Comments on: Oil Palm Development Marches On: How much is too much forest destruction? http://understory.ran.org/2009/10/06/oil-palm-development-marches-on-how-much-is-too-much-when-it-comes-to-forest-destruction/ The Understory is the official blog of Rainforest Action Network. Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:08:46 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: David Gilbert http://understory.ran.org/2009/10/06/oil-palm-development-marches-on-how-much-is-too-much-when-it-comes-to-forest-destruction/comment-page-1/#comment-378586 David Gilbert Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:33:21 +0000 http://understory.ran.org/?p=4400#comment-378586 David- I do think there is value in a healthy and vigorous debate to the extent groups supporting forests should concede to the industries that are destroying the very forests we are striving to protect. Hence my post. That said, I commend the work you are doing. I too have worked in Indonesia for a conservation group, the Leuser International Foundation, and appreciate the severity of the challenges you face, and the importance of your community based initiative to reforest parts of GLNP. If you are interested, I would be happy to post a summary of the work you are carrying out, with photos, and a link to your site. Thanks, David David-
I do think there is value in a healthy and vigorous debate to the extent groups supporting forests should concede to the industries that are destroying the very forests we are striving to protect. Hence my post.
That said, I commend the work you are doing. I too have worked in Indonesia for a conservation group, the Leuser International Foundation, and appreciate the severity of the challenges you face, and the importance of your community based initiative to reforest parts of GLNP. If you are interested, I would be happy to post a summary of the work you are carrying out, with photos, and a link to your site. Thanks,
David

]]> By: David Dellatore http://understory.ran.org/2009/10/06/oil-palm-development-marches-on-how-much-is-too-much-when-it-comes-to-forest-destruction/comment-page-1/#comment-378374 David Dellatore Mon, 12 Oct 2009 06:43:42 +0000 http://understory.ran.org/?p=4400#comment-378374 Greetings, My apologies - I don't have the time right now to give a full proper response to the post as a whole. Just wanted to clarify that the '150 hectares' figure reflects only that which we have already secured and are restoring. Ours is an ongoing programme, with funding also being provided from other sources and private donors. We have since planted more, with the goal in this one area mentioned to restore the total 500 hectares lost; and we are also now looking to expand to other degraded regions of the Gunung Leuser National Park, of which a total of 22,000 hectares has been illegally degraded in the Langkat district where much of our work is focused. Also please bear in mind that that a proper forest ecosystem restoration programme is not as simple as going out to a degraded area and planting some seeds and hoping for the best. Instead it is a local community driven restoration initiative, whereby in addition to the gains for biodiversity, the people are receiving both payments for their services in the process, and also a return of ecological services lost to the forest clearing process. Also covered in our programme is two years of maintenance for each hectare of 1,100 trees, thus better ensuring the success and sustainability of the initiative. On a closing note, although your proposed commitment would be absolutely great to have implemented, it is anything but simple to actually be put into action. It is only through working with the industry that we are going to make any sort of progress. If there was so simple a solution, don't you think we would have done it already? We are doing all that we can to support the conservation of the orangutan and its rainforest ecosystem. Inseparable from this is also working with local communities, government, and yes, industry, to try and make sure that all parties are satisfied and well-off, as without that - the forests and orangutans are bound to really lose out. Picking apart and polarising is not going to help conservation. Greetings,

My apologies – I don’t have the time right now to give a full proper response to the post as a whole.

Just wanted to clarify that the ’150 hectares’ figure reflects only that which we have already secured and are restoring. Ours is an ongoing programme, with funding also being provided from other sources and private donors. We have since planted more, with the goal in this one area mentioned to restore the total 500 hectares lost; and we are also now looking to expand to other degraded regions of the Gunung Leuser National Park, of which a total of 22,000 hectares has been illegally degraded in the Langkat district where much of our work is focused.

Also please bear in mind that that a proper forest ecosystem restoration programme is not as simple as going out to a degraded area and planting some seeds and hoping for the best.

Instead it is a local community driven restoration initiative, whereby in addition to the gains for biodiversity, the people are receiving both payments for their services in the process, and also a return of ecological services lost to the forest clearing process. Also covered in our programme is two years of maintenance for each hectare of 1,100 trees, thus better ensuring the success and sustainability of the initiative.

On a closing note, although your proposed commitment would be absolutely great to have implemented, it is anything but simple to actually be put into action. It is only through working with the industry that we are going to make any sort of progress.

If there was so simple a solution, don’t you think we would have done it already?

We are doing all that we can to support the conservation of the orangutan and its rainforest ecosystem. Inseparable from this is also working with local communities, government, and yes, industry, to try and make sure that all parties are satisfied and well-off, as without that – the forests and orangutans are bound to really lose out.

Picking apart and polarising is not going to help conservation.

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