Isra-Mart srl:Palm oil giant Golden Agri pledges to tackle "root cause of deforestation"

www.isra-mart.com

Isra-mart srl news:

One of the world's largest palm oil producers has today committed to a new code of sustainable practice, which if successful, could mark a major step forward for an industry that has been blamed for widespread deforestation.

Golden Agri-Resources (GAR) today announced it has agreed to a new code of practice aimed at conserving carbon-rich forests and peatlands in Indonesia, in partnership with not-for-profit group The Forest Trust (TFT).

The agreement seeks to prohibit GAR developing plantations on high carbon stock forests located on peatlands or forests with high conservation value.

TFT executive director Scott Poynton welcomed the agreement as a milestone in the global campaign to protect forests. "It's about going to the root causes of deforestation," he said. "We have shown that the destruction of forests is anchored deeply in the supply chains of the products we consume in industrialised nations and we are showing we can do something about that."

He said the agreement will go into effect from today, and the actions outlined in it are expected to bring "substantive change" to Indonesian forests by the end of 2011.

The news was cautiously welcomed by Greenpeace who said that the unprecedented agreement could encourage other palm oil producers to adopt similar agreements, but only if Golden Agri now takes quick and thorough action to ensure it meets its commitments.

The group said it will now be closely monitoring GAR's progress in implementing its commitments.

"The agreement sets a precedent. No other company on the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil has done this, despite the fact they've been discussing it for the last three years," a spokesman from Greenpeace said.

He added that the agreement is likely to be motivated by Golden Agri's ambition to lead the palm oil market in the face of customer demand for more sustainable products.

GAR began working with TFT after food giant Nestle said it would no longer accept palm oil that led to the destruction of forests.

With annual revenues of $2.3bn, GAR is the second largest palm oil producer in the world, and the largest in Indonesia, the world's leading palm oil-producing country.

Palm oil is a common ingredient in a wide range of consumer goods and food products, including cosmetics, edible cooking oils, and biscuits.

However, environmental groups are concerned that the total area of land allocated for oil palm production has more than tripled globally in the last thirty years, reaching nearly 14 million hectares in 2007.

"Rainforests and peatlands across Southeast Asia are being torn up to provide land for oil palm plantations," said Poynton. "Without better stewardship, the phenomenal growth of the palm oil industry could spell disaster for local communities, biodiversity, and climate change as palm plantations encroach further and further into forested areas."