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Deforestation accounts for approximately one-fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions. (1) According to recent estimates Indonesia is the country with the third largest greenhouse gas emissions after China and the United States, mainly due to the destruction of peatland forests, which are being converted into palm oil plantations. (2)
Indonesia has one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world (3). This is set to rise with increased global demand for bio-fuels pushing the price of palm oil higher, which in turn is driving the expansion of palm oil plantations into more and more forest areas. Currently there are about 6 million hectares in palm oil plantations in Indonesia, with provincial governments planning for an additional 20 million hectares. (4)
Malcolm Turnbull announced yesterday that Australian companies source palm oil for biofuels from companies which abide by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). Greenpeace does not believe the RSPO and its current standard can ensure environmentally responsible and socially just production of palm oil. There is no system to prevent mixing RSPO certified palm oil with palm oil from uncertified plantations.
The best option for companies purchasing palm oil is to ensure that it doesn't come from forest conversion, involve taking lands from indigenous communities without their consent, or other environmentally destructive or socially unjust practices. This requires that companies take responsibility for what their suppliers are doing, and cease purchases from companies still converting forests or engaged in other destructive practices.
Greenpeace yesterday opened a Forest Defenders Camp in Riau Province, Sumatra, Indonesia, as part of its international effort to protect the world's remaining forests and the global climate prior to the Kyoto protocol climate negotiations taking place in Bali in December.
The area surrounding the camp has recently been cleared of forest and peatlands have been destroyed to make way for oil palm plantations. In collaboration with local communities in Riau, Greenpeace will bear witness and document the rampant destruction of the peatland forests in Riau.
"As we launch this initiative, the forests in Indonesia are being destroyed. This has to end. The Indonesian government must act and, before December's Kyoto Protocol meeting in Bali, commit to a moratorium on conversion and destruction of Indonesian peatland forests and ensure the implementation of an effective action plan against forest fires," said Hapsoro, Forest Campaigner of Greenpeace Southeast Asia.
"We need international action to end deforestation. Agreement on this must be included in the second phase of the Kyoto Protocol. Protecting the world's remaining forests will significantly reduce climate change, maintain the livelihood of millions of people who depend on forests and protect a huge amount of the world's biodiversity," said Sue Connor, Greenpeace International forests campaigner.
Domestically Australia must make deep cuts in its own emissions and start a transition from coal to renewable energy. The Government must also pass strong regulations to stop destructive forest products entering Australia.
Contact:
Tiy Chung, Greenpeace Forests spokesperson +61 409 604 010
Valerie Phillips, Greenpeace Forests Campaigner, Sydney, Australia: +61 438 837 138
Video available of recent deforestation and forest fires in Indonesia and Forest Defenders Camp footage from Riau,
Sumatra. Footage preview at:
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/press/video-previews
For Photos and broadcast quality MPEG2 versions of these clips go to:
http://media.Greenpeace.org.au Username: photos, Password: green
Or contact: Abrahm Powell (video) +61 9263 0350, Michelle Thomas (photos) +61 404 096 556
Notes to editors:
(1) IPCC (intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), 2007. Climate Change 2007: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA. IPCC report available at: http://www.mnp.nl/ipcc/pages_media/AR4-chapters.html (see technical summary)
(2) Climate Analysis Indicators Tool (CAIT) Version 4.0. (Washington, DC: World Resources Institute, 2007).
(3) FAO, Global Forest Resources Assessment 2005
(4) Colchester et al. Promised Land. Palm Oil and Land Acquistion in Indonesia: Implications for Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples. 2006. Forest Peoples Programme, Perkumpulan Sawit Watch,HuMA and World Agroforestry Centre.
Indonesia has one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world (3). This is set to rise with increased global demand for bio-fuels pushing the price of palm oil higher, which in turn is driving the expansion of palm oil plantations into more and more forest areas. Currently there are about 6 million hectares in palm oil plantations in Indonesia, with provincial governments planning for an additional 20 million hectares. (4)
Malcolm Turnbull announced yesterday that Australian companies source palm oil for biofuels from companies which abide by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). Greenpeace does not believe the RSPO and its current standard can ensure environmentally responsible and socially just production of palm oil. There is no system to prevent mixing RSPO certified palm oil with palm oil from uncertified plantations.
The best option for companies purchasing palm oil is to ensure that it doesn't come from forest conversion, involve taking lands from indigenous communities without their consent, or other environmentally destructive or socially unjust practices. This requires that companies take responsibility for what their suppliers are doing, and cease purchases from companies still converting forests or engaged in other destructive practices.
Greenpeace yesterday opened a Forest Defenders Camp in Riau Province, Sumatra, Indonesia, as part of its international effort to protect the world's remaining forests and the global climate prior to the Kyoto protocol climate negotiations taking place in Bali in December.
The area surrounding the camp has recently been cleared of forest and peatlands have been destroyed to make way for oil palm plantations. In collaboration with local communities in Riau, Greenpeace will bear witness and document the rampant destruction of the peatland forests in Riau.
"As we launch this initiative, the forests in Indonesia are being destroyed. This has to end. The Indonesian government must act and, before December's Kyoto Protocol meeting in Bali, commit to a moratorium on conversion and destruction of Indonesian peatland forests and ensure the implementation of an effective action plan against forest fires," said Hapsoro, Forest Campaigner of Greenpeace Southeast Asia.
"We need international action to end deforestation. Agreement on this must be included in the second phase of the Kyoto Protocol. Protecting the world's remaining forests will significantly reduce climate change, maintain the livelihood of millions of people who depend on forests and protect a huge amount of the world's biodiversity," said Sue Connor, Greenpeace International forests campaigner.
Domestically Australia must make deep cuts in its own emissions and start a transition from coal to renewable energy. The Government must also pass strong regulations to stop destructive forest products entering Australia.
Contact:
Tiy Chung, Greenpeace Forests spokesperson +61 409 604 010
Valerie Phillips, Greenpeace Forests Campaigner, Sydney, Australia: +61 438 837 138
Video available of recent deforestation and forest fires in Indonesia and Forest Defenders Camp footage from Riau,
Sumatra. Footage preview at:
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/press/video-previews
For Photos and broadcast quality MPEG2 versions of these clips go to:
http://media.Greenpeace.org.au Username: photos, Password: green
Or contact: Abrahm Powell (video) +61 9263 0350, Michelle Thomas (photos) +61 404 096 556
Notes to editors:
(1) IPCC (intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), 2007. Climate Change 2007: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA. IPCC report available at: http://www.mnp.nl/ipcc/pages_media/AR4-chapters.html (see technical summary)
(2) Climate Analysis Indicators Tool (CAIT) Version 4.0. (Washington, DC: World Resources Institute, 2007).
(3) FAO, Global Forest Resources Assessment 2005
(4) Colchester et al. Promised Land. Palm Oil and Land Acquistion in Indonesia: Implications for Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples. 2006. Forest Peoples Programme, Perkumpulan Sawit Watch,HuMA and World Agroforestry Centre.
