Indonesia

Greenpeace podcast: A tale of two ships

Posted by jamie — 18 December 2008 at 4:03pm - Comments

Our podcast has skipped a month, but then with the Rainbow Warrior gracing our shores things have been a tad busy around here of late. As you may know, she was here in October as part of the international Quit Coal tour, and we went to meet some of the Greenpeace supporters who came to have a look round during the open boat days.

Also on our radar was the recent Indonesia tour undertaken by that other Greenpeace ship, the Esperanza. I was lucky enough to be there and while the crew were busy painting and blockading palm oil tankers in Sumatra, I was able to talk to them about what it's like being in the middle of a major piece of direct action.

And you'll have to excuse my froggy throat in the introduction, there's a cold going around the office.

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Article tagged as: climate change, coal, direct actions, esperanza, indonesia, palm oil, podcasts, rainbow warrior

The 'twiddling fingers' part of direct action

Posted by jamie — 14 November 2008 at 11:41am - Comments

A dance troupe from Manokwari take a tour of the Esperanza's bridge

A dance troupe from Manokwari take a tour of the Esperanza's bridge in October 2008 © Greenpeace/Rante

Jamie wrote this - his thoughts and reflections on the ship tour so far - as he was waiting for something to happen in Indonesia last night. Eventually, something did.

Direct actions can be quite boring at times. The few moments of excitement are the ones which make the headlines and the photos, but anyone who has participated themselves will know there can be long, drawn-out stretches when not much is happening. Direct inaction, if you will.

I'm currently experiencing that now. As I write this, nestled in the campaign office on board the Esperanza, we're playing a waiting game. You've probably read about what the crew here has been up to in the Indonesian port of Dumai, painting and blockading palm oil tankers.

Article tagged as: climate change, direct actions, dumai, forests, indonesia, palm oil, papua new guinea, ship tours

Indonesian ship-to-ship blockade becomes a tug of war

Posted by jamie — 14 November 2008 at 9:04am - Comments

Hauling on the mooring lines © Greenpeace/Novis

Hauling on the Esperanza's mooring lines © Greenpeace/Novis

After painting and obstructing various palm oil tankers in Dumai earlier this week, we of the Esperanza have been playing a waiting game. There was one tanker due in which the campaigners were particularly interested in - not only was it bound for Europe, but it was picking up a cargo of palm oil from Sinar Mas, the largest palm oil company in Indonesia. As soon as it arrived, a climber was installed on the anchor chain and then there was some more waiting. A lot more waiting. 

Article tagged as: climate change, deforestation, direct actions, forests, indonesia, palm oil, ships, sinar mas

Update from Indonesia: Greenpeace climber brought down

Posted by bex — 12 November 2008 at 12:42pm - Comments

A policeman pushes a Greenpeace climber down from the anchor chain of the Gran Couva

A policeman pushes a Greenpeace climber down from the anchor chain of the Gran Couva © Greenpeace/Novis

An update from Indonesia: yesterday, the climber occupying the anchor chain of a ship carrying a cargo of palm oil was brought down, arrested and later released without charge.

Yesterday, we also received the intriguing photo above (later chosen by the BBC for its day in pictures). As it took us in the office a while to get our heads around what was happening, I thought I'd pass on Jamie's explanation:

Article tagged as: climate change, deforestation, direct actions, esperanza, forests, indonesia, palm oil, ship tours

Seven years on - but still no sustainable palm oil

Posted by jossc — 11 November 2008 at 2:19pm - Comments

Oil palm saplings

Indonesia: oil palm saplings are still replacing peatlands and rainforest

Cooking oil, chocolate, soap, washing powder, cosmetics and biofuels are just a few of the hundreds of products reliant on one key ingredient - palm oil. Demand for this versatile oil is rising rapidly. Today 80 per cent of world production comes from plantations in Indonesia and Malaysia. Palm oil is the leading cause of destruction in Indonesia, where it is spelling disaster for local communities, biodiversity, and climate change as palm plantations encroach further and further into rainforest and critical peatland areas.

These issues are meant to be addressed by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), the self-regulating industry body created in 2001 to develop sustainable solutions to palm oil production. To date, despite seven years of existence, no "sustainable" palm oil has entered the market place appearing in products of its members (who include household names like Boots and BP). But that's supposedly now about to change as the first certified palm oil shipment from Malaysia arrives this week in Rotterdam.

Article tagged as: deforestation, indonesia, malaysia, palm oil, peatlands, rainforests, rspo

Forest crimes and climate crimes: Greenpeace ships take action

Posted by bex — 10 November 2008 at 3:48pm - Comments

The hoses are turned on a climber, attached to the anchor chain of the Gran Couva. © Greenpeace/Novis

The Esperanza in Indonesia

The small (wet) figure above is a crew member of the Greenpeace ship Esperanza. Darkness has fallen on the port of Dumai (Indonesia) since this photograph was taken several hours ago, but our climber is still there, in the dark, occupying the anchor chain and preventing the tanker from setting off to the Netherlands with its 27,000 tonne cargo of palm oil. As Jamie wrote on the Forests for Climate blog, it takes only one person to stop a giant palm oil tanker.

Article tagged as: belgium, climate change, coal, eon, esperanza, forests, indonesia, rainbow warrior, ship tours

Alongside the forest, up against the wall

Posted by jamie — 7 November 2008 at 4:47pm - Comments

holding out the banner in the Kampar peninsula © Greenpeace/Novis

Backs against the wall: holding out the banner in the Kampar peninsula © Greenpeace/Novis

I’ve scrubbed and showered but there are still traces of mud sticking to me. It’s my own fault - I guess I shouldn’t have gone tramping around the peatlands here in Riau. But the picture above, that’s us: some of the Esperanza’s crew and several Indonesian volunteers pulling our banner tight against the forest wall, the straight line that separates the thriving ecosystem from the barren areas which have been cleared of trees. In case you’re wondering, I’m at the top of the P in ‘STOP’.

Article tagged as: acacia, APP, climate change, forests, forests for climate, indonesia, kampar, peatlands, plantations

Slash and burn in the forests of Sumatra

Posted by jamie — 5 November 2008 at 4:09pm - Comments

kampar-peatland-intact-int.jpg

It's been a little while since I've updated here about the Esperanza's Forests for Climate tour of Indonesia, but continue it most certainly does. For our exploits crossing from one end of the country to the other and our stop in Jakarta, catch up on the Forests for Climate blog.

But we've arrived in Sungai Pakning, a small port on the coast of Riau in Sumatra, and the Esperanza is anchored in a wide, silty channel running between the mainland and two islands, Pulau Bengkalis and Pulau Padang. The soupy water flowing gently past the ship will be down to the Siak river, the mouth of which is just a few miles south.

Article tagged as: climate change, deforestation, esperanza, forests, indonesia, palm oil, riau, sumatra

Manokwari, here we come

Posted by jamie — 17 October 2008 at 4:14pm - Comments

Manokwari dancers on the bridge of the Esperanza

A dance troupe from Manokwari take a tour of the Esperanza's bridge © Greenpeace/Rante

After nine days at sea, the Esperanza pulled into Manokwari harbour this morning - that's Manokwari in the Indonesian province of West Papua, not any other Manokwari you might be thinking of. Crowds of people were already on the dock and despite the overcast skies, we received one of the colourful and exotic welcomes I'm becoming accustomed to on this trip, with traditional dancing and singing to greet us when we disembarked.

Article tagged as: esperanza, forests, indonesia, PNG
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