But he hasn’t done enough. According to news reports, Dr. Oz’s enthusiastic support for red palm oil inspired a buying frenzy. We have to keep up the pressure and push Dr. Oz to correct the enormity of his error by issuing a retraction on The Dr. Oz Show.

The Dr. Oz Show currently ranks as one of the highest-rated daytime programs in recent history, so getting any response from Dr. Oz is a big success. But it’s imperative that he fill his viewers in on the disastrous environmental impact of palm oil production, which is devastating the rainforests of Indonesia and driving endangered species like the orangutan to extinction.

Can you send a message to Dr. Oz telling him to issue a correction about palm oil ON THE AIR? Even if you’ve signed this petition already, you can sign again. We’ve tweaked the language to include our demand that Dr. Oz issue a retraction on his show, not just on his little-read blog.

If you want to do even more, click on this image and share it on Facebook:

Click image to post on Facebook.

This International Business Times headline says it all: “Red Palm Oil Touted By Dr. Oz As A Diet Miracle Could Lead To ‘War On Orangutans’.”

Please sign (or re-sign) the petition to Dr. Oz now.

The invasion of orangutans that has taken Cargill’s hometown by storm to ask that Cargill stop decimating their rainforest homes has become quite controversial. The Wayzata police are still holding these orangutans, their whereabouts are still unknown, and it’s unclear whether or not police have pressed any charges.

None of the orangutans were involved in any illegal activity. They were seen carrying signs that read “Evicted by Cargill. Will work for habitat,” and “Home destroyed for palm oil. Anything helps.”

We need your help to demand justice for these political prisoners. With nowhere else to go after their homes are destroyed, endangered orangutans have resorted to taking action by protesting the destruction, ending up in jail thanks to Cargill security forces and Long Lake police.

Check out this video in which bystanders captured video footage of a stern Long Lake Police officer loading the refugee animals into the back of a squad car.

This startling orangutan invasion escalated significantly yesterday when a mother and her baby were arrested by police in downtown Wayzata. Bystanders captured video footage of a stern Long Lake Police officer loading the refugee animals into the back of a squad car (we’ll post it soon). Their whereabouts remain unknown and it is unclear at this time what, if any, charges the red apes face. Here’s a photo of the orangutan mother and her baby just before their arrest:

Here’s another photo of the orangutan mother protesting outside of Cargill HQ earlier in the day:

Prior interactions with the authorities have occurred intermittently since this small population of desperate primates relocated to the shores of Lake Minnetonka after their rainforest homes were destroyed by the expansion of palm oil plantations.

The orangutans have been seen carrying signs that read “Evicted by Cargill. Will work for habitat.” and “Home destroyed for palm oil. Anything helps.” Prior interactions with the authorities have involved allegations of loitering, hitchhiking and panhandling, but besides an altercation with private Cargill security at the company’s executive offices weeks ago, today’s arrests were the first.

Cargill is the largest importer of palm oil into the US and one of the largest traders of palm oil in the world. Critically Endangered orangutans live only on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. While it is uncertain exactly how these tropical animals ended up in the frigid Midwest, their appearance follows a high profile string of public advertisements by Rainforest Action Network, including billboards, full page print ads and an online campaign calling attention to the urgent crisis of extinction orangutans face due to the wholesale destruction of Indonesia’s rainforests for palm oil plantations.

Please be on alert—while orangutans pose no threat to humans, these animals are clearly desperate for their survival and unless Cargill acts quickly to make sure it stops buying palm oil that destroys their precious habitat, there is no telling what they might do next.

Aan, a 15 year old orangutan, was shot by a plantation worker after wandering into a palm plantation, a place that, although no longer familiar, used to be part of her neighborhood. She miraculously survived, earning her the title ‘badass’ by medics, but she sustained serious wounds and was left blind.

This is one of many tragic stories illustrating what has become part of orangutans’ everyday lives in Indonesia’s and Malaysia’s rainforests.

Over the last few months there has been increasing media coverage about the plight of orangutans. According to Orangutan Foundation International (OFI), it is estimated that orangutan populations have decreased by roughly 50% in the wild. In Borneo, hunters alone have killed 750 orangutans in the past year. Today, stories of orangutans being burned, killed, captured, starved, and evicted from their own habitat are not uncommon. The increasing media coverage on orangutan extinction by high profile media outlets like NBC’s “Rock Center with Brian Williams”, CNN’s “Headline News with Jane Velez-Mitchell”, the Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, Reuters, Huffington Post, Fox News, and the Jakarta Post all points to how important and alarming the issue is.

Perhaps the most shocking part of all this is that, as a consumer in this country, you are likely part of the reason why orangutans are on the brink of extinction. Thanks to Cargill, of course.

Palm oil is used in everything from lipstick to laundry detergent to Girl Scout cookies, meaning almost all of us are unwittingly bringing this rainforest-destroying product into our homes. Palm oil is labeled under many different names and more often than not it is hidden as a sub-ingredient you’re not likely to recognize as palm oil.

Agribusiness giants like Cargill are supplying us with these neatly packaged, palm oil-laden products. We are unwittingly driving demand for these controversial products, which feeds Cargill’s destructive business model.

Until recently, one could be forgiven for not being aware of the direct connection between the consumption of palm oil and the imminent threat of extinction facing orangutans in Indonesia and Malaysia. But for companies like Cargill at the center of this controversy, this excuse is running out.

The expansion of palm oil plantations is one of the largest drivers of deforestation in Indonesia, destroying the habitat of unique tropical species as well as generating social conflict in the process. Orangutans’ homes are being transformed into acres and acres of palm oil plantations on a daily basis. To add insult to injury, plantation workers often kill orangutans as they wander into the plantations that used to be their homes. They are considered to be pests that damage the oil palm plants and plantation workers disturbingly deal with them by shooting them down.

Orangutans’ homes are being destroyed, as is their source of food and way of life. Yet when they are left wandering to look for a new home, it seems like they are being punished for it.

