Getting to the bottom of illegal plantations on Indonesia’s state owned forests
In an ideal world, palm oil production would cause no deforestation, and have a transparent and fair supply chain. In reality, the impacts of the sector have been the cause of ethical concerns worldwide.
Sarawak: The Sarawak government’s strategy for economic growth through commercial development of agricultural land has resulted in vast areas of land being opened for large-scale plantations, including oil palm. In some places this has affected lands subject to ‘native customary land rights’.
Sarawak in Borneo is now one of last frontier areas for palm oil expansion left in Malaysia. With most available lands in the Peninsula already planted and most of Sabah already leased out, in Sarawak such expansion is accelerating.
Death of Jakelin Caal in US custody highlights how land conflicts and displacement fuel flight from indigenous villages.
San Antonio Secortez & Guatemala City - The plantations' outer edges begin fewer than 20km from where seven-year-old Jakelin Caal is buried. The deep green rows of oil palm stretch along rural roads in the Alta Verapaz department of Guatemala.
On 17 December 2018, the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly voted in favour of the ‘Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other Persons Working in Rural Areas’. The declaration is a major step forward for rural communities around the world, and especially in the Global South, as it recognises a wide range of rights such as the “right to land”, the “right to water” and the “right to food sovereignty”.
"All around us, we have seen forest land taken for mining and for palm oil plantations that are not good for the environment or for the people"
GAJAH BERTALUT, Indonesia, Nov 13 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - In a community hall, a group of men sit cross-legged on mats, poring over documents and maps marked with forests, farmland, a river and the village of Gajah Bertalut in Indonesia's Sumatra island.
Knowing where deforestation is happening is critical for efforts aimed at stopping or slowing it. Major breakthroughs toward this goal have been made over the previous few years, with NGOs harnessing the power of satellites to monitor and identify canopy loss in forests around the world. Now, a new study sheds more light on forest loss, determining the primary causes of deforestation around the world.
After series of failed appeals, communities impacted by the business activities of Wilmar PZ, a multinational company involved in agro palm cultivation in Cross River State have taken Wilmar to the State House of Assembly for alleged pollution and land grabbing.
Growing demand for palm oil is depleting forests as the Orang Asli tribe fights for its rights.
Dendi Johari is an Orang Asli fighting for his tribe's rights in Malaysia's eastern state of Kelantan.
As an indigenous activist, Dendi makes trips from his village in the deep forest of Gua Musang to the state's capital to attend court hearings, community meetings and participate in forest road blockades to protest logging in the lands that Orang Asli consider theirs.
Natives of Akamkpa community in Cross River, hosting the Singaporean multinational company, Wilmar International, have accused the company of destroying their sources of livelihood by channeling chemical infested erosion water into their streams and farmlands.
According to the community, the company has also refused to pay compensation for the destruction of crops and fountains of drinking water.
Speaking, 88-year-old Madam Veronica Asuquo, said Wilmar’s activities had impoverished her entire family as their farmland and palm plantation had been completely destroyed.
In recent years, Peru's sprawling jungle has been cleared for palm oil and cocoa plantations. Conservationists say the land is controlled by private companies who acquired it through corrupt means.
By Mary Hodgett (TIMBY)
In Liberia, two small communities are fighting to protect their homes, and land rights against a powerful wave of environmentally destructive industries.