Woodlark Island will not be destroyed for palm oil!
About a month ago, I wrote about the tragedy of Woodlark Island, where 70% of the island was going to be converted into a monoculture palm oil plantation. Well, great news came to us yesterday, from our friends at Mongabay.com : Vitroplant, the company responsible for the planned development, has pulled the project! For now, at least, 60,000 ha on the island are safe. Here’s the whole story.
Vitroplant pulled the project after a variety of organizations, including mongabay.com, ecological internet, and bloggers, including the Rainforest Action Network, brought international attention to the Woodlark community’s fight.
To me, this is an example of the everyday change and victory that we are working to see. In order to pressure the ABCs of Rainforest Destruction, the biggest and the baddest of the agribusiness world, we need to be working together to put pressure on all oil palm companies that are threatening the rainforest and ignoring the voice of the communities who live there. While community members in Woodlark Island work to reject the plantations, it is our role to spread that word to an international audience and let the government of Papua New Guinea (and everyone else!) know that we care about what is going on.
It may seem like small steps, but it is helping the people of Woodlark, and helping the companies know that the world is aware of, and cares about, what agribusiness is doing. The future of Woodlark is not certain– especially considering the increasing demand for frying oil and agrofuels– but for now, it is a step in the right direction.
9 Responses to “Woodlark Island will not be destroyed for palm oil!”
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January 17th, 2008 at 7:20 pm
it sad what some peoploe are doing to the earth . all trash on road. we need to take proud in our country. let stop or slow down global warming for our children and gran children. what will you tell children what you did to help Lynne SW Stanford
January 18th, 2008 at 9:16 am
I rather doubt your paltry, under-read blog posting had much to do with it. It took action by Ecological Internet. And our campaign against FSC greenwashing of which Rainforest Action Network is an eager participant is gaining traction as well. You may recall those thousands of protest emails we sent you re: Ocean City’s use of ancient rainforest timbers, begging you to take a stand. You didn’t, but no matter, ecological truth won out anyway.
PRESS RELEASE
Ocean City, New Jersey Cancels Order for Rainforest Destruction to Fix Their Boardwalk
Victory for those working to end ancient rainforest logging, and a defeat for supporters of forest certification greenwashing , as an important precedent is set
January 18, 2008
By Ecological Internet, Contact: Dr. Glen Barry, +1 (920) 776-1075, glenbarry@ecologicalinternet.org
(Ocean City, New Jersey) — The city council of Ocean City voted last night 6-0 to cancel a $1.1 million purchase of ipê timber originating in ancient rainforests. The timber was to be used to patch a one block stretch of Atlantic boardwalk. The purchase provoked outrage as it went against a ten-year old pledge by the council to not use rainforest timbers.
The mayor and others argued Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification ensured sustainability. Estimates are over 60% of FSC timber comes from first time logging of ancient forests, with claims only it is “well-managed”. Such misleading statements setup a showdown with local group “Friends of the Rain Forest” and led them to a year of protest with support from Ecological Internet (EI) and others.
“EI’s network sent over 100,000 protest emails from 80 countries highlighting the ecological truth that maintaining intact primary rainforests is a requirement to address climate change and achieve global ecological sustainability,” explains Dr. Glen Barry. “The message is getting through — to survive rainforest logging must end, with compensation to local peoples, and remaining rainforests protected and allowed to expand.”
In recent weeks EI has significantly participated in rainforest victories from New York, to Papua New Guinea, and now New Jersey — working successfully to end the evil of ancient rainforest logging. Dr. Barry notes “it is disappointing that Rainforest Alliance, Greenpeace, Rainforest Action Network, WWF and other FSC supporters — despite being targeted by this campaign — were either on the other side of this debate or chose not to comment. Their greenwashing of ancient forest logging must end.”
###ENDS###
The original alert can be found at:
http://www.rainforestportal.org/alerts/send.asp?id=jersey_boardwalk
January 18th, 2008 at 9:43 am
I believe that the only way for us to successfully bring international attention to issues like Woodlark Island is to work together as US and European-based NGOs. I certainly don’t think that our blog post was the driving force in making Vitroplant drop their planned development, but I do think it was part of raising awareness of people in the US generally, and that small steps like that are part of a larger fight against the companies and systems that we are all fighting against.
March 7th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
Thanks for the article
September 30th, 2008 at 4:45 am
I would realy like to say something to these people about that oil, But the words and my actions would be harsh to the hardiest of people…. leave them and the island alone, To each and every one of you that have helped protect the people the island from this outrage from happening,my heart my hand go out to you. I would like to visit the island now, can anybody assist on info, is there accomadation etc please please keep me posted GOOD WORK ALL OF YOU
September 30th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
6.Priscilla Simmie says:
October 1st,2008 at 8:45 am
I as the citizen and the member of the Island clan have the power to discaurige the oil palm planting woould not be planted on the woodlark Island because we are thinking about our enveronment.
January 5th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
My company will cultivated soy bean in this island, ca. 75.000 ha instead of oil palm. Because my company’s argument shown that there are no protest from environmentalist for soy bean, rape seed and sun flower cultivation in the world. US has 90 million ha of soybean area…. no problem…. and there are no protest or boicott of soy oil in the market… ok ok ok…
September 2nd, 2009 at 10:15 am
How true this article is.
September 2nd, 2009 at 10:16 am
Wow! ;)