LONDON: The credibility of the international Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has been called into question over its failure to act against a company bulldozing ancestral forests and perpetrating human rights abuses in Indonesia. First Resources Ltd has submitted documents to the RSPO falsely claiming that its subsidiary PT Borneo Surya...
A paper published this week in Nature Climate Change confirms that expansion of oil palm plantations in Indonesia is destroying the country’s rainforests while simultaneously increasing global carbon emissions. The study, led by Yale and Stanford University researchers, used Landsat satellite analyses to discern multiple land covers, coupled with above-and below-ground carbon accounting. The study...
According to a study published last year in the journal Global Change Biology, Indonesia and Malaysia lost more than 11 million hectares (42,470 square miles) of forest between 2000 and 2010. Borneo was on the top of list, losing 12 percent of its 2000 cover. Lowland forests historically have been...
The Indonesian palm oil firm, PT Suryamas Cipta Perkasa, illegally cleared thousands of hectares of forest in Borneo and is now under investigation from a presidential taskforce for failing to receive mandatory environmental approvals before clearing the land. The investigation is a test to Indonesia’s pledge to better regulate forest clearing...
Organized by the Save Sarawak’s Rivers Network (SAVE Rivers) and the Baram Protection Action Committee (BPAC), representatives of villages in the Baram District of Borneo, strongly opposed the plans of the Sarawak State Government and Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) to build the Baram Dam. Read the letter detailing their requests...
At the Rio+20 global summit, indigenous peoples from all over the world have come to present solutions for sustainable development, flag serious risks associated with government ‘green’ proposals, and highlight how indigenous peoples’ traditional knowledge and practices contribute to sustaining the world’s most fragile ecosystems. Read here about how traditional...
Jettie Word, Executive Director of The Borneo Project, talks about the current threats that Borneo faces including deforestation, spreading palm oil plantations, and threats to indigenous communities. Tune into Sierra Club Radio! Listen here. For more information on the current threats in Borneo, please visit: https://borneoproject.org/borneo/overview-of-current-threats. http://sierraclub.typepad.com/sierra_club_radio/ Sierra Club Radio:...
The Director of the Borneo Project, Jettie Word, speaks to the importance of protecting Borneo’s rivers and the communities that live on their banks from twelve massive and destructive proposed dam projects. Read more about how the Borneo Project is supporting indigenous communities who are directly impacted by environmental destruction....
About 30 people from villages surrounding the proposed Baram dam site in Borneo gathered during a ceremonial event called the ‘Manyau Dalleh,’ organised by the Sarawak State Government and Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB), to protest the planned construction of the Baram Hydroelectric Dam Project. The protesters displayed banners and shouted...
In opposition to the Baram Dam proposal, members of Save Sarawak’s Rivers Network (SAVE Rivers) and concerned citizens held a peaceful demonstration to send a strong message to the community leaders meeting with Senator Lihan Jok to reject the hydro-electric dam project. Read below about public opposition to this mega...
