From Greenpeace International
For the first time ever, a palm oil company has been forced to restore rainforest and peatland in order to continue supplying the global market.
Under pressure from customers and civil society, Malaysian palm oil company FGV has promised to restore over 1,000 hectares of the peat forest in West Kalimantan, Indonesia.
FGV is a subsidiary of FELDA, the world’s largest palm oil grower.
Bagus Kusuma, Forest campaigner with Greenpeace Southeast Asia, said it was a sign that corporate ‘no deforestation’ policies were finally starting to bite.
“It sends a serious warning that other destructive palm oil companies should heed: deforestation has consequences,” Kusuma said.
The good news couldn’t come at a better time for Indonesia’s forests and its inhabitants.
A report released last week by Indonesia’s Environment and Forestry Ministry confirmed that the number of orangutans has plummeted since 2004.
This excerpt from a news article appeared in and is courtesy of Greenpeace International and can be read in its entirety here.
