forests

The Sinar Mas influence map by Salter Baxter

Is it a tube map for spiders? A diagram of the galactic core? No, it's an analysis of our ongoing Sinar Mas campaign, specifically the way it has evolved online.

Communication consultants Salter Baxter have tracked how our campaigns on Nestlé, HSBC, Burger King and their connections to Sinar Mas have been discussed on the web, how those conversations have interacted and what impact they've had on the campaign itself.

Scientists are objecting to claims made by industry lobby groups, including the amount of carbon stored in plantations compared to rainforests © Greenpeace/Behring-Chisholm

Big oil companies are not the only ones to engage in a spot of sneaky zeitgeist manipulation. The palm oil, paper and timber companies of South East Asia are also dabbling in these dark arts with various front organisations softly massaging public and political opinion.

Both Sinar Mas and Rimbunan Hijau - a Malaysian agribusiness giant - have strong links to Alan Oxley, who runs two groups, the World Growth Institute (WGI) thinktank and consultants ITS Global, both of which have been lobbying hard on behalf of their corporate benefactors.

Deforestation continues in Indonesia, as this image taken on 16 October of an area cleared for an Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) plantation shows (c) Sutton-Hibbert/Greenpeace

Being a part of a Greenpeace ship tour is never boring. Generally, you expect the unexpected, and then you're surprised. But even by ship tour standards, the Rainbow Warrior's recent 'tour' of Indonesia was an interesting one.

It started with high hopes that our peaceful campaigning ship would be able to support the Indonesian president's stated aims of ending deforestation in Indonesia. It ended with the Rainbow Warrior being denied vital supplies and being ordered - and escorted - out of Indonesian waters and well into international waters by two navy vessels, in breach of international maritime law.

Take a look at this audio slideshow produced by photographer Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert and our very own Bex Sumner, both currently in Indonesia. It features our international exective director Kumi Naidoo and US forest campaigner Rolf Skar who've been witnessing the devastation in Sumatra for themselves, where plantations are replacing the rainforests at a rate of knots.

I was hoping to write my first post in Indonesia from the Rainbow Warrior. As it turns out, the Warrior is anchored out at sea, waiting for permission to get into the country from the Indonesian government. The ship and crew have been there for several days now, occasionally communicating with Indonesian supporters by virtual hookup (at this event for disappointed supporters) instead of in the steel flesh everyone was hoping see.

On the other hand I am very much here, in the middle of Jakarta, on the most densely populated island on Earth (Java). What can I tell you about Jakarta? It smells of cloves. The congested traffic crawls. The people are interesting, enthusiastic, gracious. It's humid - really humid. Every day, a downpour or two washes away the smog and cools the city down; you can almost hear the pavements sizzle.