palm oil

Activists express doubt over ‘lungs of the world’ plan
Elly Burhaini Faizal, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sat, 01/21/2012 1:05 PM

Activists were pessimistic that the government plan to allocate 45 percent of forests in Kalimantan as “the lungs of the world” would work, as mining activities and land clearing for oil palm plantations had taken up more than half of the forests on the island.

REDD+: Opportunities to alter deforestation
Agus Purnomo and Yani Saloh, Jakarta | Thu, 01/26/2012 10:33 AM

The recent Durban climate talks had mixed results and different implications for each country, including Indonesia. On the main issue of reducing emissions from deforestation and peat land conversion, known as REDD, Durban made progress in setting reference emissions levels, measuring emission reductions (including agreements on measuring), reporting and verifying (MRV) of achieved REDD+ outcomes, and the implementation of safeguards to mitigate negative impacts of REDD+ projects.

Exterminators arrested for orangutan killings
The Jakarta Post | Mon, 11/21/2011 9:49 PM

The police have arrested two palm oil plantation workers for allegedly killing dozens of monkeys and orangutans in Puan Cepak village in Kutai Kartanegara, East Kalimantan.

The suspects, both exterminators, claimed that they were paid to kill the animals under orders from a supervisor.

“They received Rp 200,000 [US$22] to kill a monkey and Rp 1 million for an orangutan,” National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Saud Usman Nasution said on Monday as quoted by tribunnews.com.

Dayak 2.0: Ferry, a member of the Dayak tribe from Kotim, Sibabe, Central Kalimantan, fidgets with his cell phone while attending a press conference in Jakarta on Friday. Representatives of local tribes came to Jakarta to ask for the government's help in resolving disputes between their tribes and oil palm companies in Central Kalimantan. (JP/ Jerry Adiguna)

Prime Indonesian jungle to be cleared for palm oil
Fakhrurradzie Gade, Associated Press, Aceh | Fri, 12/09/2011 4:32 PM

The man known as Indonesia's "green governor" chases the roar of illegal chainsaws through plush jungles in his own Jeep. He goes door-to-door to tell families it's in their interest to keep trees standing.

That's why 5,000 villagers living the edge of a rich, biodiverse peat swamp in his tsunami-ravaged Aceh province feel so betrayed.

Letter: Oil palm plantations and orangutans
Mon, 01/09/2012 8:36 PM

The issues of deforestation and orangutan killings in Indonesia sparked a controversy recently. Both were linked to oil palm plantations, with some alleging that the plantations have caused deforestation and the death of orangutans in the country. The question is whether oil palm estates are really responsible for the forest destruction and the death of orangutans?