Polemik Masyarakat Riau Dan Pemerintah Provinsi Riau Terhadap Perkembangan Kelapa Sawit Di Provinsi Riau

Abstract

The increasing world demand for palm oil (CPO) has caused the government
to continue expanding palm oil plantations. Riau is the province with the largest oil palm
plantation in Indonesia. The area of oil palm plantations in Indonesia is 13.5 million ha,
of which 2.9 million ha are in riau.1 This certainly has an impact for the people in Riau
province. One positive impact for the people of Riau with the development of oil palm
plantations is the increase in income and the opening of employment. The negative impact
is that the expansion is done by burning and cutting down the forest, whose effect is
remarkable. As happened in the year 2014, when massive forest fires committed in Riau
province resulted in excessive smoke pollution. The smoke effects are not only felt in Riau
area but also other regions and even neighboring countries also feel the impact of this
forest burning. From the pollution of the smoke is a lot of losses felt by the community,
ranging from the many people who contracted the disease ARI, can not leave the house,
school, or work, all access outside the area of land, sea or air covered by the thick smoke
that menggagga visibility, all of which lead to disadvantage of the community, such as
education sector to economic sector.