We can help change the stark reality orangutans currently face. We’ve come up with a partial list of the different names of palm oil that can be found on labels at the supermarket for you to avoid. But that isn’t enough. That’s why we are continuing to challenge Cargill, the largest American trader of palm oil, with our hard-hitting campaigns to stop the company from supplying our supermarkets with rainforest destruction. Cargill must adopt palm oil supply chain safeguards to guarantee that the palm oil it supplies and trades is not linked to deforestation, social conflict and species extinction.

But Cargill won’t do the right thing on its own accord, so please join us.

A Duta Palma-owned palm oil plantation in Indonesian Borneo (Kalimantan). Until Cargill adopts supply chain safeguards and publicly discloses its supposed 'No Trade List,' this rainforest destruction will persist in its palm oil supply chain. Photo: David Gilbert

Last week, Rainforest Action Network (RAN) contacted Cargill employees in over 20 countries to alert them to the company’s ties to rainforest destruction and orangutan extinction. The email urged employees to watch a recent eye-opening prime time NBC news story profiling the imminent extinction of orangutans due to unchecked palm oil expansion in Indonesia and Malaysia.

Palm oil is one of the leading causes of tropical deforestation and Cargill is the top importer of palm oil into the US as well as one of the largest palm oil traders worldwide.

Cargill responded to our email by issuing a company-wide statement to its employees that contains numerous specific allegations that are either overtly disingenuous or flat out untrue. So, RAN issued a response to set the record straight. And we sent it to the same Cargill employees across 20 countries to ensure that, even though Cargill is not telling them the whole truth, they aren’t kept in the dark by their company’s lies.

Less than 24 hours later, UPI picked up the story: “Rainforest group locks horns with Cargill.”

Here is our statement below. Please let Cargill know what you think in the comments section.

In the process, we’ve shown you some painful images–photos of orangutans left to die on palm oil plantations, tigers pushed out of their natural habitat. Images that are often horrifying and hard to look at. But these images also represent what’s really happening to the world’s rainforest creatures, and you’ve never flinched. Instead, you step into action with us.

But that’s not all there is to show. These animals are also hilarious, ridiculous, the cutest things you’ve ever seen…and just totally awesome. We thought we would show you that side for a change, to remind all of us why we work so hard to protect animals and the places they call home–and to thank you for giving this work all you have.

Thank you for all the emails and phone calls you’ve made this year. Thank you for all the rallies and marches you showed up at. Thank you for the donations you made, the direct actions you took part in, and the work you did to spread the message.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, from all of us here at RAN.

Rainforest Action Network helped with the behind the scenes legwork to get this important program on the air. Now we need to maximize its impact by ensuring as many people see it as possible. Please watch the show today (below) and then share it with your friends and family using the social media buttons above.

It is because of the tireless efforts of RAN supporters and activists that the destruction of the Tripa forest first gained an international spotlight. The response to our call to action, combined with media coverage about the decimation of what had been the densest population of orangutans left in the world, led the President of Indonesia to dispatch a team of investigators to the scene.

What happened next was historic. In a country with a dismal record of enforcing its own laws when it comes to protecting forests, the investigators declared that the clearing was indeed illegal and the operating permit for the main company responsible was revoked.

It is more important than ever that the eyes of the world remain focused on the threats facing Indonesia’s orangutans so that enforcement becomes the norm and not the exception.

Let’s ensure this NBC piece has the farthest reach of any coverage the orangutan crisis has received yet. Please help us by watching and sharing this video widely.

Illegal fires in the Tripa rainforest in Indonesia. Photo: www.EndofTheIcons.wordpress.com

It has been an extreme summer. Droughts. Wildfires. Crop failures. Heat waves. Melting ice caps. We’ve seen these words so much this summer you may not feel any shock at the sight of them now. It is clear that we are no longer talking about climate change as a fearful phenomenon in the future; we are talking about the impacts of our climate changing today. This is what the climate crisis looks like here at home.

As I return from a trip to Indonesia’s rainforests, I can tell you that climate change is also taking another shape—acres upon acres of razed tropical forests and miles of industrial pulpwood and palm oil plantations that are literally choking the lungs of our planet.

As you know, our natural systems depend on everything fitting together just right. The relationship between the health of our rainforests and the health of our climate (and ultimately the health of our communities) is a particularly important synergy.

Each year, the world’s natural forests absorb 30 percent of all the carbon that we release into the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels. In this way, healthy forests absorb and store vast quantities of carbon, helping to regulate temperature and generate rain. The “lungs of the planet” in action.

Horrifyingly, we are currently witnessing a devastating one-two punch to the climate and our forests. As fossil fuel emissions continue to climb, the changing climate makes standing forests more vulnerable to insect outbreaks, droughts and wildfires. Simultaneously, when our forests are destroyed their carbon is released back into the atmosphere, further impacting the climate.

Instead of maintaining rainforests, we are destroying them at unacceptable rates – an acre is lost every second due to global, corporate controlled markets for palm oil, cattle, biofuels, soya, wood and paper. And Indonesia’s rainforests are one of the most in jeopardy. Due to the uncontrolled clearing and burning of its rainforests and peatlands, Indonesia ranks third in total global greenhouse emissions just behind China and the United States.

Through corporate hubris, lack of value for the natural world, greed and shortsightedness, we are threatening the planetary web of life that sustains us, and we are seeing the results everywhere.

This understanding of the interconnected nature of our forests and our climate, this ecosystem approach, underpins all of Rainforest Action Network’s current work. RAN is one of the only groups working at the intersection of forest protection, climate change and human rights through our unique brand of corporate accountability campaigns—protecting rainforests around the globe and reducing fossil fuel emissions here at home.

This summer’s silver lining for me is that climate change has actually become a topic of discussion beyond the eco-choir. This hit a crescendo in July when Bill McKibben’s resounding piece on “Global Warming’s Terrifying New Math” in Rolling Stone went viral.

