'Indian palm oil firms make Indonesian eco-disaster'

Last Updated: Tuesday, June 19, 2012, 20:27

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Tags: Greenpeace India, Indonesian eco-disaster, Indian palm oil firms, Frying The Forest

Mumbai: Greenpeace India Tuesday claimed that major Indian corporates houses could be linked to the destruction of the Indonesian rainforests through their imports of palm oil from the country.

Releasing a report "Frying The Forest", Greenpeace campaigner Nandikesh Sivalingam said that apart from contributing to global climate change, massive palm oil cultivation is also harming habitat of endangered species like the Sumatran Tiger and the Orangutan.

Indian edible oil majors like ITC, Britannia, Godrej and Ruchi Soya import palm oil from Indonesia for marketing in India.

"7.2 million tonnes of palm oil were imported this year resulting in a steep import bill, and spurring the destruction of Indonesian rainforests for plantations," Sivalingam said.

Sivalingam quoted the National Climate Change Council of Indonesia to describe the palm oil industry as among the leading drivers of deforestation and peatland loss in that country.

Indonesia has some of the largest remaining tracts of rainforests on the planet and is currently ranked 3rd - overtaking US and China - in terms of global greenhouse gas emissions, largely due to loss of forests and peatland.

Greenpeace India claims that several Indian firms source palm oil from Duta Palma of Indonesia, which is allegedly destroying forests and peatland in the southeast Asian nation.

Noted journalist G. Chandrashekhar said at the report release that India is the largest market for palm oil, consuming around 15 percent of global production, most of which comes from Indonesia.

"This means Indian firms are well placed to use their market power to pressure Indonesian palm oil suppliers to ensure no rainforests and peatlands are being cleared for their plantations," Chandrashekar said.

Sivalingam said that despite requests by Greenpeace India no Indian company had committed to ensure that their palm oil and other supply chain components are not linked to deforestation.

Global giants like Unilever and Nestle have implemented sourcing policies to discourage deforestation.

Greenpeace India urged Indian corporates to introduce a time-bound, zero-deforestation policy, and to stop sourcing from suppliers who refuse to break links with companies indulging in environmental destruction.

IANS

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First Published: Tuesday, June 19, 2012, 20:27

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Palmhugger - Cameron Highlands
India should wise up to the sly agenda behind Greenpeace`s ``report``. Palm oil has been buffeted for years by the ill winds of green NGOs with the support of major news media organizations despite the solid science showing that palm oil is healthy and sustainable. It is certainly intriguing why the environmental movement should get their knickers in a twist over palm oil despite the solid environmental record of the crop? Now an Italian think tank, Libertiamo thinks they have uncovered the real reason for this baffling activism against what is probably the most sustainable of all oilseed crops, and the reason is raising a stink all around! What is now clear about the green NGOs’ anti-palm oil campaigns is that they are just part of an elaborate extortion scheme dreamt up and proposed by them, which has won the support of EU governments keen to support their indigenous uncompetitive commodities. They get generous grants from such governments. They also solicit money from the gullible public by harping of orangutan or deforestation issues which are based on flimsy manufactured evidence. To put it bluntly, these EU governments did not so much as flirt with the extortionists schemes of these green NGOs but have grasped their funding proposals with a full embrace as it helps erect artificial trade barriers against palm oil conveniently packaged as altruistic environmental campaigns!

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Palmhugger - Cameron Highlands
India should wise up to the sly motives behind the Greenpeace ``report``. Palm oil has been buffeted for years by the ill winds of green NGOs with the support of major news media organizations despite the solid science showing that palm oil is healthy and sustainable. It is certainly intriguing why the environmental movement should get their knickers in a twist over palm oil despite the solid environmental record of the crop? Now an Italian think tank, Libertiamo thinks they have uncovered the real reason for this baffling activism against what is probably the most sustainable of all oilseed crops, and the reason is raising a stink all around! What is now clear about the green NGOs’ anti-palm oil campaigns is that they are just part of an elaborate extortion scheme dreamt up and proposed by them, which has won the support of EU governments keen to support their indigenous uncompetitive commodities. They get generous grants from such governments. They also solicit money from the gullible public by harping of orangutan or deforestation issues which are based, at best on manufactured evidence.