 of land grabbing and harming local communities

Click Here for detail of the article
02 May 2024AAL released a public statement stating that AAL and its subsidiaries, PT Mamuang, PT Lestari Tani Teladan, PT Agro Nusa Abadi, and PT Sawit Jaya Abadi 2, have never committed acts of criminalization, do not have the authority to do so, nor have they made any threats against the community. AAL upholds the laws applicable in Indonesia and believes that every process is carried out fairly. AAL also reiterates that the grievances against PT Mamuang, PT Lestari Tani Teladan, and PT Agro Nusa Abadi have been transparently verified by ENS.

Click Here for the Official Statement
21 Jun 2024AAL has published a Joint Statement with ENS regarding Action Plan as the followup on the 2023 third party verification.

The action plan has been reviewed and includes inputs from stakeholders. AAL and ENS continue to actively seek feedback from stakeholders.
25 Jun 2024Friends of the Earth US (FoE), WALHI (Friends of the Earth Indonesia), and Milieudefensie (Friends of the Earth Netherlands) have released a new report highlighting land disputes, governance gaps, and accountability issues within Astra Agro Lestari’s operations in Indonesia.

The report also include AAL's response to the allegations made by FoE US and WALHI.
19 July 2024Permata reached out to AAL for their response to recent publications by Friends of the Earth US, WALHI, and Milieudefensie.

AAL clarified that they had tried to engage directly with FoE to address the concerns raised in these reports. However, there are significant challenges in developing enduring communication channels.

AAL refuted the allegations contained in the new publications and provided compelling arguments. They remain committed to resolving the ongoing disputes by fostering open dialogue with stakeholders, including FoE and Walhi.

Permata will coninue the engagement with AAL
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