Indonesia

Dove leads the onslaught(er)

Posted by jamie — 21 April 2008 at 6:56pm - Comments

A couple of videos that throw our new Dove campaign into sharp relief. The first is a rather stonking effort from our international office, taking Dove's own Onslaught film as it's inspiration (you can see the original here). The second, some highlights from the fun and games in London and Merseyside earlier today. Enjoy.

Article tagged as: climate change, deforestation, dove, forests, indonesia, palm oil, unilever, videos

Orang-utans swing into action to stop Dove destroying rainforests for palm oil

Posted by jamie — 21 April 2008 at 8:22am - Comments
All rights reserved. Credit: John Cobb / Greenpeace

Today, we're launching the next stage in our campaign to protect the rainforests of Indonesia from the expansion of the palm oil industry. Our volunteers, dressed as orang-utans, are currently climbing over the London headquarters of the company behind Dove, which uses palm oil as one of its ingredients. Our latest research shows that Unilever, the makers of Dove, is buying palm oil from companies that are destroying valuable rainforest and peatland areas, which is bad news not only for the millions of people who depend on them for their way of life and endangered species such as the orang-utan, but also for the global climate.

Article tagged as: climate change, deforestation, dove, forests, indonesia, palm oil, rspo, unilever

"No money, no forests, no climate, no future"

Posted by jamie — 4 December 2007 at 5:56pm - Comments

Members of the Penan tribe, Sarawak, MalaysiaAt a side meeting of the Bali climate change conference today, Greenpeace launched a new proposal that will encourage and reward countries for reducing emissions from deforestation. It's long, complex and full of acronyms but with forest destruction responsible for around one-fifth of our greenhouse gas emissions, it could represent one of the best chances we have of slashing global emissions.

It tackles a subject which is a big stumbling block in attempts to stop deforestation: money. There's not enough of it, at least not in the right places. Most countries with large tracts of forest, such as Indonesia, Brazil and the Democratic Republic of Congo, are still developing and see them as sources of much-needed finance. Even though the link between deforestation and climate change is now being widely acknowledged, these governments rarely have funds available to protect their forests.

Article tagged as: bali, climate change, deforestation, emissions, forests, indonesia, tderm

News reports from the palm oil frontline

Posted by jamie — 4 December 2007 at 3:37pm - Comments

Greenpeace campaigner Hapsoro shows how palm oil plantations are destroying Indonesia's rainforest

Last night, ITV News featured an excellent report from Indonesia about palm oil and how plantations are replacing forests at a horrific rate. Shown as part of a series of reports about climate change to tie in with the Bali climate change conference, it showcases some aerial footage which clearly shows the devastation. Also featured is Hapsoro, one of Greenpeace South East Asia's forest campaigners, who was working at the Forests Defenders Camp when he was interviewed.

If you missed it, the report is available to view online - confusingly, it's on the CNN website but only because the ITV News site is so darned tricky to use.

Article tagged as: bali, climate change, deforestation, forests, indonesia, palm oil, videos

Secret filming exposes the harsh reality of palm oil plantations

Posted by jamie — 30 November 2007 at 6:10pm - Comments

Taking up the western half of New Guinea island, the Indonesian province of Papua is a bit of a mystery. It's off-limits to outsiders and journalists, so the activities of the palm oil industry there haven't been widely reported. Until now, that is. With the help of the Environmental Investigation Agency, local communities have been making their own films about what's happening to the forests they rely on.

Two of these films have appeared on the web. In the first, Tears of Mother Mooi, members of the eponymous Mooi tribe explain why the forest is so important to them and what they are already losing as a result of the advancing wave of oil palm plantations. The second, Defenders of the Tribal Boundaries, goes into detail about the activities of the palm oil companies - it's frankly depressing to see the devastation being wrought to provide us with a cheap, convenient commodity.

Article tagged as: climate change, deforestation, forests, indonesia, palm oil, papua, videos

Don't be fooled - 'sustainable' palm oil is a myth

Posted by jamie — 28 November 2007 at 6:17pm - Comments

Last week, Sainsbury's announced that it aims to use only sustainable palm oil in its own-brand products. Sounds great, and with Asda having made a similar announcement earlier this year, you might think supermarkets will soon be stocking only those palm oil products that weren't helping to cause the indiscriminate destruction of forests in places like Indonesia. The truth is that, while both companies score top marks for excellent intentions, delivery is going to be decidedly tricky as there is currently no credible way of telling whether palm oil is 'sustainable' or not.

Article tagged as: climate change, deforestation, forests, indonesia, palm oil, rspo, sainsburys

"Biofuels can be good," says UN; scientists not so sure

Posted by jamie — 16 November 2007 at 6:22pm - Comments

The head of the UN Environment Programme has warned that the biofuel market could crash if suitable environmental standards aren't established. According to the BBC, "Achim Steiner... said there was an urgent need for standards to make sure rainforests weren't being destroyed." The story also picked out Indonesia's tropical peatlands for special mention of what it terms "biofuel folly". (Nice phrase, I'll have to remember that one!)

Mind you, Steiner was making those comments in response to an independent group of scientists who criticsied the stance taken by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on biofuels, which was described as "naive".

Article tagged as: biofuels, climate change, deforestation, forests, indonesia, IPCC

Rainbow Warrior in palm oil blockade

Posted by jamie — 15 November 2007 at 6:08pm - Comments

The Rainbow Warrior blockading the MT Westama which is carrying 30,000 tonnes of palm oil

View from the Rainbow Warrior of the MT Westama, laiden with 30,000 tonnes of palm oil © Greenpeace/Christian Aslund

Events in Indonesia have stepped up apace, and the Rainbow Warrior is currently blockading a tanker in the port of Dumai in Sumatra. The tanker, the MT Westama, is carrying 30,000 tonnes of palm oil and the Warrior is positioned so that tugs can't reach the tanker to assist it out of the port.

Exporting the palm oil is a company called Permata Hijau Sawit - their suppliers are known to be involved in the destruction of rainforests and peatlands in Riau province, temporary home of our Forest Defenders Camp.

I'll post back when I know how it turns out, but in the meantime read the full story on our international site.

Update: After two days, the blockade finally came to an end on Saturday.

Article tagged as: climate change, deforestation, direct actions, forests, indonesia, palm oil, rainbow warrior
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