Palm Oil plan could devastate Borneo

A new report has revealed a potential palm oil development on Borneo that could devastate the island’s unique wildlife habitats and communities. The controversial proposals concern a massive 3 million hectare site in the southern Kalimantan region, which has been extended from an earlier proposal. As part of the development in the larger area, a special regulation would be applied to allow the Government to forcibly take land from communities in the name of ‘public interest’.

Justification for the development centres around increasing demand for palm oil in foods and biofuels. However, species such as elephants and orang-utans, along with the livelihoods of local people in the Kalimantan area, could face widespread disruption from the ‘mega-project’.

"Communities should not be forced to change their livelihoods simply for the benefit of oil palm companies and consumers overseas. They have not been consulted on these proposals and certainly have not agreed to abandon their land," explained Rudy Lumuru of local palm oil organisation Sawit Watch.

“European importing countries should not increase their imports of palm oil until environmental and social issues are solved,” added Anne Van Schaik of Friends of the Earth Netherlands. “This also means we should be very hesitant to embrace palm oil as a biomass-solution to the current energy crisis.”