The RSPB is doing its bit to limit the mushrooming development of palm oil plantations in one of the world’s poorest countries, Indonesia.
Work on the ground began at our partnership-run forest in the Indonesian region of Sumatra in April this year. This means the 250,000-acre site can remain one of the world’s best wildlife hotspots, and stay safe from palm oil cultivation.
The Independent reports today that palm oil is used in one tenth of supermarket products – from toothpaste to crisps to margarines – and that it is probably the most widely used vegetable oil. Indonesia is the world’s number two palm oil producer behind Malaysia.
The RSPB’s site in Sumatra, Harapan Rainforest, is in an area with large and numerous palm oil plantations and, but for our purchase of the management rights to the area, would also have been swallowed up by the furious race not only to stock the supermarket shelves but also satisfy the burgeoning demand for biofuels. Palm oil is used to make biodiesel.
The EU, which promotes initiatives to tackle climate change, is responsible for 20 per cent of palm oil demand, yet the destruction of rainforest in Asia and South America, to make way for its cultivation, is significantly increasing worldwide greenhouse gas emissions.
We will soon be launching an appeal to help fund our investment in Harapan Rainforest, together with that by our counterpart in Indonesia, Burung Indonesia, and BirdLife International. More than 260 bird species in the forest will benefit as will Sumatran tigers, Asian elephants and a range of plants almost too numerous to count.
This is a ground-breaking project and one deserving of global support, not just to save wildlife but to contribute in a small way to the battle against climate change.
Click here for the Independent report
And here for more on the RSPB's Harapan Rainforest initiative
Find out how you can help here