Suzette Jackson and Rob Taylor, along with about 40 others, have
established a camp in Riau Province, Sumatra. In collaboration with
local communities, members of the camp will bear witness and
document the rampant destruction of the local peatland forests
(1)
The forests are being cleared largely to make way for palm oil
plantations. Palm oil is one of the raw materials used to make
biofuel.
"The loss of forests is rendering species extinct and depriving
local communities of their homes," said Suzette Jackson. "This is
also a crucial international issue as forest destruction and forest
fires are having a massive impact on global climate."
New Zealand climate campaigner Susannah Bailey said the
destruction of forests to make way for bio-fuel crops demonstrated
the importance of the sustainability clause in the New Zealand
government's biofuel legislation.
"The government introduced its Biofuel Bill into parliament
today. The legislation includes a clause that enables environmental
sustainability standards to be developed.
"Greenpeace welcomes the proposal to develop sustainability
criteria for biofuels. What's going on in Indonesia highlights the
need for this clause to be robust and effective and it's important
that NGOs are consulted in the design of sustainability
criteria."
Deforestation accounts for approximately one-fifth of global
greenhouse gas emissions (2). The deforestation rates in Indonesia
are the highest among the world's major forest nations (3) and
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 (4)
Volunteers at the FDC will also engage in spotting and fighting
forest fires, conduct peatland depth surveys and undertake a
comprehensive assessment of biodiversity in the area.
The work and documentation will highlight the urgency of ending
deforestation, preventing biodiversity loss and combating climate
change in the run up to Indonesia hosting the next round of Kyoto
Protocol negotiations in Bali in December.
Greenpeace is calling for action to reduce deforestation to be
included in the next
phase of the Kyoto Protocol covering the period after 2012. This
is a critical step in securing the financing and capacity needed by
the governments of tropical forest countries to tackle forest
destruction, allowing them to make a serious contribution to global
efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
VVPR info:
Suzette Jackson – 021 614 899
Susannah Bailey - 021905582
For photos of recent deforestation and forest fires in Indonesia and FDC: Michelle Thomas 021 577 566
Notes: (1) Data from the Pekanbaru-based environmental group Jikalahari show that between 1982 and 2005 the average rate of deforestation in Riau reached 160,000 hectares annually. The figure increased to 200,000 hectares per year in the 2004-2005 period. According to the data, total forest area in the province dropped significantly to 2.7 million hectares in 2004 from 6.4 million hectares in 1982.
(2) 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)
(3) FAO, Global Forest Resources Assessment 2005
(4) Climate Analysis Indicators Tool (CAIT) Version 4.0. (Washington, DC: World Resources Institute, 2007).
Exp. contact date: 2007-11-10 00:00:00