How oil palm could kill orangutans
- Indonesia is clearing the Kalimantan forests, habitat of the orangutan, sparking social conflict with indigenous communities, inturn contributing to global warming.
- An NGO, Greenpeace has spent years campaigning against Indonesia’s palm oil companies which is the cause of massive deforestation across the archipelago.
- Indonesia is world’s largest producer of palm oil and companies and Proctor & Gamble and others are actively involved in deforestation and contributing to global warming.
- Due to rampant deforestation the Kalimantan’s once-burgeoning orangutan population, is now considered critically endangered. Rapid deforestation in Indonesia for planting of oil palms has resulted in the number of Bornean orangutans being halved over the last half century.
- Last year under pressure from consumer activists Indonesia extended a 2011 moratorium on clearing of primary forests, peatland and granting of new concessions to companies for another two years.
- High demand of palm oil from India (accounting for 19% of global trade) makes India indirectly responsible for Indonesia’s forest destruction.
- Pledges by palm oil giants look empty. Central Kalimantan’s landscape has been decimated due to rampant deforestation.
- Indonesia has become world’s third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, suffered habitat loss. Social conflict stares it in the face.
- 600 cases of social conflicts with indigenous people have been reported over the last few years. As per NGO Save Our Borneo, of 238 companies with palm oil concessions only 86 are accredited with “clean” practices.
- Greenpeace is mounting pressure on Proctor and Gamble, that receives palm oil supplies from Indonesian firms Wanna Catur Java, Utama and Karya Makmur Abadi , to commit to more sustainable sourcing. Unilever, Nestle and L’Oreal have since fallen in line.
- Secondary forests in Indonesia, not covered by the moratorium, remain vulnerable. Environmentalists say absence of any clear distinction between primary and secondary in the law will cause more damage to forests.
- Indonesian’s palm oil players see no link between deforestation by P&G suppliers and loss of orangutan habitats.
- Legal advisors attached to plan oil industry argue since no protected forests have been felled they should not be blamed for the loss of orangutan habitat.
Exams Perspective:
- Indonesian Palm Oil Industry
- Bornea Forests
- Green House Gases (GHG)
- Habitat loss