EU Palm Oil Demand

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The European Union's increasing demand for crude palm oil, or CPO, is evidence of its inconsistent stance on climate change, an environmentalist said on Monday.

"[The developed world] has criticized Indonesia for destroying its forests, but its increasing demand for Indonesian CPO sends a different message," said Elfian Effendi, the executive director of Greenomics Indonesia.

According to Greenomics, CPO exports to 10 European Union countries rose 166 percent from $320 million in the first eight months of 2007 to $851 million in the same period in 2008.

"It is ironic that CPO demand increased while talks on climate change intensified," Elfian said. "Our government continues to take a relaxed stance on palm oil producers despite the damage that they cause to our forests."

Achmad Mangga Barani, the director general for plantations at the Ministry of Agriculture, refuted Elfian's claim, saying the government was committed to "achieving sustainability in the industry through the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil."

The roundtable was formed in 2004 as an international coalition of palm oil producers, buyers and nongovernmental organizations aimed at raising environmental awareness within the palm oil industry.

Hall of Shame for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and the Palm Oil Industry.

Nothing can prepare one for the sight of the systematic extermination of orangutans by the government of Indonesia.

Look at the photos and news articles on these pages in the context of a statement the President made to the media on 10th December 2007.

“In the last 35 years about 50,000 orangutans are estimated to have been lost as their habitats shrank. If this continues, this majestic creature will likely face extinction by 2050,” President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said at the launch of an orangutan conservation plan at the climate talks in Bali.

“The fate of the orangutan is a subject that goes to the heart of sustainable forests … To save the orangutan we have to save the forest.”

Statements like these are most welcome, but unless backed up by action, such words fall on deaf ears within the Ministry of Forestry....who are busy granting licences to cut down the very forests the President says they should protect!

When you think you are to busy to help, please could you reflect for a moment on .........

The following extract refers to environmental problems in general. I just hope you find it as thought provoking and relevant to orangutans as I have.

"This is such a shocking and unpalatable fact that most people deny it, or they just don't want to think about it. They believe as individuals, they can do little about it, so push it to the back of their minds. But I can't do that.

When something has to be done, we need to do it. It doesn't matter how big the challenge is or how hard the solution; if I know something is wrong, and I am in a position to help, I will do my best to make it right." Duncan Bannatyne, successful British businessman.