Indonesia Goes Green to the Dismay of Palm Oil Producers

To environmentalists, Indonesia is the home of developers who clear virgin rain forests, destroy the habitat of orangutans, and contribute to global climate change. But on May 13, Indonesia extended a policy of keeping virgin rain forest off-limits to the palm oil industry, a main driver of deforestation.

The first moratorium, imposed in 2011, had some enforcement problems. This time the government seems to be taking a new approach to green issues, and activists such as Glenn Hurowitz are unlikely fans. “There are now people at the highest levels of government who really believe the country can develop and protect its natural resources at the same time,” says Hurowitz, managing director of consultant Climate Advisers and senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, a think tank. The change, he says, is “quite extraordinary.”