More and more, we will be seeing words like drought, fire, and heat wave in the news, and we will see them connected to climate change. But we must be cautious not to get too comfortable with these words while we still have time to act. Despair is not the only possible destination. We cannot allow the natural numbing effect that will happen as we begin to see these words all too often. And as we feel the impact of climate change here, we cannot divorce it from the impact it is connected to across the globe.

I will say it again, because I believe it bears repeating over and over: the health of our forests depends on the health of our climate, and so too the health of our climate depends on the health of our forests. This is the web of life, and it’s what we need to protect.

Captured on hidden camera footage released by the Indonesia Ministry of Forestry, rare sighting of Sumatran Rhinos sparks international attention

Is protecting a small fragment of intact natural forest habitat amidst a sea of oil palm plantations enough to combat extinction?

Two rare, critically endangered Sumatran rhinos were recently captured on hidden camera in Leuser National Park, Indonesia for the first time in 26 years. This came as a surprise to wildlife conservationists, as there are only an estimated 200 Sumatran rhinos left in the wild in small pockets throughout Indonesia and Malaysia. An estimated 70 percent of the Sumatran rhino population has been lost since 1985, due to poaching and loss of habitat from palm oil and pulp and paper plantation expansion.

Although it’s clearly great news that these two rhinos have been documented inside the Leuser National Park protected area for the first time in 26 years, a new study published in Nature shows that protecting the land surrounding these areas is every bit as important as the health of the reserves themselves. The authors report:

Crucially, environmental changes immediately outside reserves seemed nearly as important as those inside in determining their ecological fate, with changes inside reserves strongly mirroring those occurring around them.

Meaning that, even with the best of intentions, the conservation of discreet pieces of park land cannot maintain healthy and vibrant habitat for wildlife if the ecosystem right outside the boundaries of the park is being devastated.

Tripa Swamp: A Threatened Pocket of Biodiversity Amidst the Greater Leuser Ecosystem. Click for larger image.

This finding sheds light on the fate of Tripa—an area of 61,803 hectares on the west coast of the province of Aceh that represents one of only six remaining populations of the critically endangered Sumatran orangutan. Tripa is part of the Leuser Ecosystem, in the provinces of Aceh and North Sumatra, which covers more than 2.6 million hectares of prime tropical rain forest and is the last place on earth where the Sumatran sub-species of elephants, rhinoceros, tigers and orangutans coexist.

What we’ve witnessed in the past six months is the near wholesale extinction of Sumatran orangutans due to the fires intentionally set by palm oil companies both inside and outside Tripa, threatening endangered orangutans throughout the region.

Given the amount of endangered species struggling for survival inside Leuser National Park, our task is not only to protect this pocket of biodiversity that may not be able to survive long term, but to protect natural forests throughout Indonesia that are being razed to the ground to feed the growing appetite of international markets for cheap palm oil and pulp and paper. Whether it’s orangutans or rhinos who are eking out survival inside protected areas that are themselves under threat by encroaching deforestation, the habitat that these creatures depend on has been relentlessly chipped away by palm oil producers and pulp and paper companies.

The urgency of the situation on the ground in Indonesia is even more pressing today than our August 2011 analysis that protected areas alone are not enough to combat the sixth mass extinction.

And now, the best law on the books to prevent illegal logging worldwide – the Lacey Act – is under attack.

The Republican leadership cancelled for now a vote originally scheduled for this week in the House of Representatives on H.R. 3210, the “RELIEF Act.” A broad coalition of forest products companies, workers, conservation groups, and musicians praised House leadership for halting the measure, which would have many negative economic and ecological consequences if passed.

Please send a letter today asking your congressional representative to vote against the RELIEF Act if Republicans move forward and call for a vote in the House.

The Lacey Act ensures that only legally sourced wood and wood products are imported into the country, reducing global deforestation rates and preventing job losses in the American forest products industry. The act has been so successful that other countries are looking to create their own versions of the law.

Over sixty major forest products companies, thirty-five leading conservation organizations and labor unions, and over thirty top-selling musicians sent letters to members of Congress asking them to oppose any attempts to weaken the Lacey Act.

But the Lacey Act remains in jeopardy by those wishing to end environmental protections and regulations. Their proposals, such as the “RELIEF” Act and “FOCUS” Act, would effectively gut the Lacey Act, reversing years of hard fought efforts to stop international deforestation.

These bills would directly benefit notorious forest destroyers like Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) and would allow illegal loggers to around the world to operate with impunity. The result would be a flood of illegal wood into the U.S. market.

Send a message today urging your representative to vote No on H.R. 3210, H.R. 4171 or any other bill that would weaken the Lacey Act.

Photo by Carlos Quiles

It’s a sad day today for the few remaining, critically endangered orangutans of Sumatra.

In a much anticipated court ruling in the high-stakes case filed against palm oil plantation company PT Kallista Alam and the governor of the Province of Aceh for illegally draining and clearing the internationally renowned Tripa Peat Forest, the judges have decided to throw out the case all together. After five months of arguments and deliberations, the three-judge court washed its hands of the case and declared that Environmental group WALHI should have sought mediation with the palm oil company first, before filing the case.

This decision comes as a huge disappointment to environmentalists and orangutan lovers around the world. The rapid and ongoing deforestation of Tripa swamp, which reached a new peak last week when the forest was intentionally set ablaze, causing hundreds of fires, is an urgent and international issue. This vital ecosystem not only provides home to many endangered animals, but also helps to regulate our global climate — meaning this court decision will affect life all over the world.

By throwing out the case, the Aceh court has failed to protect the critically endangered Sumatran orangutan and to fulfill its obligation to uphold Indonesia’s laws. It’s unclear why the court didn’t request mediation between WALHI and PT Kallista Alam earlier. “The longer we wait, the worse the situation is getting in Tripa,” a lawyer for the complainants told the press after the hearing.

