Nestlé Commits to Ending the Deforestation of Rainforests

Want to make your grocery store selections more eco-friendly? Next time, reach for candy, snacks and other products that are palm oil-free or use sustainable palm oil. What is palm oil? Palm oil is the oil extracted from the fruit of palm trees, which are farmed extensively in Southeast Asia. These areas have lost so much forest to palm plantations that biodiversity there is at risk, including declining populations of orangutans, whose forest habitats are being lost to make room for palm plantations.
Palm oil is used in biofuel, cosmetics, soaps, snacks and candy, and is becoming more and more common as an alternative to other oils in numerous products. To date, the environmental effects of palm oil have been devastating, and this makes palm oil one of the most complicated environmental and economic issues today. What can you do to help stop deforestation of rainforests for palm oil? You can start by making responsible choices with the products that you buy.

Recently, under consumer pressure, the Swiss food company Nestlé (responsible for such sweets as Smarties, Butterfingers, Crunch bars, and Kit Kats) announced its commitment to using only Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO) by 2015. Nestlé will work with the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and The Forest Trust (TFT) to build responsible supply chains, starting with palm oil, and focusing on the systematic identification and exclusion of companies owning or managing high-risk plantations or farms linked to deforestation.

Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and Cleveland Zoological Society have been directly addressing the palm oil issue for years through the support of Dr. Marc Ancrenaz and the Kinabatangan Orangutan Conservation Project (KOCP) in Sabah, Malaysia. The project's objective is to restore harmonious relationships between people and orangutans, which in turn will support local socio-economic development compatible with habitat and wildlife conservation. Marc, a wildlife veterinarian and researcher, has been a major driving force in addressing the issue in East Malaysia (on Borneo), and has been leading the call for cooperation: "It's high time to stop polarizing this debate. The oil palm industry is going to stay, there's no point in fighting against development." He added, "We need to look for a solution" to save orangutans.

Marc spearheaded a colloquium where conservationists and the palm oil industry met to attempt to address the loss of biodiversity and to save the orangutan. After two days of intensive meetings, a resolution was adopted that included the acquisition of land for creating wildlife buffer zones along all major rivers, and corridors for connecting forests. Researchers said such corridors were essential if orangutans were to have a future in Sabah. For more information, please read Palm oil industry pledges wildlife corridors to save orangutans (from mongabay.com).


Orangutan in Borneo.


Palm oil plantation in Malaysia.


Oil palm seed.

Photos courtesy of Mongabay.com.


Comments

 
By: Linda Stanek
On: 07/01/2010 12:07:23
Thank you so much for posting this! This is great to know!

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