No one is safe

The report by Eyes on the Forest (EoF) reveals systemic illegality in the Indonesian palm oil sector, specifically in Riau and Sumatra. Through chain-of-custody tracking, EoF demonstrated that FFB illegally grown in Tesso Nilo National Park and the ex Dalek area reached CPO mills and refineries operated by global giants including Wilmar, RGE (Asian Agri and Apical), Golden Agri-Resources (GAR), and Musim Mas. The findings suggest that current traceability efforts focusing on the mill level are insufficient to prevent the seepage of illegal products, as illegal FFB can travel up to 128 km to reach mills. The report argues that the high prevalence of illegal plantations—estimated by the Indonesian government at 50% in Riau—makes almost all CPO mills in the region high-risk, necessitating a shift toward full traceability to the plantation level.

• Illegal oil palm plantations have significantly encroached upon protected areas in Sumatra. In Tesso Nilo National Park, encroachment reached 43% (35,416 hectares) by 2011, with over 15,000 hectares planted with oil palm; by December 2015, less than 15,000 hectares of natural forest remained. In the ex Dalek area, 8,693 hectares of encroachment were estimated between February and June 2014, with almost 40% (3,369 hectares) planted with oil palm.
• Illegal oil palm development is a primary driver of man-made fires in Riau. Between July and October 2015, 22% of all detected hotspots in Riau occurred in oil palm concessions, many of which were on peatlands. The World Bank noted that the economic cost of these fires to Indonesia in 2015 (IDR 221 trillion) exceeded the value added from the country's entire 2014 palm oil production (IDR 168 trillion).
• Chain-of-custody investigations confirmed that illegally grown FFB from Tesso Nilo National Park and the ex Dalek area reached several CPO mills. These included PT. Inti Indosawit Subur (Asian Agri/RGE) Ukui 1 mill, PT. Rigunas Agri Utama (Asian Agri/RGE) Bungo Tebo mill, and PT. Citra Riau Sarana 3 mill, as well as independent mills like PT. Gemilang Sawit Lestari and PT. Makmur Andalan Sawit.
• Tainted CPO from these mills entered the supply chains of major global processors. Tainted CPO was tracked to PT. Sari Dumai Sejati (RGE), the bulking station and port of Sumber Kencana (SK) Group, Wilmar’s integrated manufacturing complex in Pelintung, and PT. Pacific Indopalm Industries (Pacific Inter-Link group).
• Traceability to the mill level is an insufficient safeguard against illegal FFB. Investigations showed that trucks with illegal FFB traveled between 13 and 128 km (averaging 49 km) and spent up to 5 days on the road to reach mills. Consequently, EoF found that almost all CPO mills in Riau and Sumatra fall within a 30km risk buffer based on Unilever's criteria for natural forest and peatland.
• Major companies including Wilmar, RGE, GAR, and Musim Mas have commitments to zero deforestation, yet their progress on plantation-level traceability is slow. Wilmar's dashboard indicated that most mills in its supply chain were 0% traceable to FFB, except for those owned by Wilmar and some RSPO certified mills. GAR reported it could only trace 41% of the CPO and PK it procured in 2014 to its own mills and plantations.
• The RSPO Mass Balance (MB) supply chain model allows for the mixing of certified sustainable palm oil with non-certified oil, which can lead to the distribution of tainted products. EoF identified four RSPO Supply Chain Certificate holders involved in the trade of tainted CPO, all of which were certified only for the Mass Balance system.
• The scale of illegality in Riau is systemic; the Indonesian government admitted in 2014 that 50%, or two million hectares, of all oil palm plantations in Riau were illegal or lacked permits.

APA

WWF International (2016). No one is safe. https://files.worldwildlife.org/wwfcmsprod/files/Publication/file/9e7zt4a6z5_EoF__06Apr16__No_One_is_Safe_English_FINAL.pdf

Chicago

WWF International. No one is safe. 2016. https://files.worldwildlife.org/wwfcmsprod/files/Publication/file/9e7zt4a6z5_EoF__06Apr16__No_One_is_Safe_English_FINAL.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=WWF International |title=No one is safe |date=April 2016 |url=https://files.worldwildlife.org/wwfcmsprod/files/Publication/file/9e7zt4a6z5_EoF__06Apr16__No_One_is_Safe_English_FINAL.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wwfinternational2016one, author = {{WWF International}}, title = {{No one is safe}}, institution = {WWF International}, year = {2016}, month = apr, url = {https://files.worldwildlife.org/wwfcmsprod/files/Publication/file/9e7zt4a6z5_EoF__06Apr16__No_One_is_Safe_English_FINAL.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }