Indonesia stands as the world's third biggest greenhouse gas emitter behind the United States and China. How come this happens when Indonesia is not industrialised like United States and China. The answer is conversion of forests and peatlands for palm oil and pulp plantations. This is bothering the environmentalists in Indonesia and they have sought the help from environmentalists worldwide as the implications of forest destruction are not exclusive to Indonesia. It has worldwide ramifications. Greenpeace is in the forefront of spearheading the campaign against this rampant destruction. On Monday Greenpeace stopped several palm oil shipments meant for Europe from leaving Indonesia’s main oil export port Dumai. The activists painted the words 'Forest crime' and 'Climate Crime' on the hull of three palm oil tankers and a barge full of rainforest timber, A Greenpeace activist also chained himself onto the anchor of a ship as a token protest. Papua region is seeing heavy stripping of tropical forests. Peatland forests of Riau are another recent casualty.
So next time you partake palm oil, remember everything is not hunky-dory. Think of the rainforests that are being hacked down to feed the demands of oil palm industry. The existence Orang-utans is also threatened by this massive destruction of rainforest of Indonesia and Malaysia. The palm oil lobby is very powerful in Indonesia and Malaysia. Action from concerned people all over the world is required.
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