Source: Copyright 2008, Jakarta Post
Date: May 5, 2008
Byline: Adianto P. Simamora
http://old.thejakartapost.com/detailnational.asp?fileid=20080505.H02&irec=1/
Environmental group Greenpeace has echoed calls by consumer
goods giant Unilever to impose a moratorium on deforestation
in Indonesia in support for the company's pledge to purchase
only certified sustainable palm oil.
Greenpeace also urged the country's palm oil plantations to
use sustainable forest management methods and stop expanding
into peatland forests.
"Unilever's calls for a moratorium on forest destruction in
Indonesia should become an entry point for the government to
stop the deforestation process," Greenpeace Southeast Asia
political advisor Arif Wicaksono told The Jakarta Post on
Saturday.
"The government has to take action to reverse deforestation by
initiating a moratorium on logging and forest conversion."
Unilever has committed to using only palm oil from certified
sustainable sources from the second half of this year.
The company said it would ensure the palm oil it used in
Europe was also certified as sustainable by 2012.
"Now we need to take the next step," Unilever chief executive
Patrick Cescau said in a statement in London on Thursday.
"Suppliers need to move to meet the criteria, by getting
certified both the palm oil from their own plantations and the
palm oil they buy from elsewhere."
Unilever is the world's biggest consumer of palm oil, which it
uses in leading brands such as Dove, Persil and Flora.
The company's decision came after a Greenpeace campaign
revealed Unilever's suppliers are actively destroying
orangutan habitat and clearing Indonesia's peatlands and rain
forests.
According to Greenpeace, destruction of peatland rain forests
contributes 4 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Greenhouse gas emissions are considered the main contributor
to climate change.
The environmental group also said about 1,600 orangutans were
killed on palm oil plantations during 2006.
Arif said companies using palm oil and members of the
Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) should join forces
with Unilever to stop ongoing forest destruction in Indonesia.
The RSPO is an initiative of an association of palm oil
producers to promote the growth and use of sustainable palm
oil.
"Even though the RSPO has existed since 2002, there is still
no certified palm oil on the market," Greenpeace said.
Agriculture Minister Anton Apriyantono ordered governors to
stop awarding new permits for the palm oil industry in
peatlands last year. The order was issued as Indonesia hosted
the climate change conference in Bali, which directed all
countries to cut carbon dioxide emissions.
A 2006 report from Wetlands International found damage to
Indonesia's peatlands resulted in 2 billion tons of carbon
dioxide emissions per year, making the country the world's
third largest emitter after the United States and China.
"But we have seen no changes since the minister's order. Many
regents still grant permits to dig in peatland forests," Arif
said.
"Greenpeace is not calling for an end to the palm oil industry
but it is calling for an end to forest destruction."
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