PALM OIL INDUSTRIES WILL NEVER BE SUSTAINABLE

The total paralysation of further deforestation and conversion of land use to oil palm cultivation, the cancellation of trade relations between companies purchasing palm oil and suppliers destroying the livelihood of indigenous peoples and violate human rights, to stop violence and exploitation of livelihood ressources of the people, and the Resolution of all existing land conflicts between citizens and plantations companies. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Forests has identified government policies replacing forests by industrial tree plantations, including palm oil plantations, as the causes of deforestation and degradation.  Palm oil is produced in large scale monoculture in tropical countries to be exported to the global market (including the EU, China, India and the United Nations of America).

The negative consequences of monoculture oil palm plantations are tangible in Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua-New Guinea, Cameroon, Uganda, Côte d'Ivoire, Cambodia, Philippines and Thailand and also in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

Palm oil plantations already have caused deforestation of primary forests that in reality are part of ancestral and community land. As consequences, water sources, food, medicine, spirituality and culture are depleted. Furthermore, deforestation in the world is the second largest source contributing to increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.

According to the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, 60 million indigenous people all over the world run the risk of loosing their land and means of subsistence due to the expansion of plantations to produce agro-energy. Of these, 5 million people are located in Borneo (Indonesia) where the indigenous communities are threatened by plans for the expansion of oil palm plantations. In spite of this, Government agricultural and forest planning has foreseen establishing another millions of hectares of new oil palm plantations.