According to the press release from the Coalition to Save Tripa Peat Forest: “While the court case has dragged on in Banda Aceh, the peat forests of Tripa have continued to suffer widespread damage. An illegally dug canal in the contested concession continues to drain the swamp of its water increasing the fire danger in the protected area. Over the last weeks this has escalated with huge man made fires tearing through Tripa for 9 days, making headlines worldwide, with experts warning the local orangutan population could become extinct before the end of the year.”

Photo by Carlos Quiles

There are many layers of Indonesian laws that protect Tripa since it is part of the world renowned Leuser Ecosystem, comprised of deep peat (which is illegal to clear) and home to critically endangered animal species — not to mention the 2007 Moratorium on Logging and 2008 National Spatial plan which prohibit deforestation of this forest.

WALHI is planning to appeal this court decision. Berry Nahdian Forqan, National Director of WALHI, says: “All our efforts to save our environment will never succeed as long as the Government fails to ensure that all the various state and law enforcement agencies demonstrate a strong commitment to enforcement of environmental laws, and prioritize our environment and the ordinary citizens of this country over vested business interests.”

After thousands of you signed the petition calling for the law to be enforced and this peatland to be saved, the chairman of the REDD+ Taskforce, Presidential Advisor Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, sent a team of lawyers to Tripa to investigate. They are now on the ground and collecting evidence. Community groups have also filed for a local police investigation. Please continue to call on President Yudhoyono to bring justice to Tripa.

Meanwhile, PT Kallista Alam shows no intention of stopping the crisis in Tripa. PT Kallista Alam’s legal team “stated satisfaction over the court ruling.”

If the judicial system in Aceh Province fails to uphold the law, who has the power to stop this tragedy? The expansion, clearing, and burning must stop. Tripa needs real protection and President Yudhoyono needs to stand by his commitment to protect the environment. And it’s time for the companies supplying palm oil from Tripa to take action to stop their role in this tragedy.

Photo by Carlos Quiles

This blog comes from our friends at End of the Icons.

In an amazing global response to the tragedy in Tripa, thousands of people all around the world have emailed the President of Indonesia and key stakeholders calling for the law to be enforced and this precious peatland to be saved. We are happy to tell you it is already working. We are making a difference.

After thousands of you signed the petition, the chairman of the REDD+ Taskforce, Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, sent a team of lawyers to Tripa. They are on the ground collecting evidence right now. Your voice is effective.

Now, we need your help to launch the next phase of the campaign to save Tripa and its inhabitants: a 48-hour Twitter jam.

Tweet to the influential people who can help us in this case. The law is on our side, momentum is on our side, now we just need to make certain the court is on our side, and the criminals get punished for destroying Tripa! Use hashtag #savetripa in your tweets to help make it a trending topic.

Here are some tweets you can post:

• Foreign Minister Martyn is active on twitter, so we know he is one person who will get the message loud and clear — the whole world wants justice for Tripa.

Dear Minister @martynatalegawa the world is watching how Indonesia enforces the law in Tripa! http://ow.ly/a0kaL #savetripa

• The Indonesian President has received thousands of emails, let’s keep his attention focused!

Dear president @soesilobambang we want to see JUSTICE in Tripa. This is our demand http://ow.ly/a0kaL #savetripa

• The Minister of Forestry is responsible for deciding what forests get to live and what forests get cut down.

Dear Ministry of Forestry @zul_hasan you have to make sure JUSTICE is served in Tripa http://ow.ly/a0kaL #savetripa”

• The Minister of Agriculture should be investigating palm oil companies operating illegally all over Indonesia.

Dear Minister @suswono palm oil company PT Kalista Alam is breaking the law in Tripa http://ow.ly/a0kaL #savetripa”

• The Ministry of Justice and Human Rights has to make sure justice is served in court on April 3rd (more on that below).

Dear @KEMENKUMHAM the world demands JUSTICE to be served in Tripa http://ow.ly/a0kaL #savetripa ”

• Originally the area of Forest that PT Kallista Alam is destroying was part of a multi-billion dollar forest protection deal between Norway and Indonesia. The people of Norway must be outraged that their money is going up in smoke!

Dear @Kronprinsparet Norwegian taxpayer money is going up in smoke because of corrupt Indonesian officials http://ow.ly/a0oQ7 #savetripa

• World Bank funds are used both for protection and destruction of the Leuser Ecosystem, the wider area in which Tripa lies. We’re asking them to investigate.

@WorldBank money is used to fund the destruction of protected #orangutan habitat in Indonesia http://ow.ly/a0oMo #savetripa

• The United Nations’ Great Ape Survival Partnership (GRASP) lists Tripa as a priority site for orangutan protection. We’re asking UNEP GRASP, UNEP and UNESCO to investigate.

Dear @graspunep Tripa is a priority site for the protection of Orangutans http://ow.ly/a0oMo #savetripa

Dear @UNEP Tripa is a priority site for the protection of Orangutans http://ow.ly/a0oMo #savetripa

Dear @UNESCO Tripa is a priority site for the protection of Orangutans http://ow.ly/a0oMo #savetripa

Burning protected forests and peatlands is against multiple Indonesian laws, and we will continue to watch this investigation very closely.

In less than 48 hours, the court of Aceh will be announcing the judge’s verdict in the case against the major culprits in burning forests in Tripa, the PT Kallista Alam oil palm company and former governor Irwandi Yusuf. Allowing palm oil permits within the Tripa Peat Swamp Forest is against the law, as it is an integral part of the Leuser Ecosystem, home to rhinos, elephants, clouded leopards, tigers and of course, orangutans. Tripa is protected by the National Spatial Plan established by government regulation 26/2008 under the National Spatial Planning Law number 26/2007.

“This is really a test case,” said Chik Rini, a World Wildlife Fund campaigner, noting that while it’s not uncommon for timber, pulp, paper and palm oil companies to raze trees in protected areas, few developments have occurred in Tripa, an area that seems so obviously off limits. “If they get away with it here, well, then no forests are safe.”

Find Reports, Photos, Film, Media and more on our website:
EndoftheIcons.wordpress.com.

