Losing land to palm oil in Kalimantan (BBC)

[eppur_se_muova]

By James Painter
BBC News, West Kalimantan

Barto is more sad than angry. He is a leader of a Dayak Kanayan community in a remote part of the rainforest in deepest Borneo.

Gazing out over a vast expanse of freshly planted palm oil plants, he says: "This is our ancestors' land which we have had for years, and now we have lost it."

Barto's village of Aruk is on the Indonesian side of the border with Malaysia, in West Kalimantan.

It is a key region earmarked for palm oil expansion, as Indonesia hopes to reap the benefits of a growing demand for palm oil products in China, India and Europe.

The EU recently agreed to replace 10% of its transport fuel with biofuels, including palm oil, by 2020.
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more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6927890.stm

[mahina]

1. This is why biodiesel sucks.

Our utility is promising the new plant ($$$$$$$) will burn sustainably harvested palm oil. No such thing exists.

[philb]

2. Problem is world population growth, primarily. The need for more land

to feed, clothe, entertain, and provide energy for ever increasing numbers is eliminating the rain forests, making global warming worse, increasing desertification, causing water shortages and ocean fishery decline, increased global pollution such as mercury, etc.

[razzleberry]

3. better than oil from the middle east

and the human suffering it brings