UN Climate Conference to Address Indonesia’s Vanishing Forests, Endangered Orangutans
Indonesia’s rapidly disappearing forests are one of the examples of environmental damage to be dealt with at the United Nations climate change conference next month on the island of Bali. The destruction poses a threat to plant and animal life, including the endangered orangutan. Once found throughout Asia, the red ape is now only found on the Indonesian island of Sumatra and the island of Borneo, which is shared by Malaysia and Brunei. VOA’s Nancy-Amelia Collins reports….
Greenpeace, other environmental groups and UN statistics say Indonesia rivals Brazil for the world’s highest rate of deforestation. They estimate Indonesia loses 300 football fields of forest every hour to palm oil (dubbed “deforestation diesel” by Greenpeace).
In Riau, on Sumatra island, large swathes of forest are being cleared to make way for palm oil plantations.
A protestor says: “Greenpeace is here in Riau to show the destruction to Indonesian forests for palm oil plantations. The damage done not only destroys the forest but also animal habitats and causes greenhouse gas emissions which trigger climate change.”
Demand is soaring for palm oil-derived biodiesel, partly because it has been marketed as an environmentally friendly source of power.
But environmentalists say not enough thought has been given to how it is made. They say the burning of carbon-rich peat lands to make way for palm oil plantations causes huge amounts of carbon dioxide to be released into the air, which contributes to global climate change.
The destruction also impacts the vast variety of Indonesia’s wildlife, such as the orangutan, once prevalent in Asia, and now only found on Sumatra island and Borneo.
Bustar Maitar, Greenpeace forest solution campaigner, says deforestation also hurts local communities severely.
“The local people still have a relationship with the forest,” Bustar says. “So when the palm oil plantation comes, it destroys their way of life.”
Indonesia and Malaysia together produce more than 80 percent of the world’s palm oil, widely used in consumer products.
# posted by Confidential Reporter