The Independent wrote one of the most complete and accurate media stories to come out so far:
Up in smoke: ecological catastrophe in the Sumatran swamps.

~~ Happy tweeting everyone! Please share this widely! –

~~ Never underestimate the power of your friends! ~~

Photo by Carlos Quiles/March 27, 2012

Tripa Swamp is a forest of special value. It is home to one of the largest remaining population of wild orangutans, is rich in biodiversity, and has provided livelihoods to Indonesian forest communities for generations.

Help save Tripa and the wildlife and people who live there: Demand that the president of Indonesia uphold the nation’s forest protection laws and order the palm oil companies to cease land clearing and burning in the Tripa forest.

Tripa swamp is comprised of deep peat — more than 20 feet deep in some parts. Peatlands contain decades of decaying material that, when submerged in water, becomes habitat for many species and stores huge amounts of carbon, which plays an important role in regulating our global climate. As peat swamps are drained of water, the decaying vegetation releases massive amounts of carbon and the drying, decaying vegetation turns the rainforest into a matchbox. For this reason and others, Tripa peat swamp, part of the Leuser Ecosystem, is widely considered to be of significant conservation value and was designated in 2008 as a National Strategic area for environmental protection under the National Spatial plan.

In 2007 Governor Yusuf of Aceh signed a province-wide moratorium on forest logging, another law to provide protection to the Tripa rainforest. Yusuf eventually was named the “green governor” for this action he took to protect the forest. But despite these legal protections and his “green” reputation, Governor Yusuf issued a permit in August 2011 to PT Kallista Alam to allow 1,605 hectares of deep peat in the Tripa forest to be converted into a palm oil plantation. None of the forest communities were consulted for this permit, denying them their rights to control their traditional lands and forcing them to face air and water pollution and loss of their forest livelihoods.

In November of 2011 a coalition of NGO’s filed a legal case against the Governor and PT Kallista Alam for the illegal expansion into Tripa forest. Once this case was filed and palm oil companies learned community groups were trying to stop their expansion, they rushed to burn and clear more forest, resulting in the massive fires ablaze today.

Photo by Carlos Quiles/March 11, 2012

Since the case was filed there have been numerous hearings and the world is awaiting the court decision to be released next week. If the judges rule in favor of the Governor and PT Kallista Alam — allowing the permit to remain — the future of this global biodiversity hotspot will be at great risk.

The international community cannot just stand by watching this beautiful forest ecosystem get destroyed. We need your URGENT help. Please take action by telling President Yudhoyono of Indonesia to order palm oil companies to cease the burning of the Tripa forest immediately and save Sumatran orangutans.

For more information about Tripa and this global tragedy, please see End of the Icons.

Images by Carlos Quiles.

Kellogg’s:

Despite officially joining in 2008, Kellogg’s doesn’t appear to have ever completed the five basic questions in its membership application. We were unable to find their required annual progress reports, according to the minutes of last year’s General Assembly they did not vote on the resolutions, and weren’t sighted at last year’s RSPO conference at all. Again this year they were nowhere to be found. Kellogg’s told the public in its recent announcement:

“As a socially responsible company, Kellogg is committed to conducting our business in a way that reduces our environmental impact,” said Celeste A. Clark, Ph.D., Chief Sustainability Officer, Kellogg Company.

Apparently Kellogg’s commitment doesn’t extend to engaging with or verifying the effectiveness of the RSPO. Given that it sources palm oil from Cargill, a company with no safeguards on the palm oil it trades, this seems like a pretty flimsy guarantee to customers that the company takes its sustainability commitment seriously.

Girl Scouts:

Following extensive public concern about the use of palm oil in their iconic Girl Scout cookies, Girl Scouts USA recently made a “sustainable” palm oil commitment to cover its use of palm oil in dozens of popular Girl Scout cookie recipes. Despite having committed to the public the intent to “become affiliate members of the RSPO” and use the RSPO to guarantee that its products are not linked to rainforest destruction, representatives were nowhere to  be found.

In fact, Girl Scouts USA seems to have created a new category of “affiliate membership” that is not one of the 7 official categories of RSPO membership. Hmmm.Perhaps by affiliate membership they mean they are relying on cookie bakers to effectively use their membership in the RSPO to guarantee that palm oil is not connected to rainforest destruction and orangutan habitat loss. Unfortunately we couldn’t confirm RSPO membership for either ABC Bakers or Weston Foods Limited, and the only Girl Scout cookie baker we did find was Kellogg. Pity given the above.

McDonald’s:

The newest RSPO member missing in action joined in October with great fanfare but was nowhere to be found despite having said:

“Participating in multi-stakeholder engagements such as the RSPO is one way for us to put the power and leadership of McDonald’s behind commitments to continue to source sustainable ingredients such as palm oil,” said Francesca DeBiase, McDonald’s vice president, Worldwide Strategic Sourcing, in a statement. “Sustainability issues as they relate to food are often confusing to consumers, and we can help lead the way by educating our customers on how our food is sourced.”

Missing: McDonalds CEO Jim Skinner

Missing: Kellogg CEO John Bryant

Missing: GSUSA CEO Anna Maria Chavez

If we’re expecting these brands to assure that RSPO certified palm oil is truly responsible, perhaps next year we’ll have to put the photos of these missing companies on the back of milk boxes before the annual RSPO meeting.

Update 11/24/11 9:50am Whose Voices are Missing at the RSPO?

In concluding her plenary presentation yesterday, “A Preliminary consideration of workers and communities,” Toh su Mei from the organization Wild Asia, left participants of the 9^th Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil meeting pondering the lack of representation of workers and smallholders at the conference.

“We are the stakeholders of the palm oil economy, but where are the workers in the room?” Her question to the room brought to light a notable emptiness among RSPO members and RSPO board members: palm oil workers.

