A South Korean National Assembly member has called for a moratorium on wood pellet imports from Indonesia and an investigation into South Korea’s biomass use after government data and satellite analysis linked the country’s biomass imports to deforestation in Indonesia.
South Korea n National Assembly member Moon Dae-Lim poses for a photo at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea , Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024. Deforestation is visible near the areas of several wood pellet production companies in Pohuwato, Gorontalo province, Indonesia , Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. Logs sit on the side of a road leading to the areas of several wood pellet production companies in Pohuwato, Gorontalo province, Indonesia , Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024.
In South Korea, bioenergy has grown to become the second-largest source of renewable energy and over 80% of its main raw material — energy-dense wood pellets — is dependent on imports, according to a policy report on the state audit authored by Moon and published in October.South Korea’s central bank cuts key interest rate to nurse a slower economyData shows that a growing number of those wood pellets come from the vast tropical archipelago nation of Indonesia.
Over 3,000 hectares of forest have been razed in a concession owned by Banyan Tumbuh Lestari, from 2021 to 2024, according to satellite analysis shared with AP by international environmental organization Mighty Earth. An additional 2,850 hectares were cleared for logging roads. “The company’s wood pellet ecosystem has a very rigorous legality, traceability and compliance procedures put in place to ensure that the company adheres fully to all applicable regulations in Indonesia,” the spokesperson wrote.
In responses to question posed by AP, the Korea Forest Service said it had asked the Indonesian government to provide biomass-related data via a South Korean-Indonesia forestry cooperation center in Indonesia. But it hasn’t received an official response as Indonesia’s Ministry of Environment and Forestry was split into the environment ministry and the forest ministry in October.
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