Indonesia, with a 2014 GDP of USD 888.5 billion and a population of over 250 million4, is the largest economy in the ASEAN Economic Community. When Joko Widodo was elected President of Indonesia on October 20, 2014, there were hopes that the new government would accelerate the reforms started by his predecessor, Susilo Bam- bang Yudhoyono. However, growth has been sluggish throughout 2015, and economists have urged Mr. Widodo to abandon interventionist policies and concentrate on infrastructure spending and the implementation of consistent regulations. In September, the government introduced a series of reforms aimed at stimulating the economy and improving the macroeconomic situation.
Although Indonesia has embraced democracy, the government is working to control corruption and ensure that the rights of its citizens are protected. The country has some of the most extensive and biologically diverse tropical forests in the world, which provide habitat for rare species of ora and fauna.
However, the past two decades have seen rapid and widespread degradation of Indonesia’s resources and the World Resources Institute identified that 10 million hectares of forest have been cleared by illegal logging activities. Tens of millions of Indonesians rely on the forests for their livelihoods and there have been repeated reports that their rights are being abused.
RepRisk has identified the Paper, Food and Beverage, and Mining sectors as being the three most exposed industries to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks.
This report outlines the ESG risks in each of these three sectors, and provides insight into the companies and projects that are exposed.
More reports available for download here.
