Deforestation

Peru has been awarded a US$11 million grant to help the country on the initiative of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) for sustainable forest management.

The Japanese government has earmarked the appropriation of an estimated Y9.244 billion, or approximately P5.084 billion, to strengthen forestland management in the Philippines.

Swiss food giant Nestle will resume purchases of palm oil from Sinar Mas Agro Resources and Technology following an 18-month halt after Smart made improvements to abide by Nestle’s guidelines for responsible environmental practices.

The parent company of the palm oil producer known as Smart, Golden Agri Resources, has been working with environmental group The Forest Trust on the implementation of a Forest Conservation Policy. The plan would ensure that GAR has no deforestation footprint and also seeks sustainable growth.

Industrial palm oil production is coming to Africa, its ancestral home. The world’s most productive oil seed has been a boon to Asian economies, but the looming arrival of large-scale plantations in Africa is raising fears that some of the same issues plaguing Malaysia, Indonesia, and other leading producers — deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity loss, conflicts with local people, and poor working conditions — could befall one of the world’s most destitute regions.

KAMPALA, 7 September 2011 (IRIN) - A plan to replace a large swathe of protected rainforest in Uganda with sugarcane could lead to further civil unrest in a year when nine people have been killed during strikes and protests against the rising cost of living.