APP accused of breaching its forest protection commitments to international lenders

WWF

WWF and Indonesian environment groups claim that European and Japanese taxpayers are among those unwittingly underwriting the continued destruction of important forest in Sumatra, including habitat for endangered tigers. A new report from Sumatra-based NGO coalition Eyes on the Forest, shows that Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) agreed to protect high conservation value forest under debt restructuring agreements it made with taxpayer-backed financial institutions in nine countries, in 2004. However, Eyes on the Forest believes subsequent forest clearing blatantly breaches that commitment.

posted by seamas on March 28, 2012 at 7:23 am · filed under

Indonesia exploits loopholes to grant new logging and plantation concessions

via Mongabay

Back in 2010, we featured commentary by Greenpeace Southeast Asia’s Campaigns Director Shailendra Yashwant on a landmark commitment by Indonesia to protect its remaining forests with $1 billion financial support from Norway. The pact was agreed in order to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions caused by the destruction of forest and carbon packed peat-land; it promised to be a flagship large-scale example of REDD+ in action. At the time, a moratorium on new logging and plantation concessions was announced on a supposed ‘no reduced deforestation, no money from Norway’ basis.

Now, Jakarta-based NGO Greenomics-Indonesia has revealed that over 1 million acres in Indonesian New Guinea was revised out of the moratorium in November 2011. How will Norway react to this worrying revision of the parameters? Do Indonesia’s actions bode ominously for other REDD+ initiatives? Is it possible to save the ambitious moratorium? We hope the Greenomics report will invite greater scrutiny of how this keystone pact is being implemented.

posted by seamas on February 19, 2012 at 7:16 am · filed under

Asia Pulp & Paper greenwash exposed

WWF

Indonesian NGO coalition Eyes on the Forest and WWF are drawing attention to the hollowness of claims by Asia Pulp & Paper that it is working to protect Sumatran tiger. The company fails to acknowledge in it’s blatant greenwashing, that it has been responsible for logging more than two million hectares of Indonesia’s tropical forests in recent decades, including elephant, tiger and orang-utan habitat; and, most shockingly, even clear-cutting inside the “Senepis Tiger Sanctuary” that it claims to have helped create in Sumatra. The company had also previously tried to halt a government-proposed national park in the area.

posted by seamas on December 15, 2011 at 7:28 am · filed under

Australia must increase climate aid to poor nations

ACF

Australia should contribute around $2.4 billion a year to a global pool of funds dedicated to helping the world’s poorest countries, including our near neighbours, reduce their dependence on fossil fuels, protect their forests and manage the impacts of climate change, a study by the Australian National University has found. The study identifies a range of new sources of private and public climate finance that can help achieve this goal set at last year’s UN climate summit in Cancun. The Climate Institute’s Erwin Jackson points out that it is strongly in our national interest to help poorer nations tackle climate change.

posted by seamas on October 27, 2011 at 9:06 pm · filed under

International Forest Certification failure exposed

The Wilderness Society

Greenpeace Australia Pacific, The Wilderness Society and My Environment have jointly released an international report detailing repeated failures of the Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) forest certification standard. “On the Ground 2011″ draws on case studies from the US, Canada, Australia, Indonesia, Europe and Malaysia to show that PEFC certified products are being sourced from areas where high value forests are being destroyed and human and community rights are being abused. The PEFC stamp (and its Australian affiliate AFS) is widely used on products in Australia and around the world.

posted by seamas on October 17, 2011 at 8:16 pm · filed under

Greens spotlight mining profits vanishing offshore

ABC News

More than 80% of the mining industry in Australia is foreign owned, according to a report just released by the Greens. They claim tens of billions of dollars in earnings from mining will leave Australia in the next five years and are calling for a “Resource Super Profits Tax” to ensure more of that benefits the nation.

posted by seamas on June 29, 2011 at 2:49 pm · filed under

Ozone depletion has changed climate patterns dramatically

The Age

A newly released study shows that the ozone hole created by emissions from human industry plays a much bigger role in climate patterns than previously thought. The research by an international team of scientists linked ozone depletion to a substantial increase in tropical rain in some regions and increased dry areas in parts of the southern hemisphere.

posted by seamas on April 25, 2011 at 7:34 am · filed under