eating the rainforest

Photo Courtesy: Lush Cosmetics. Wash your hands off palm campaign

I have been thinking about how to talk about palm oil without actually saying, "Save the Orangutans" - I have previously mentioned and believe that conservation efforts should be based on economic facts rather than the sympathy factor.

First of all, it must be said that palm oil is everywhere. Up until 2008 in the lead up to the famous Greenpeace campaign against Dove, palm oil was thought to be found only in cosmetics. Today however, palm oil is being used widely in the food industry as well. There is no requirement for it to be labelled 'palm oil' and manufacturers can get away with labeling it 'vegetable oil'. According to Palmoilaction - it is being used in products by Sara Lee, Cadburys, Pringles, KFC, Maggie Noodles etc. The most recent Greenpeace campaign video (below) highlights use of palm oil in Nestle Kit-Kat Bars. I wonder how these companies justify this in their CSR policies.

A previous post on wide-scale deforestation in Indonesia talks mainly about illegal timber. Palm oil means even more money than timber to some people. Global demand for palm oil is now more than 40 million tons per year making it the mainstay of Indonesian and Malaysian economy. Much of the land used for the cultivation of palm oil was former rain-forest. The destruction of rain-forests not only means habitat destruction but loss of valuable carbon sinks.

China, India and other emerging markets are the biggest buyers of palm oil. Since it is a cheap form of vegetable oil containing no trans-fats, it is used widely in food preparations. It is also a feasible source of bio-diesel - the irony is not lost to me. There have been several reports stating that preservation of rain-forests mean more money than its destruction but palm oil means the money comes quicker. Intact rain-forests contribute in many ways to a nation's economy by means of eco-tourism, carbon finance, etc.

A study in Conservation Letters last month estimated that if REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) is included in a cap-and-trade market for greenhouse gas emissions, payments for "avoided deforestation" could range between $1,500 and $11,800 per hectare, depending on when the carbon credits are allocated and sold. In comparison, the oil palm market was estimated to generate a net present value between $3,800 and $9,600 per hectare over a 30-year period.

Although a vast proportion of the Indonesian economy is dependent on palm oil, there is a way to make it more sustainable and the key here lies in increasing productivity in the areas already under cultivation without destroying new forests. How is this possible? Consumer awareness. When demand for palm oil reduces, the destruction of forests for oil will taper off. When this kicks in and carbon finance money is paid out, some of this will be invested into sustainable options thereby uplifting people out of poverty.

I honestly do believe that people living in crushing poverty do not destroy the environment out of malice but simply because they have no choice. Unless nations that are better-off demand that exploitation cannot continue, local governments of poorer countries will not seek alternatives. A seemingly micro-issue like palm oil is connected to the much larger macro-issue of food production, global warming and the global economy. The next time you go shopping consider this: you might be eating the rain-forest without even knowing about it.

Oh! and Save the Orangutans...

join the roar!

Stripey the cub (in photo) has become the symbol of the tiger conservation movement and the recent Save our Tigers campaign initiated by Aircel*/WWF. The year of the Tiger rings in on 14th February and with this, there is predicted to be an increase in demand for tiger products.

India is working very closely with China to ensure that poaching is curbed on both ends of the supply chain. Beijing's co-operation is critically important in order to ensure the survival of the species. With only 50 tigers left in the wild in China, poachers are likely to intensify their efforts in India. Is someone addressing this issue?The site also gives information on tiger reserves and tiger density in each reserve - out of the 37 sanctuaries in India 17 face a collapse in tiger population. I have previously blogged about the plight of our national animal and since then nothing has changed really, in the overall scenario.

So what can you do? According to the website which is not very informative you can donate, blog, tweet, or join the Facebook page. The Aircel campaign has its heart in the right place and it is a great start to creating awareness; but its impact remains to be seen. Since Project Tiger which has been the most successful program in the 70s lost steam; tiger conservation has always had its lulls and rises. There has never been a concentrated effort to increase tiger numbers, reducing poaching and ensuring protected habitat remain that way. More importantly there has not been much transparency, advocacy or public involvement in the process. Every census releases varying numbers regarding tiger population - for example, does the site explain how the number 1411 was arrived at?

Latest technologies in animal conservation and expert consultations are the need of the hour. It is also highly essential for the public sector and civil society organizations to attack bureaucracy. More importantly it is essential that every tiger campaign, indeed every campaign keeps people in the loop. The newest WWF initiative is an interactive map that gives a status report of tigers all over the world. According to their latest numbers there are 3200 tigers are left world over in the wild. Like I have argued previously, conservation efforts are dependent on rate of biodiversity loss which is tied into economic losses. Stripey no matter how cute and how much celebrity support he garners, will not stir public sympathies for too long unless a holistic picture is provided. I hope someone from Aircel is reading this: more information is needed on their campaign objectives, how they plan on achieving them and where they're getting their numbers from - for starters.

