2 May 2009
It's an invisible ingredient, really, palm oil. You won't find it listed on your margarine, your bread, your biscuits or your KitKat. It's there though, under "vegetable oil". And its impact, 7,000 miles away, is very visible indeed.
1 May 2009
My biggest wish is that people in the western world could understand what is happening here in Borneo, and how the demand for palm oil is devastating the rainforests and contributing to the extinction of the orangutan.
1 May 2009
A cooking oil that is driving the destruction of the rainforests, displacing native people and threatening the survival of the orangutan is present in dozens of Britain's leading grocery brands, an investigation by The Independent has found.
29 April 2009
Growing economic pain may increasingly force consumers to turn to palm oil, one of the cheapest cooking oils, a move that could scupper nascent plans to slow deforestation in Southeast Asia.
26 April 2009
A battle has broken out between conservationists over attempts to save the orang-utan. The groups are divided over the issue of reintroducing to the wild orphaned animals that are now living in refuges in Borneo and Sumatra.
25 April 2009
We draw supporters attention to the proposal by timber giant, Asia Pulp & Paper, to clear 33,776 hectares of forest in Bukit Tigapuluh, Sumatra, Indonesia.
16 April 2009
Over the last 40 years, global oil palm cultivation has increased exponentially, with 43 percent of the total cultivated oil palm crop currently produced in Indonesia. This inception of palm oil as a valuable commodity, particularly as biofuel, has dramatically accelerated deforestation in Borneo, with only a third of the original forest cover expected to remain by 2020.
16 April 2009
The trade in Sumatran orangutans for pets shows little sign of decline and is taking the species to the brink of extinction, a report concludes.
12 April 2009
Conservationists have discovered a new population of orangutans in a remote, mountainous corner of Indonesia — perhaps as many as 2,000 — giving a rare boost to one of the world's most critically endangered great apes.
12 April 2009
A protected Sumatran forest which is home to a Perth-raised orang-utan released into the wild in a worldwide first two years ago could be logged, according to Australian Orang-utan Project president Leif Cocks.
8 April 2009
New US and European Union efforts to clamp down on the illegal timber trade are expected to take a multi-billion dollar annual toll on Indonesian exports because the south-east Asian nation has failed to enact standards for wood-based products in spite of years of debate.
19 March 2009
Desperate times calls for desperate measures. Wild orang-utans spend 90 per cent of their time on treetops, and very rarely descend to the ground, unless disaster strikes, according to a press release.
15 March 2009
This is not a documentary for the faint-hearted but it is a documentary that should be viewed by as many people as possible. Winner of Best Documentary Short in the recent Durango Independent Film Festival, and directed by Moez Moez, ôGreenö documents the last hours of a female orangutan's life.
9 March 2009
Indonesia has applied to join a World Bank programme that supports developing nations' efforts to fight deforestation and help them earn cash through the sale of tradeable carbon credits. The Bank's $350 million Forest Carbon Partnership Facility aims to support developing states design and create projects under a U.N.-backed scheme that could eventually earn poorer nations billions of dollars a year by protecting their forests.
6 March 2009
Indonesia's Government has approved a big increase in logging of its tropical forests, a decision that could lead to a major jump in carbon emissions and, most likely, cause further deadly attacks on villagers by tigers and elephants.
Founder of BOS, Willie Smits, gave a 20 minute speech at the recent TED conference in the US. He explained the concept behind the Samboja Lestari reforestation model and how it is working for the environment and for the people.
24 February 2009
WHEN he's in Scotland, GP Dr David Irons runs an accident and emergency unit in Stranraer, but when he's in Borneo his patients are much hairier, and more orange. That's because he's Medical Director of Borneo Orangutan Survival (BOS), and at their rehabilitation centre at Nyaru Menteng, he heads a team meeting the medical needs of around 650 orangutans and 200 staff. About 150 of his young, hairy charges are playing around him as we chat.
16 February 2009
Environmental activists have mounted a challenge against the government's plan to allow palm oil companies to set up plantations in the country's remaining peatlands.
13 February 2009
The Agriculture Ministry will issue a decree to allow businesses to dig up the country's millions of hectares of peatland for oil palm plantations.
2 February 2009
The word came last spring at a climate change conference here. Unilever, the world's largest buyer of palm oil, would publicly call for a moratorium on deforestation by Indonesian growers of the coveted oil used in food, soaps, detergents, cosmetics and biofuel.
2 February 2009
The Forestry Ministry has said it has received a mounting number of requests from local administrations for permits to convert IndonesiaÆs dwindling forests into plantations, mostly due to uncertainty surrounding the spatial planning law.
28 January 2009
AUSTRALIA is contributing directly to the widespread destruction of tropical rainforests in Indonesia and Malaysia by importing millions of tonnes of taxpayer-subsidised biodiesel made from palm oil.
2 January 2009
A comprehensive article in this month's Scientific American by Jane Braxton Little traces Willie Smits's project to restore the rainforest at Samboja Lestari, the "everlasting forest".
24 December 2008
Orangutans can help each other get food by trading tokens, scientists have discovered - but only if the help goes in both directions.
14 December 2008
A sad and tearful farewell to another Nyaru Menteng orphan. Michelle Desilets asks that some good come out of the loss of Ucon. You can do this by donating to support the many orphan orangutans in our care. And tell the government and manufacturers that the cost of products containing palm oil is unacceptably high.
12 December 2008
Throughout history, human beings have used the whistle for everything from hailing a cab to carrying a tune. Now, an orangutan’s spontaneous whistling is providing scientists at Great Ape Trust of Iowa new insights into the evolution of speech and learning.
To ensure delivery before Christmas, please ensure your order is placed on or before Thursday 18th December.
6 December 2008
As far as mercy missions go Jessica McKelson has seen it all in her battle to save the orangutans in Borneo
3 December 2008
A major international study says palm oil plantations reduce plant and animal diversity, and do little to reduce carbon emissions.
28 November 2008
Greenpeace has branded the Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) "a farce" following their failure to take action against members they say are destroying Indonesia's peat lands and forests.
26 November 2008
THEY may be too young to drive or vote but Braybrook College students are old enough to know what's important to them. Around 30 Year 7 students are launching their own campaign against unsustainable palm oil production.
22 November 2008
California and two other U.S. states signed a pact late on Tuesday with Indonesia's Aceh province that could see forest carbon credits from Aceh accepted into U.S. emissions trading schemes.
22 November 2008
Agriculture Minister Anton Apriyantono on Tuesday defended Indonesia’s drive to expand oil palm plantations, despite a demand by environmentalists for a moratorium on deforestation.
10 November 2008
The first shipment of palm oil certified under the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is expected to arrive in Europe Tuesday, but an environmental group is already criticizing the initiative's credentials.
7 November 2008
Palm oil is used in a third of all groceries. But can it ever be produced without causing environmental devastation as some big companies are promising?
