The Bangkiriang Wildlife Reserve (SM) Conservation Area in Banggai Regency, Sulawesi, Indonesia, has become a victim of the expansion of the palm oil company PT. Kurnia Luwuk Sejati (KLS).
The company is using residents to clear the Bangkiriang forest and plant oil palm trees. The method is people cut down trees and then get paid.
The community contributed to destroying the Bangkiriang SM area by clearing land to plant corn, cassava, cocoa trees, and so on. The community encroached on the conservation area because the government allowed the entry of oil palm plantations in the Bangkiriang area.
SM Bangkiriang, which is a lowland tropical rainforest in a mountainous area that works as a strategy to balance the environment, is in danger of losing its function. Moreover, SM Bangkiriang has hundreds of flora and fauna, including the habitat of Sulawesi's endemic animal, namely the maleo bird (Macrocephalon maleo). There is a high risk of deforestation in Banggai Regency amid climate change.
This project will report on the conflict between palm oil companies and local farmers.