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REDD+ and Palm Oil

Biodiesels pollute more than crude oil, leaked data show

Greenhouse gas emissions from biofuels such as palm oil, soybean and rapeseed are higher than those for fossil fuels when the effects of Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC) are counted, according to leaked EU data seen by EurActiv.

The default values assigned to the biofuels compare to those from Canada’s oil sands – also known as tar sands – according to the figures, which should be released along with long-awaited legislative proposals on biofuels in the spring.

External Reference/Copyright
Issue date: 
27 January 2012
Publisher Name: 
EurActive
Publisher-Link: 
http://www.euractiv.com

Small farmers in big industry earn consistent income

Smallholders, with less than 50 ha in Malaysia, are earning a steady income from the production of palm oil, which is linked to the large-scale corporate industry manufacturing oils, cosmetics components, biofuels, natural fertilisers and soaps, says Malaysian Minister of plantation industries and commodities Bernard Dompok.

About 40% of the country’s 18.2-million tons of palm oil production comes from small- holders, who consistently earn between R600/acre and R1 000/acre of mature palms each month.

External Reference/Copyright
Issue date: 
20th January 2012
Publisher Name: 
Engineering News
Publisher-Link: 
http://www.engineeringnews.co.za
Author: 
Schalk Burger

Nestle Buys Palm Oil Promises of  Sinar Mas

Swiss food giant Nestle will resume purchases of palm oil from Sinar Mas Agro Resources and Technology following an 18-month halt after Smart made improvements to abide by Nestle’s guidelines for responsible environmental practices.

The parent company of the palm oil producer known as Smart, Golden Agri Resources, has been working with environmental group The Forest Trust on the implementation of a Forest Conservation Policy. The plan would ensure that GAR has no deforestation footprint and also seeks sustainable growth.

External Reference/Copyright
Issue date: 
September 16, 2011
Publisher Name: 
The Jakarta Globe
Publisher-Link: 
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com

A Huge Oil Palm Plantation Puts African Rainforest at Risk

Industrial palm oil production is coming to Africa, its ancestral home. The world’s most productive oil seed has been a boon to Asian economies, but the looming arrival of large-scale plantations in Africa is raising fears that some of the same issues plaguing Malaysia, Indonesia, and other leading producers — deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity loss, conflicts with local people, and poor working conditions — could befall one of the world’s most destitute regions.

External Reference/Copyright
Issue date: 
12 Sep 2011
Publisher Name: 
YALE
Publisher-Link: 
http://e360.yale.edu

No group of Amerindians living in voluntary isolation

TOSHAOS and Regional Chairmen of the 10 administrative regions yesterday declared that Guyana does not have any existing group of indigenous people living in isolation. This declaration came following a presentation by Project Coordinator- Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, Sharon Austin, on the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organisation (ACTO) with particular emphasis on indigenous peoples living in voluntary isolation and initial contact.

External Reference/Copyright
Issue date: 
27 July 2011
Publisher Name: 
Guyana Chronicle Online
Publisher-Link: 
http://www.guyanachronicleonline.com

Palm oil, paper drive large-scale destruction of Indonesia's forests, but account for diminishing role in economy, says report mongabay.com

Indonesia's forests were cleared at a rate of 1.5 million hectares per year between 2000 and 2009, reports a new satellite-based assessment by Forest Watch Indonesia (FWI), an NGO. Expansion of oil palm and wood-pulp plantations were the biggest drivers of deforestation, yet account for a declining share of the national economy.

External Reference/Copyright
Issue date: 
July 27, 2011
Publisher Name: 
Mongabay
Publisher-Link: 
http://news.mongabay.com

UK animal feed helping to destroy Asian rainforest, study shows

British cats, dogs, cows, pigs and even goldfish are helping destroy the rainforests of south-east Asia. A new study for the government finds that more than a tenth of all the world's palm kernel meal – a lucrative by-product of the production of palm oil – is fed to British animals.

External Reference/Copyright
Issue date: 
9 May 2011
Publisher Name: 
Guardian
Publisher-Link: 
http://www.guardian.co.uk

How Two 15-Year-Old Girl Scouts Are Changing a Giant Food Conglomerate

When Kellogg's announced this week that it is moving to limit the deforestation caused by the palm oil it uses to make Frosted Flakes, Keebler cookies, Rice Krispies, and Girl Scout cookies, it represented an enormous achievement for two 15-year-old girls from Michigan.

External Reference/Copyright
Issue date: 
March 23, 2011
Publisher Name: 
HuffingtonPost
Publisher-Link: 
http://www.huffingtonpost.com
Author: 
Glenn Hurowitz Senior Fellow, Center for International Policy

New World Growth report contains 'false and misleading' information

A new report from World Growth International, a lobby group for industrial forestry interests, contains "false and misleading" information on the economic impact of reducing Indonesia's deforestation rate, says an Indonesian environmental group.

The report, released today, claims that reducing deforestation in Indonesia will cost the country 3.5 million jobs annually by slowing growth of the forestry sector.

External Reference/Copyright
Issue date: 
March 31, 2011
Publisher Name: 
Mongabay
Publisher-Link: 
http://news.mongabay.com
Author: 
Rhett A. Butler

Palm oil giants target Africa in 'land grab' following Indonesia deforestation ban

Indonesia's move to bring in a two-year moratorium on new palm oil plantations to protect its remaining rainforests has seen agribusiness giants like Sime Darby switch expansion plans to Cameroon, Ghana and Liberia

External Reference/Copyright
Issue date: 
25th March, 2011
Publisher Name: 
The Ecologist
Publisher-Link: 
http://www.theecologist.org
Author: 
Tom Levitt
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