Workers at Ledo Lestari palm oil plantation in Borneo. Photo: David Gilbert

There are an estimated 2 million Indonesians working in Malaysia for a variety of industries. Indonesia placed a moratorium on sending workers to Malaysia following widely reported abuse of Indonesian workers in the neighboring country where many are undocumented and work in palm oil plantations, construction and as domestic workers. But after two years of tough negotiations, involving the top leaders of both countries, Indonesia and Malaysia eventually overcame the protracted deadlock on the sending of unskilled Indonesian workers to Malaysia.

Migrant workers from Indonesia working on palm oil plantations may have their passports held and may be subject to multi-year contracts that push the workers into debt and prevent escape. As I documented just over a year ago, slave and child labor on palm oil plantations is a severe reality in Indonesia and Malaysia. So sever, in fact, that recently the U.S. Department of Labor added palm oil cultivated in Indonesia to its List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor.

Toh su Mei explained that migrant workers often aren’t allowed to organize or join unions or risk getting terminated. She encouraged the RSPO to reach out to local and migrant workers upon which the oil palm industry relies and to engage them in decision making processes that ultimately affect them but currently are run behind closed doors.

According to a 2009 publication on the Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants, here is summary of the issues facing migrant workers in Malaysia.

If the RSPO fails to meaningfully involve the workers it relies on to address these issues, another weakness will be added to a system that is already missing key safeguards relating to the industry’s greenhouse gas emissions, one that still fails to adequately implement key elements of the principles and criteria relating to social conflict and the conversion of natural forests.

Orangutans, threatened with extinction by the palm oil industry, are humankinds closest relatives

Original Post: Malaysia Minister Slams NGOs for Using Science that Documents High Risk of Orangutan Extinction

On Tuesday, November 22, the Malaysian Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities, a man named Tan Sri Bernard Giluk Dompok, delivered the Official Address in the Opening Ceremony of the Rountable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) conference. A significant portion of his comments expressed concern and disapproval of the style of campaigning RAN and other NGO’s use to draw attention to the social and environmental problems with palm oil.

But Mr. Dompok did more than simply acknowledge the campaigns of those concerned with deforestation, climate change, and declines in orangutan populations. He decided to snub science in front of 1,000 delegates from 34 countries, claiming that a 2007 report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), documenting the high risk of orangutan extinction due to deforestation, was baseless:

The development of the oil palm industry has never been without challenges. Environmental and consumer advocacy groups, particularly in Europe and US have stepped up claims that the oil palm sector is destroying large tracts of forests and encroaching on the natural habitats of endangered species. For example, a report entitled, “The Last Stand of the Orang Utan: State of Emergency,” claims that oil palm plantations are expanding so rapidly in the rainforests of Malaysia that almost no virgin forest will remain by 2022. It has been also claimed that an equivalent of 300 soccer fields are deforested every hour for oil palm plantations. I am of the view all these allegations are baseless and based on the premise of fear on the competitiveness of palm oil.

This statement comes just a week after the Malaysian Government announced its plans to spend $7.7 million (24 million ringgit) in 2011 and 2012 to counter criticism over the social and environmental impact of palm oil.

Directly after Mr. Dompok’s speech, I snuck into the Press Conference and sat in the front row. On camera, I asked Mr. Dompok why the Malaysian Government needed to spend over $7 million if the Malaysian palm oil industry was indeed so “sustainable.” His answer? That Malaysia needs to counter misleading NGO campaigns based on fear.

Indeed, the specter of the extinction of humankind’s closest relative, the orangutan, does elicit a sense of fear in many around the world. A comprehensive new study finds that orangutan populations in Indonesian Borneo are being diminished at unsustainable rates. The results indicate orangutans may be headed toward extinction. The study, published in PLoS One, is based on 18 months of interviews with nearly 7,000 people across 687 villages in areas where orangutans persist in East, Central, and West Kalimantan. The research involved 18 NGOs, including local and international organizations.

In a recent interview, Dr. Marc Ancrenanz of HUTAN notes that oil palm plantations cover a staggering 14,000 square kilometers of Sabah, one of the two states in Malaysian Borneo and the number one producer of Malaysian palm oil. This is equal to 20 Singapores planted solely with palm!

In the same interview, Dr. Marc Ancrenanz mentions that genetic studies in Sabah show that the orangutan population has declined by 50% to 90% over the past few decades. This severe decline is due to several causes, such as hunting and the illegal pet trade, but the foremost reason is forest loss as it is cut down and converted to agriculture.

So you be the judge. Do you trust the comments made by the Malaysian Minister following the government’s $7 million investment in a public relations campaign, or do you trust scientists working to save the endangered orangutan before it is too late? In my experience, when companies or governments spend $7,000,000 on public relations to counter science, it’s usually because they have something to cover up.

The pulp and paper and palm oil industries are causing species extinction left, right, and center in one of the planet’s most important biological hotspots—Indonesia.

Giraffe via Flickr by Durotriges

Scientists have identified 25 “hotspots” of biological diversity, comprising a mere 1.4% of the earth’s surface, that contain an astounding 44% of vascular plants and 35% of vertebrates.  Hotspots are chosen based on their high species richness (number of species), high level of endemism (how many species occur nowhere else in the world), and high threat from human activity.  Why is it that a mere 1.4% of our earth’s surface, including hotspots rich in biodiversity like Indonesia, cannot be issued full protection at this time?

Our current solution to the incredible loss of species is protected areas, which are critical in an attempt to conserve our world’s biodiversity.  However, a recent scientific paper published in the Marine Ecology Progress Series by scientists Mora and Sale explores whether protected areas are enough to preserve a significant amount of biodiversity.  Their conclusion: definitely not.

The word “protection” is often used too loosely, as an incredible amount of land is only “protected” on paper.  A large part of the conservation battle lies in increasing and solidifying these protected areas, but this alone is not enough to save even a fraction of our world’s precious biota. Consider the case of rainforest-destroying industry giant Asia Pulp & Paper: APP protects one small plot of land here, and destroys an entire forest over there.  This is certainly not an effective way to protect areas deemed critical hotspots by leading scientists.

