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  PlanetArk 25 May 07
Malaysia, Indonesia Counter Green Concerns Over Palm Oil
Story by Naveen Thukral

PlanetArk 24 May 07
Malaysia on PR Campaign Over Rainforests, Wildlife
Story by Naveen Thukral

TANJONG MALIM, Malaysia - Malaysia's palm oil industry, stung by global criticism over the environmental impact of rapidly expanding plantations, has launched a campaign to tell the world that it cares for forests and wildlife.

The world's largest plantation company, Synergy Drive, which is being formed through the merger of three state-run businesses, is leading the way, as a consumer backlash against palm oil could spell the end of booming demand for the product.

"We big plantations have always been accused of not looking after the rainforests," said Synergy Drive chief executive Ahmad Zubir Murshid, who spent a day last weekend trying to convince journalists of the firm's green credentials.

"What we are going to do is create sanctuaries of animals and birds so that they can co-exist with our plantations."

The industry-funded Malaysian Palm Oil Council has also chimed in, saying the nation has committed 20 million ringgit (US$5.91 million) for conservation of wildlife, including the orangutans.

But conservationists are not entirely convinced, pointing out the industry has taken years to realise the damage it has done.

Friends of the Earth says almost 90 percent of the orangutan habitat has now disappeared and if the destruction continues, Asia's only great ape could become extinct in 12 years.

With palm oil prices up nearly 68 percent since January, 2006, plantations now cover about 4 million hectares in Malaysia, and firms are expanding fast into neighbouring Indonesia where they had 889,354 hectares in 2006.

Palm oil is used in a wide variety of products ranging from cooking to fuel oils.

Greenpeace says Indonesia had the fastest pace of deforestation in the world between 2000-2005, with an area of forest equivalent to 300 soccer pitches destroyed every hour.

Friends of the Earth questions U.K. supermarkets selling palm oil on their corporate social responsibility and has urged financiers screen future investments in plantations for adverse environmental affects.

This aggressive campaign by green groups is having its impact and palm producers are feeling the heat.

The Netherlands plans a certification system for the use of biomass materials, such as grains, sugars and vegetable oils, to guarantee their sustainability.

"Direct burning of palm oil for power generation in Europe has reduced by 50 percent mainly because of environmental concerns," said M. R. Chandran, an independent analyst and a former head of Malaysian Palm Oil Association.

Malaysia's plantation industry, which says the nation has 64 percent forest cover, is pushing its campaign and working with groups like WWF.

"We are trying to get them to voluntarily give back to nature, by allocating some of the lands to build forest corridors for animals," said Dionysius Sharma, executive Director, WWF-Malaysia.

Diversified Sime Darby, which is being merged with Golden Hope and Kumpulan Guthrie, plans to plant millions of trees in a 400-hectare heritage park in northern Perak state with some rare rainforest varieties.

It has engaged a nursery that specialises in rare rainforest species. "We had some 3,000 species trees on peninsular Malaysia, but some of these are difficult to find," said James Kingham, who runs the nursery near Tanjong Malim, 100 km (62 miles) north of Kuala Lumpur.

Kingam showed, as he toured his 28-hectare nursery, a rare variety of wild lychee which at one time grew all over Malaysia.

(Additional reporting by Niluksi Koswanage)

PlanetArk 25 May 07
Malaysia, Indonesia Counter Green Concerns Over Palm Oil
Story by Naveen Thukral

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia and Indonesia, the world's largest palm-oil producers, agreed on Friday to take measures to counter environmental concerns they said were undermining palm oil's claim to be a green fuel.

Malaysia's commodities minister and Indonesia's farm minister said they had set up a technical group to mount a pro-industry campaign in Europe, the second-largest consumer of palm oil and the strongest source of demand for palm-based biofuel.

"We are talking about allegations on environment, deforestation, climate change, biodiversity, that a lot of orang-utans are being slaughtered as a result of opening up of plantation land," Malaysia's Peter Chin said.

"These are the areas where Malaysia will do its part and Indonesia will do its part to answer. Many of these allegations are not true," he told a joint news conference.

Palm plantations cover about 4 million hectares in Malaysia and 6 million hectares in Indonesia. Indonesian Agriculture Minister Anton Apriyantono said his country would expand that area to around 8 million hectares by 2010.

Friends of the Earth says almost 90 percent of orang-utan habitat has now disappeared and if the destruction continues, Asia's only great ape could become extinct in 12 years.

Greenpeace says Indonesia had the fastest pace of deforestation in the world between 2000-2005, with an area of forest equivalent to 300 soccer pitches destroyed every hour.

But the Malaysian Palm Oil Council, which represents producers, said green groups had misrepresented the facts and were sowing doubts about palm oil in the minds of consumers.

It estimated that the environmental campaign had cut palm oil consumption for electricity generation in Europe by 500,000 tonnes last year, or roughly half of the previous year's demand.

"We don't like our oil to be damaged in terms of reputation or image for no good reason," council Chief Executive Yusof Basiron told reporters after the news conference. "Obviously it is not tolerable, especially since this is our most important commodity. We have to correct this image."

The two ministers said Malaysia and Indonesia would hold a series of seminars in Europe to kickstart the campaign, which would begin in June.

Malaysia's Synergy Drive, the world's largest plantation company, has already launched a campaign to prevent a consumer backlash against its business.
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