Competing Water Claims in Biofuel Feedstock Operations in Central Kalimantan

The study identifies significant community grievances in Central Kalimantan regarding water pollution and scarcity caused by oil palm plantations, including the release of Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) and the degradation of peatlands. It argues that current governance is failing due to a lack of trusted water data, conflicting land-use maps, and weak enforcement of environmental laws. Furthermore, it critiques the EU Renewable Energy Directive (EU-RED) for its 'water blindness,' focusing almost exclusively on greenhouse gas emissions while delegating local environmental protections to voluntary standards like the RSPO, which the study finds are inconsistently implemented.

• Local communities in Central Kalimantan report severe water resource degradation linked to oil palm operations, including turbid water from erosion, toxin release from pesticides, and the dumping of Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) into rivers and streams.
• The expansion of plantations has led to a decline in water-dependent livelihoods, such as fisheries and traditional rice farming, creating a cycle of economic dependency on plantation companies for employment and drinking water.
• The drainage of peatlands for oil palm cultivation releases toxic ferrous oxide, which acidifies water bodies and damages ecosystems, a risk the study claims is largely ignored in current policy debates.
• Public sector governance is severely hampered by a lack of reliable water monitoring data and a critical mismatch between outdated national forestry maps and rejected provincial land-use plans.
• Environmental law enforcement is weak due to insufficient funding for monitoring, a lack of penalization tools for agencies, and political conflicts of interest at the district level.
• The EU Renewable Energy Directive (EU-RED) is criticized for 'water blindness,' as its Sustainability Criteria focus almost exclusively on greenhouse gas emissions and land-use change, ignoring water resource exploitation during cultivation.
• Voluntary sustainability standards, specifically the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), are viewed as vital but suffer from weak implementation and a lack of economic incentives for growers to cover compliance costs.

APA

Larsen, R. K., Osbeck, M., Jiwan, N., Rompas, A., Nito, J., & Tarigan, A. (2012). Competing Water Claims in Biofuel Feedstock Operations in Central Kalimantan. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-WorkingPaper-Larsen-CompetingWaterClaimsInBiofuel-2012.pdf

Chicago

Larsen, Rasmus K., Maria Osbeck, Norman Jiwan, Arie Rompas, Johanes Nito, and Abetnego Tarigan. Competing Water Claims in Biofuel Feedstock Operations in Central Kalimantan. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2012. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-WorkingPaper-Larsen-CompetingWaterClaimsInBiofuel-2012.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Larsen |first1=Rasmus K. |last2=Osbeck |first2=Maria |last3=Jiwan |first3=Norman |last4=Rompas |first4=Arie |last5=Nito |first5=Johanes |last6=Tarigan |first6=Abetnego |title=Competing Water Claims in Biofuel Feedstock Operations in Central Kalimantan |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=November 2012 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-WorkingPaper-Larsen-CompetingWaterClaimsInBiofuel-2012.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{larsen2012competing, author = {Larsen, Rasmus K. and Osbeck, Maria and Jiwan, Norman and Rompas, Arie and Nito, Johanes and Tarigan, Abetnego}, title = {{Competing Water Claims in Biofuel Feedstock Operations in Central Kalimantan}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2012}, month = nov, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-WorkingPaper-Larsen-CompetingWaterClaimsInBiofuel-2012.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }