Credit: Borneo Orangutan Survival Organisation
There is something enchanting about a rainforest landscape. Lush green foliage; sunlight filtering through the canopy; the sounds of insects, birds and other mammals. To me, this is paradise.
I have been fortunate enough to spend time in the world's largest rainforest, the Amazon, where you can literally feel the pulse of life from within.
Then there is the altogether different landscape; burnt land, hot and smoky. As the population increases, farmers, desperate to grow crops, raise cattle and make a living, are reducing the land to black embers.
Many rainforests are experiencing this fate, most notably in Indonesia, which contains the world's third-largest area of rainforest. It is here that degradation and deforestation is occurring at a staggering rate, with approximately 300 football field's worth cleared every hour through logging to produce palm oil.
Initially, the ancient trees that form the canopy are logged and then deliberately lit fires are used to clear the remaining rainforest.
The forest degradation and fires now account for a massive chunk of carbon dioxide emissions, earning Indonesia a top ranking among the worst carbon emitters worldwide, according to the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change.
The cost of palm oil is borne by local Indonesian communities who report to large-scale companies involved in illegal logging and plantations. These corporations come in and clear their customary lands without prior consultation.
Palm oil is often used as a cheap substitute for vegetable oil in biscuits, confectionary, chips, and shampoo - and is in fact found in one in ten of the products on supermarket shelves. Since it is regularly labelled as vegetable oil, the consumer is often unaware.
Consumer pressure can change the situation. Cadburys announced it would be substituting cocoa butter for palm oil in their family blocks of chocolate. Many consumers voiced their concerns to Cadbury and the company recently revoked the decision.
To meet the growing world demand for palm oil, fertilisers and pesticides are frequently sprayed. These often wash into rivers and streams, making the water unsafe to drink. In addition, there have been allegations of human rights abuse on the plantations, with many workers prevented from forming unions.
Non-human populations are also feeling the effect. Over the past 20 years, around 80% of the orangutans' habitat has been destroyed. Orangutans reproduce very slowly, only every six to 10 years, and as a consequence are now in the top 25 most threatened species in the world. Other species at risk include the sun bear, Malayan tapir and the Sumatran tiger.
Sustainable forest management may hold the key to reducing the rate of this destruction. Programs such as the United Nations REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation), where land owners have the potential to earn money via 'carbon credits' from the forests' natural absorption and storage of carbon dioxide, ensure a fair financial distribution framework and uphold the rights of customary land owners.
Some groups support the program while others oppose it, however these issues should be debated in the lead-up to the next major Climate Conference in Copenhagen in December. Keeping the forest eco-system healthy is vital to providing food and shelter, and regulating temperature and rainfall in the region.
Some of these issues are explored in a new documentary film called The Burning Season. The film centres on the efforts of a young Australian entrepreneur, Dorjee Sun, who sets off around the globe in an attempt to solve the problem of deforestation.
A recent screening of the film at the University of Technology, in Sydney, raised money for the Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Sanctuary in Kalimantan, Borneo, which has rescued around 700 orangutans.
It is easy for us to say, "Isn't that terrible," and then get on with our own lives. I feel issues like this all stem from humanity's separation from each other and our environment. I am often reminded of a famous Native American quote from Chief Seattle, "Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but a thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves".
As consumers we can lobby for better labelling in order to be aware of products that contain palm oil. The rural poor in developing countries have a right to a decent standard of living.
We have a responsibility as developed nations to support sustainable forest management programs so that these communities can become more economically prosperous, while maintaining the integrity of eco-systems that support us all. The loss of rainforests is a loss for all humanity, current and future.
Follow Cosmos on Twitter! twitter.com/cosmosmagazine
Louise Boronyak is at the Institute for Sustainable Futures of the University of Technology in Sydney, Australia.
This opinion piece was originally published by U Magazine.