Image via Flickr by Arenamontanus

In theory, protected areas such as reserves and national parks are useful because they allow little to no resource extraction and minimize or prohibit development.  In practice, however, protected areas tell a different story.  Look at the Indonesia Moratorium, for example.  Sixty four million hectares of tropical forest are supposedly preserved, but the actual picture on the ground is very different as forests continue to be logged and peatlands drained.

It’s clear that protected areas are too small and too few.  We are currently protecting a very small percentage of the earth’s surface.  Since we do not have the resources or means to protect all of the land on our planet, scientists suggest we must first place priority on biodiversity hotspots, areas of utmost importance to global biodiversity.

Indonesia is a one such priority area, the protection of which scientists consider critical to not only preserve species, but also to mitigate severe climate change.   Indonesia contains some of the oldest and most valuable forest in the world, and its high species richness, endemism, and severe threat has recently led to its listing as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Danger.

Biodiversity Hotspots highlighted in red. Photo: Conservation International 2004

Another huge challenge with protected areas is poor enforcement.  National parks with which we are most familiar in the United States tend to have fairly strict protection, but those in developing nations, particularly Southeast Asia, are overwhelmingly what we might call “paper parks.”  Many areas issued protection are drawn on maps as reserves, but little to no enforcement exists.  Corruption and unmonitored practices such as illegal logging and extraction of wildlife for the pet trade occur all too frequently.

At the current rate of population expansion, protected areas will collapse in the near future as we struggle as a species to extract enough resources to survive and will be forced to expand onto protected lands.  Not only is curbing population growth paramount to conserving our resources, but lowering the egregious consumption rate per person, especially in developed nations such as the United States, is just as crucial.  We live in a society that measures success by growth, and growth is measured by an increase in the appetite of consumers.  Our current model is conducive to destroying the planet and its resources, and this must change in order for our planet to be sustained in its current form for future generations.  Just like any individual population, the earth itself has a carrying capacity, and we are nearing the tipping point after which many biota will no longer be able to survive, and neither will we.

APP Greenwash Video

APP managed to get its corporate logo in almost every shot as the majestic animal was drugged, caged, transported, radio collared and released to great media fanfare. Indonesia’s powerful Forestry Minister pulled the chain to lift the cage door himself. The company blames the Sumatran tiger’s critically endangered status on illegal poachers. They named their captive PR prop “Putri,” Indonesian for Princess.

Nice try APP, but any scientist (not on the company’s payroll) will confirm that the real reason behind the tiger’s decline to the precipice of extinction is the clearing and conversion of its rainforest habitat, primarily by pulp and paper companies, led by APP.

Thankfully, CBS news includes substantial quotes and counter-spin provided by Greenpeace instead of just repeating the companies bold attempt at greenwashing its image. Still, this incident reflects the increasingly large investment APP is pouring into sophisticated PR firms who use slick language about ‘sustainability’ and stunts like this to obfuscate and distract from the company’s shameful environmental record.

Shame on you APP. If more of the crucial habitat that tigers need were left intact, they would not be forced into the biologically impoverished pulpwood plantations in search of food in the first place.

Click Image to watch RAN's Lafcadio Cortesi on ABC's program "Paper Tiger" on Foreign Correspondent

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has just aired a damning exposé called “Paper Tiger” about the devastating deforestation caused by the pulp and paper industry in Indonesia. The program is called Foreign Correspondent and it is a sort of Aussie 60 Minutes.

The piece features compelling footage of logging giant APRIL mowing down vast expanses of Sumatra’s primary rainforests and creating an “ecological Armageddon” in order to feed their paper mill in Riau, which is the largest such mill in the world.

RAN forest campaigner Lafcadio Cortesi and I spent a half day with the ABC film crew when we were in Sumatra last month. Quotes from Laf’s extensive interview with them are featured throughout the program.

This great investigative piece includes emotional pleas from lifelong farmers about to lose their land to APRIL’s clear cut logging and shows motion detector camera shots of critically endangered Sumatran tigers just days before their habitat was bulldozed for a paper plantation. It documents both government corruption and explosions of violence resulting from the social conflict surrounding APRIL’s forest destruction. This maddening footage is interspersed with snippets of blatant greenwashing and callous disregard from APRIL’s Director of Operations, David Kerr.

Lafcadio explains the carbon implications of logging peatlands to ABC film crew

The show is a half hour long, but it makes for gripping viewing and offers a strong introduction into the urgent forest crisis underway in Indonesia. I wrote a blog post about this portion of our trip entitled “A Rainforest Apocalypse? People, Peat And Promises For A New Direction“.

Watch the exposé here. You can also read some uplifting news about Indonesia in my post entitled “From the Field: Inspirational Agroforestry at the Corner of Nature.”

An orangutan at the Singapore Zoo

Several weeks ago, three national parks in Sumatra, Indonesia were collectively labeled a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Danger. This inscription reiterates the urgency to issue full protections for the last remaining tracts of unspoiled rainforest on the island.

The Sumatran rainforest, named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004 for its wealth of biodiversity, contains 2.5 million hectares of tropical rainforest and features an incredible 10,000 plant species, 200 mammal species including the critically endangered Sumatran tiger and orangutan, and 580 bird species. The organization added Sumatra to its Danger List this year as a plea to increase awareness of the threats facing the Heritage Site, most notably “poaching, illegal logging, agricultural encroachment, and plans to build roads through the site.”

Although adding Sumatra to the list of Heritage Sites in Danger is certainly a positive step forward that will demonstrate the need for strict conservation of the area, the reality is that UNESCO’s actions may have come too late. The World Conservation Union (IUCN) has urged UNESCO to put Sumatra on the Danger List ever since its initial inscription as a World Heritage Site in 2004. Since 2007 the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) has been running hard-hitting campaigns targeting the palm oil and pulp and paper industries, warning the public about the dangers posed to this natural habitat long before its appearance on the Danger List. The palm oil and pulp and paper industries represent the largest drivers of rainforest destruction in Indonesia, posing a grave threat to Sumatra’s remaining forests, communities and endangered species.

