12/08/2005 – Plans to
create the world’s largest palm oil plantation
in Kalimantan along Indonesia’s mountainous
border with Malaysia could have a devastating
impact on the forests, wildlife, and indigenous
people of Borneo, warns WWF.
The proposed scheme, funded by China, is
expected to cover an area of 1.8 million hectares
(equivalent to about half the size of The
Netherlands).
Most of this mountainous region, part of
the "Heart of Borneo", still holds
huge tracts of forests, where threatened species
such as orang-utans and the Borneo bay cat
live, and 14 out of the island's 20 major
rivers originate from.
According to WWF, new species have been discovered
there at a rate of three per month over the
last ten years making the area one of the
richest on the globe in terms of biodiversity.
WWF stresses that infertile soil and steep
areas, such as those in the Heart of Borneo,
prevent the development of oil palm plantations.
According to experts, oil palm is not recommended
to be planted in areas above 200 metres sea
level, because of low productivity at these
levels.
Furthermore, oil palm plantations should
be restricted to areas where the incline is
less than 30 per cent. Most of the Heart of
Borneo border area is between 1000 and 2000
metres high.
Research carried out in 2004 by the Centre
for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)
in the Heart of Borneo area, showed that out
of 200 sample sites, none were suitable for
the cultivation of oil palm.
"It doesn’t make commercial or conservation
sense to rip the forest out of the Heart of
Borneo to plant a crop which cannot grow in
mountainous conditions," said Dr Mubariq
Ahmad, Chief Executive Director of WWF-Indonesia.
"Such a project could have long-lasting,
damaging, consequences for the people who
depend on the area and its massive water resources,
which feed the whole island."
Despite the Indonesian government's assurance
that the project would not harm the environment,
WWF insists that development of palm oil plantations
should follow strict sustainable and environmental
principles which exclude the destruction of
forests of high social and biological importance.
According to the global conservation organization,
there is plenty of degraded, non-forested,
land on Kalimantan where oil palm plantations
could be established.
WWF is part of the Roundtable on Sustainable
Palm Oil (RSPO) which, together with other
stakeholders, such as the Indonesian Palm
Oil Commission (IPOC), is working to develop
palm oil plantations in a sustainable way.
"We only support the establishment of
oil palm plantations that are based on sustainable
and environmental principles. Since IPOC's
task is to promote a positive image of the
Indonesian palm oil industry, large scale
deforestation is a very sensitive issue. Consumers
do not want to be associated with the destruction
of rainforests", said Dr Rosediana Suharto,
Executive Chairman of IPOC.
"We are calling on the Indonesian government
to work only with serious and responsible
palm oil investors who support sustainable
palm oil," added Dr Mubariq Ahmad.
"Borneo needs sustainable development
not short-term economic measures which will
accelerate the loss of the remaining natural
forests in South East Asia."
