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ECOSYSTEMS CLIMATE ALLIANCE CALLS ENVIRONMENT MINISTERS TO ACTION OVER PALM OIL FORESTS DEFINITION
Environment and social NGOs have joined on mass to oppose moves by Indonesia and the EU to define oil palm plantations as forests just as Environment ministers from more than 100 countries meet this week in Bali. The NGOs known collectively as The Ecosystems Climate Alliance (ECA) including The Rainforest Foundation UK, Rainforest Foundation Norway, Global Witness, The Wilderness Society and Humane Society International, are calling on these Environment ministers to definitively oppose initiatives from Indonesia and the EU to reclassify oil palm plantations as forests(1), which would subvert global efforts to halt climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and threaten biodiversity, according to forest and climate experts. Redefining plantations as forests will create perverse incentives that actually finance deforestation by oil palm plantation companies. This is clearly contrary to current global efforts to protect forests by providing funds to assist countries and companies in reducing the degradation and destruction of forests and peatlands responsible for more than 15 percent of global emissions.
Help Stop The EU Commission From Forcing Biodiesel From Palm Oil!
With a few clicks below, you can add your voice against an issue we at the Rainforest Foundation UK and many other NGOs around the world consider to be a total scandal. PLEASE CLICK HERE NOW and in less than a minute you could have your voice heard by key members of the EU Commission!
Biodiesel from palm oil is one of the worst offenders causing rainforest destruction and affecting climate change. Palm oil plantations for food and fuel are the primary cause of rainforest destruction in Indonesia and Malaysia. A leaked draft EU document shows that the EU Commission would like to rename palm oil plantations as "forest" so that biodiesel from palm oil plantations can still meet EU biofuels sustainability criteria. Palm oil expansion is a major cause of deforestation and biodiesel from palm oil can create more greenhouse gas emissions than the fossil fuel it is meant to replace. With a few clicks HERE you can directly email the new energy and environment Commissioners and ask them to change this document to give a clear message to member states that biodiesel from palm oil should not be part of sustainable EU energy provision.
Concern Over Belo Monte Violation of Indigenous Rights
Rainforest Foundation UK's sister organisation Rainforest Foundation Norway (RFN) have today announced their deep concern that the world's third biggest hydro power dam, the Belo Monte in the heart of the Brazilian Amazon, has been granted an official environmental licence to go ahead.
RFN Director Lars Løvold stated, "There has been no proper consultation with the indigenous peoples who will be affected by this mega-project, which is in violation of Brazil's legal obligations as a party to ILO Convention 169 on the rights of indigenous peoples. The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has been severely criticized on a number of issues, including underestimating the number of people affected and the loss of biodiversity, while overestimating the potential energy generation. It is essential that the Brazilian authorities respect the affected indigenous populations' right to free, prior an informed consent, and that such a huge construction is not rushed through as a stand-alone project, but is treated as a potential element in an overall strategic plan for energy projects the Amazon."
Read the BBC report on the licence approval HERE.
NB - It is the Foundation's Norway office that currently works within this area of Brazil. The photo above of Founding Patron Sting and Chief Raoni was taken in late 2009 at a press conference condemning this project (Credit:Beto Ricardo/ISA).
› Download our factsheet on the history, issues and concerns about the Belo Monte dam
Run for the Rainforest!
We have our 2010 London Marathon Team! We're very excited that our 2010 London Marathon Run for the Rainforest Team has been finalised and all 13 members are in training for a great year. We'll announce each runner's profile and ways you can support them shortly, so click back soon to have a look at our top 13, and if there's a run, cycle, walk or any adventure you'd like to do to support the rainforest, just drop us a line here and we'll help you on your journey!
Rainforest Foundation UK 20 Years and Counting
Blogs
Sam's been back to Central African Republic (CAR) one of the most inaccessible countries in the Congo Basin. Read about his experiences here.
Do Trees Grow on Money?
Rainforests are back on the global agenda in a big way. Governments now recognise the importance of protecting tropical forests in order to avoid dangerous climate change, and there is now much debate. As governments try to thrash out the details of a new international agreement, expected to be signed at the end of 2009, they are discussing how best to include measures to save rainforests, and thereby address one of the major causes of climate change. Worldwide, forest destruction generates more greenhouse gas emissions each year than do all the trains, planes and cars on the planet. So if we are to tackle global warming, there is an urgent need to find ways to reduce the 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions caused by forest destruction each year, and to keep the remaining forests standing.