Even those involved in placing Sumatra on the Danger List know that engendering awareness of the severity of the threats will not be enough to save this precious rainforest, or the orangutans that call it their home. Orangutans only live in the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. These countries together are responsible for 85% of the world’s palm oil production, leaving little forest left for anyone or anything but the industry’s palm monoculture. According to Peter Shadie, the IUCN’s senior advisor on World Heritage, it must now be ensured that the listing “leads to real action on the ground to tackle long standing threats.” Wise words, Mr. Shadie.

Nevertheless, the addition of Sumatra to UNESCO’s Danger List demonstrates to the world that the island is in a severely fragile position, and that it is of paramount importance that we take action to halt destruction before this irreplaceable bastion of rainforest and culture has completely disappeared.

Will industries react to this listing? Will logging companies cease fire? Only time will tell. However, we do know for certain that the palm oil and pulp & paper industries will not stop destroying the diverse rainforests of Southeast Asia unless they are forced to stop by environmental and human rights organizations or the Indonesian government. Join the Rainforest Agribusiness campaign’s rapid responder team so that when we have an urgent call for action we can count on you to make a difference.

Our friendly balloons, flyers, and palm-oil-free candy were well-received by parade-goers of all ages. Seems like people in Wayzata like rainforests. Cargill should take the hint.

Every 4th of July, the red, white and blue comes out in a big way in Wayzata, Minnesota, an affluent suburb of the Twin Cities. An annual pancake breakfast, bicycle parade, and day-long festivities are something people look forward to each year. Neighbors greet one another’s families as they gather to celebrate with their community.

Since Cargill‘s headquarters are a few miles away, many Cargill employees and executives and their families reside in the area.

Around Wayzata, Cargill is known for being a big employer, a family-owned company, and invested in the local community. What isn’t known as commonly is the darker side of Cargill experienced by our neighbors around the world. So this year, amongst the red, white and blue of Independence Day, local youth and activists with Rainforest Action Network shared a positive and important message with the Wayzata community.

Even on festive summer holidays we should remember that rainforest destruction is not taking a vacation. As community members gather on Independence Day in Wayzata, it is more important than ever to share awareness and positive messages that remind us that we all have a role to play in voicing our concerns and ending Cargill’s involvement in rainforest destruction. The company must adopt strong palm oil policies (and FAST) if we are going to preserve endangered species like the orangutan from extinction. Indigenous communities in Indonesia are being exploited by land theft and slave labor, and Cargill’s continued lack of substantive action means the company continues to be the ‘neighbor from hell’ in Indonesia.

On the 4th of July, we are reminded that abusively exploitative conditions were what led to the Declaration of Independence. The struggle for equilibrium and justice continues.

Youth and activists with RAN-Twin Cities attended Wayzata's Fourth of July Kids Parade with an important, positive message to share.

We as global citizens have a responsibility to spread awareness and empower people to be part of the solution and not to stifle the truth of shameful global realities — especially when the responsibility for these injustices can literally be laid at the feet of the person who lives next door. People who are proud of their country and their community deserve to know what these entities are doing around the world  and demand something better.

Cargill, treat your neighbors in Indonesia the same way you would treat your neighbors in sweet old Wayzata!

This rightfully raises the question, “Will the Indonesian Forest Moratorium help save forests and reduce record greenhouse gas emissions being released by Indonesia, or will it fall short and allow logging as usual to continue?”

Businesses hoping that Indonesia would move forward with a robust moratorium on issuing new rainforest clearance permits are sorely disappointed by the large number of loopholes and exemptions in the final document, issued five months late after intense palm oil and pulp and paper sector lobbying to weaken it.

A government moratorium on issuing new forest clearance permits was one of four main forest-related climate commitments made by the President of Indonesia as part of a $1 billion agreement with the government of Norway signed last year. Various economic studies have indicated that curbing deforestation, improving forest governance and promoting a shift to low carbon rural development would be positive for Indonesia’s GDP growth and international competitiveness.

Unfortunately, the moratorium’s final specifics fall far short of the proposals put forward by reformist leaders in Indonesia and international expectations. The moratorium is loaded with exemptions and exceptions. Secondary natural rainforests, including critical tiger and orangutan habitat, huge areas of virgin rainforest slated to become sugarcane plantations, large new mines, and all existing permits, including a large number issued by the Ministry of Forests hours before the moratorium was originally scheduled to start, mean that widespread deforestation will continue.  At least two-thirds of the primary forest and peatland area included in the moratorium are estimated to be forest areas that were already illegal to clear under pre-existing laws and regulations.

But with palm oil and other commodity prices soaring, Indonesia’s plantation conglomerates have seemingly let greed for more land blind them to the wider national interest. Working with mining sector and pulp and paper interests, the conglomerates successfully lobbied to gut the moratorium and ensure that it remained under the control of the corruption-ridden Ministry of Forests, which proved the winner in a struggle with honest reformist elements over the design of the moratorium’s scope and its implementation.

International buyers of palm oil and paper products are growing increasingly wary of sourcing from Indonesia due to the high rates of deforestation, widespread social conflict, high climate emissions, negative impacts on tigers, orangutans and biodiversity and pandemic levels of corruption.

Indonesia is the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases after China and the U.S. Some 85% of Indonesia’s emissions come from clearing of natural rainforests and draining of carbon-rich peatlands, which are also important habitat for endangered orangutans, tigers, elephants and rhinos. Deforestation is driven by expansion of the palm oil and pulp and paper sectors producing goods for the global commodity markets. These controversial products are in turn entering into the supply chains of leading companies around the world, where they can pose reputational risks to many highly valued brands.

Rainforest Action Network encourages responsible corporations to continue to publicly support strengthened efforts by the Indonesian government and business sector to promote economically positive low carbon development pathways and permanent protection for peatland and forest areas.