Earth Equity News

Unilever and Greenpeace Collaborate in Blocking Deforestation for Palm Oil. By Eric Marx, SanFranChron, February 1, 2009. "Unilever, the world's largest buyer of palm oil, has publicly called for a moratorium on deforestation by Indonesian growers of the coveted oil used in food, soaps, detergents, cosmetics and biofuel. The expansion of oil palm plantations is slowly destroying Kalimantan, the Indonesian side of Borneo and the habitat of the endangered Bornean orangutan, environmental activists say. During the past two decades, an estimated two million acres have been felled annually in Borneo, which Indonesia shares with Malaysia and Brunei... But with Jakarta planning to more than double the acreage of oil palm trees by 2011, activists are scrambling to form new alliances with the palm oil industry to stave off more destruction. They say the potential deforestation in Borneo -- which has one of the world's largest standing rain forests -- amounts to a 'climate bomb' in global warming from increased carbon levels released into the atmosphere by fallen trees. 'It's become obvious that climate change is a much bigger and urgent problem than we thought,' said Jan-Kees Vis, head of Unilever's sustainable agriculture program. Greenpeace and Unilever hope their new coalition will eventually limit the expansion of palm oil plantations to already degraded and abandoned agricultural lands, forestalling the need to clear additional forest. 'Even the most optimistic forecasts of global demand could be met from existing land under cultivation,' said Vis. Although many conservationists have applauded Unilever's pledge to purchase 100 percent sustainable palm oil by 2015, some question the company's motives in an industry rife with competition."