Palm oil has long been a source of conflict in areas with tropical rainforests. This is especially true in Indonesia where thousands of acres of vital rainforests and other habitats have been degraded and destroyed. Read more below to find out why Indonesia’s land has been managed so poorly. Read...
Timber, logging, palm oil, and mining industry areas have accounted for nearly 45 percent of deforestation in Indonesia between 2000 and 2010, finds a new study. Read more below to find out just how much forest has been lost and which industry is the worst offender. Read more at Mongabay....
An investigation revealed that Asia Pacific Resources International Limited (APRIL) continued to source fiber produced by destruction of high conservation value forests in Sumatra all the way until it committed to a new forest conservation policy. Read more below to find out how environmentalists feel about APRIL’s pledge, especially compared to its rival....
Now that Taib is no longer Chief Minister of Sarawak, the state needs to get rid of his unconstitutional land grab laws. Read more below about how Taib unconstitutionally took land from the indigenous people of Sarawak and how he treated them when they protested. Read more at Sarawak Report....
New research suggests even certified companies in Indonesia may not be meeting EU standards and these flaws in the country’s system to verify legal wood products (which is “almost impossible” for companies to fail) could have implications for trade with Europe. Read more below to find out what these flaws...
RAN recently released a report that argued that, while several, major global companies have made commitments to deforestation- and conflict-free palm oil, Malaysia-based Kuala Lumpur Kepong (KLK) continues to source palm oil associated with forest destruction and community conflicts. Read more below to find out what RAN hopes will be...
In a poll of 8,000 people in 800 villages in Borneo, the majority of people said that heat was the biggest impact of deforestation on their health, well-being, and welfare. Read more below to find out how deforestation is raising the local temperature and why this heat negatively affects Malaysian and Indonesian...
A new report by the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) found that REDD+, the UN program to reduce global carbon emissions, may be putting indigenous communities at risk, jeopardizing local land rights and laying the groundwork for large-scale “carbon grabs” by governments and private investors. Read more below to find out...
Safeway, the second biggest U.S. grocery chain, has become the latest company to establish a policy that excludes deforestation-linked palm oil from its products. Safeway will ask its suppliers to implement social and environmental criteria that ensure the palm oil it uses in branded products is ethical. Read more below to find...
One tropical tree from Central and South America has made itself at home in Borneo where it is crowding out local vegetation and interfering with forest recovery. Although this tree has been slow to spread through Borneo since its introduction in 1952, new logging roads appear to be driving the species...
