The world's largest user of palm oil, Unilever, has suspended its $32.6 million contract with the Indonesian group Sinar Mas after an independent audit proved that Sinar Mas is involved in the destruction of rainforest, reports Reuters. The audit was conducted early this year after a report by [...] 
While developing countries in the tropics have received a lot of attention for their deforestation emissions (one thinks of Brazil, Indonesia, and Malaysia), emissions from logging—considered forest cover change—in wealthy northern countries has been largely overlooked by the media. It seems industrialized countries prefer it this way: a [...] 
Earth's tropical rainforests are a critical
component of the world's carbon cycle yet cover only about 12% of its
terrestrial land. Accounting for 40% of the world's terrestrial carbon and 50%
of the world's gross primary productivity,[1].
the production of organic compounds primarily through photosynthesis, tropical
rainforests also are one of the [...] Jakarta Globe. Sasol and the Indonesian government have signed a preliminary agreement to study the viability of developing a coal-to-liquids facility project in Indonesia, with estimated project cost of more than $10 billion. If the project goes forward, Sasol said it may produce approximately 80,000 barrels per day of [...]
From the NYTimes Comes a great example of climate change issues in developing countries (Tree Harvester Offers to Save Indonesian Forests). First, we get the formulaic two paragraphs describing the environmental problem:
From the air, the Kampar Peninsula in Indonesia stretches for mile after mile in dense scrub and trees. [...]Yesterday the New York Times featured the plight of Indonesian rainforests and the relevance of stemming deforestation in order to address global climate change on the front page. While the article correctly identifies the global importance of rainforests and peatlands for the climate, it leaves the reader inadequately [...]
A consortium led by BP-Eni 50:50 joint venture VICO has signed a production sharing contract (PSC) with the Government of Indonesia for the exploration and development of coalbed methane (CBM) resources on the Sanga-Sanga block in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. VICO has been producing conventional gas resources from the Sanga-Sanga [...]
Last week I was in Sumatra, Indonesia, traveling with representatives from the local NGO Warsi, investigating the impacts of Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), a wholly owned subsidiary of Sinar Mas, on forests and forests peoples.
Two days of 4×4 travel over dirt roads brought my team to PT Wirakarya Sakti [...]
A prominent REDD project in Aceh Indonesia probably won't be enough to save Northern Sumatra's endangered lowland rainforests from logging and conversion to oil plantations and agriculture, report researchers writing in Environmental Research Letters. The study highlights the contradiction between the Ulu Masen conservation project; which involves Flora' [...] Here in Riau, Indonesia, signs of the struggle to save the last of Sumatra’s forest is everywhere. Daily, the papers cover stories of timber and oil palm companies destroying forests, engaging in corruption, driving land conflicts, sponsoring violence, and marginalizing indigenous peoples.
Today, on the way to a meeting with the [...]
