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Greenpeace questions KLHK's refusal to disclose forest map
Jakarta Post - November 10, 2016
Shapefile format for maps enables users to analyze data by overlaying different maps. It functions to provide greater transparency about who controls areas of land and what happens within those areas.
The KIP ruled in favor of Greenpeace in October, saying that geospatial information or maps in shapefile format is public information that should be published by the Forestry and Environment Ministry (KLHK).
The commission ordered the ministry to publish data on forest fires in 2012 and 2013, the permits and maps of Industrial Plantation Forest Concessions (HTI) and Production Forest Concessions (HPH), all of which are in shapefile formats. The ministry, however, has decided to challenge the ruling at the State Administrative Court.
The KLHK argued that the ruling may violate a law on geospatial information. The law only allows the ministry to uncover maps that have been validated, while no technology can validate the maps that use shapefile format because the data entered is dynamic.
The ministry has refused to elaborate on the reasons why it refused to follow the KIP ruling. "We will elaborate [on the reasons] during the trial," ministry spokesman Helmi Basalamah said.
Greenpeace Indonesia has accused the government of trying to cover up corruption behind the land concessions it has given to major companies.
"It has become an old issue where [the government] misuses spatial layout. For example, we often find that [the government] suddenly issues concession permits in areas that are supposed to be protected forests," Greenpeace Indonesia head Leonard Simanjuntak said on Wednesday. "Our bureaucracy isn't ready to be transparent, which is a big problem," he added.
To enable users to analyze data by overlaying different maps, shapefile format maps are required. Greenpeace used to receive maps of forest cover in such a format from the ministry, but since 2013 the ministry prohibited all shapefile data from being published.
The ministry only makes it available in JPG and PDF formats, meaning that NGOs and analysts would have to do manual digitization, which could result in minor differences from the original maps.
Therefore, the shapefile format is important to help forest fire mitigation as it can give accurate information regarding hotpots and land ownership, so the country will not see a repeat of the 2015 forest fire in Sumatra and Kalimantan, which caused 100,000 deaths, according to a recent study.
The KLHK's move contradicted President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's commitment he made last year during Paris Climate Conference (COP21) in Paris that the country would uphold data transparency.
Deputy director of the Indonesian Center for Environmental Law (ICEL), Raynaldo Sembiring, said the definition of information under the Freedom of Information Law mentioned no limitation regarding the file format.
"The government is supposed to be able to provide information regardless of format type. The ministry has no reason to file an appeal," Raynaldo said. "If the ministry does file an appeal, it means there's something wrong with its transparency and accountability."
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