* Aircel is a mobile phone service provider in India

Photo Courtesy: www.saveourtigers.com

eggplant interrupted

I have spent a lot of time ruminating the phenomenal decision taken by Jairam Ramesh, India's Environmental Minister. I have concluded that in the face of corrupt politics and skewed ideas of agricultural progress: it is a monumental affirmation. It is more power to the GM Free India Coalition, to the science of right and indeed, farmers all over the nation.

Today I am slightly stunned because I doubted if this moratorium would actually happen - so clearly resounding its logical voice and based so solidly in scientific fact. This decision has come after public debates, back and forth consultations, news cycle after news cycle, protests and general chaos which is a confirmation to the power of people. The government will listen, it has to listen when what is being demanded is something as basic as safe food.

The hold on the commercial introduction of Bt Brinjal comes after key brinjal growing states announced their own state bans. The states of West Bengal, Orissa and Bihar which account for 60% of brinjal production announced a ban earlier this year. This was followed by bans in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand etc. The massive public pressure on the Environmental Ministry also has played an important role. Through a Greenpeace campaign alone; 40,000 emails landed up in Jairam Ramesh's personal inbox protesting the introduction of Bt Brinjal. These two important factors have worked together to lead to this triumph. It is a day of celebration for anti-GM campaigners, every sane politician (Sharad Pawar does not qualify), brinjal farmers, consumers and the glorious heritage of Indian agriculture.

Brinjal, eggplant or aubergine is indigenous to the sub-continent and India grows over 2000 varieties of brinjal in over 500,000 hectares of land. It has been doing so for almost 4000 years. I do wish the Indian government will take a cue from the outcome of the campaign and devise methods to change agri-policy by pushing for more organic food, less pesticide/fertilizer use and definitely no GM. The humble brinjal has become India's most talked about vegetable and I predict; the symbol of the country's anti-GM movement and hopefully from here, a desperately needed agricultural revolution. Jairam Ramesh has kept his promise for a "fair outcome", he is indeed the man of the hour and has restored a little faith in Indian bureaucracy.

However celebrations cannot last long and there is much to be done on the GE front. Currently there are several indigenous crops reaching the last stages of testing like rice, okra, tomatoes - all of which are widely cultivated and consumed. These GM 'events' are sitting in line waiting for approval. So the battle may be over, but the war still remains.

for treedom!

It's tree-pruning time at my house and I watch intently as they saw mighty branches in systematic rhythm . The tree surgeon shouts out a caution before the branch falls with a thud and a cloud of dust rises. I feel a strange sort of emptiness. This is one tree, one branch that interfered with an electric line. I then imagine thousands of trees being felled and stand paralyzed with the images in my head. Yet is it happening. Deforestation is a way of life in many countries.

Indonesia is now the fourth major emitter of carbon, not because of industrialization but because of illegal logging. Almost 50% of Indonesia is covered in forests - forests hosting an enormous amount of biodiversity. Because the archipelago spreads across two bio geographic zones, many species found here are not found anywhere else in the world and there are still others waiting to be discovered. Indonesia hosts 31% of endemic animal species and 60% of all its plant species are endemic as well. It is home to the Orangutan - one of the great apes and most endangered animals - scientists predict will be exist by 2012 if deforestation is not curbed.

The forests are being degraded and destroyed by logging, mining, argicultural activities, fuelwood, paper manufactor etc. Much of the rainforest that is left is logger-over and degraded. The loss of forest cover affects river flow, contributes towards soil erosion and decreases yield from forest products. Indonesia is the world's largest exporter of tropical timber generating more than US$5 billion annually - this means that loggers are moving deeper and deeper into virgin forests and destroying entire ecosystems. Legally harvested timber affects 700,000-850,000 hectares of forest per year but widespread illegal logging boosts this to 1.2-1.4 million hectares according to statistics taken in 2004. This not only hurts the legal timber industry, it also makes conservation and education measures difficult.

The demand for illegal timber with China and Australia being the biggest buyer, fuels the industry. Awareness on both sides of the divide is crucially essential. Within Indonesia several grass-roots NGOs are working towards educating the people against the detrimental effects of illegal logging and are working with them to build alternative lifestyles. The EU has recently called for stricter laws in order to prevent the influx of illegal timber.

The corruption and poverty within Indonesia does provide a conducive environment for illegal logging to thrive however, consumer pressure can work to curb this. This destruction of their forests is not only their national problem, it takes international effort to stop it. Forest logging contributes to much larger global problems like increase in temperature and loss of species. As long as there is demand for illegally logged timber and as long as there are no rules in place to stop the trade of the same, supply will continue. Work to make sure the paper products you are using come from sustainable forests or are recycled.

A recent Greenpeace campaign demonstrated the power of public pressure. Unilever is one of the world's biggest buyers of palm oil, most of which comes from Indonesia and this is a contributing factor towards deforestation. This oil was being used in Dove soaps. The campaign against Dove was designed to ensure that the palm oil for their soap came from sustainable resources. After staggering public pressure Unilever and Dove agreed to protect the Paradise Forests in Indonesia. Never underestimate your voice as a consumer. Do your bit.

Trees are the Earth's endless effort to speak to the listening Heavens above

- Tagore