Expanding the Soy Moratorium to Brazil’s Cerrado
Because only 19.8% of undisturbed native tropical savanna remains in Brazil’s Cerrado, conversion of the remaining habitat is a major threat to biodiversity. More than 4800 endemic plant and vertebrate species in the Cerrado could become extinct in the coming decades unless additional conservation measures are taken.Science Mag, 17 July 2019
Brazil, Soy, soy moratorium, cerrado, native vegetation Australian banks urged to ‘cut ties’ with palm oil firms as $6.4 billion investments revealed
Four of Australia’s largest banks have helped enable deforestation and environmental abuses in global palm oil supply chains by providing more than $6 billion in financing to some of the sector’s largest and most suspect operators, a new Friends of the Earth Australia (FoE) report has claimed.Illegal Deforestation Monitor, 17 July 2019
Australia, Palm Oil, palm oil investment, australian banks KFS hunts down illegal loggers in Mbooni Forest
The government has intensified a crackdown on illegal logging in Mbooni Forest.The Star, 17 July 2019
Kenya, Timber, Mbooni Forest, Illegal logging Orangutan numbers fall in Sabah forests 'within oil palm landscapes'
The orangutan population in forest patches within Sabah's oil palm plantations have dwindled over the past 15 years, a survey by WWF-Malaysia has found.Malaysia Kini, 17 July 2019
Malaysia, Palm Oil, orangutan, palm oil plantation ‘Impossible for palm oil farmers to harm environment’: acting Aceh governor
Acting Aceh governor Nova Iriansyah has lashed out at the notion that oil palm plantations in the province contributed to environmental degradation, saying it was impossible for Acehnese farmers to harm the environment.Line Today, 16 July 2019
Indonesia, Palm Oil, palm oil production, EU ban EU farm chief struggles to dispel concerns over Mercosur trade deal
The EU’s Agriculture Commissioner, Phil Hogan, sought to address national concerns over the proposed EU-Mercosur trade deal during a meeting with the bloc’s 28 farm ministers on Monday (15 July).Euractiv.com, 16 July 2019
Europe, Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Venezuela, Uruguay, Beef, beef trade, deforestation, Amazon Food and retail giants failing to disclose forest impacts
In its new report, entitled ‘the money trees’ and published today (16 July), CDP reveals that 70% of the 1,500 “high forest impact” corporates disclosing through its platform failed to provide information on their forest impacts and the actions they took to reduce deforestation in supply chains last year.Edie, 16 July 2019
, Palm Oil, Timber, Soy, Beef, deforestation, retailer, Supply chain Protected forests to grow under new rules, says palm oil watchdog
Protected forest areas will grow by up to 10% under new rules to stop deforestation, the palm oil industry watchdog said on Tuesday, which is working to make the edible oil greener.Reuters, 16 July 2019
, Palm Oil, NDPE, RSPO Indonesia joins Malaysia in fight against EU palm oil restrictions
INDONESIA has joined Malaysia in its challenge of the European Union (EU) Delegated Act, which curbs palm oil use in biofuels, through the World Trade Organisation’s Dispute Settlement Body, as well as other possible avenues.The Malaysian Insight , 16 July 2019
Indonesia, Malaysia, Europe, Palm Oil, palm oil ban llegal mining: Akufo-Addo petitioned over NPP bigwigs’ involvement
Residents of Akyem Hemang in the Fanteakwa South District of the Eastern region have petitioned President Akufo-Addo over elements in the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) engaging in illegal mining and logging of economic trees in the area.Ghana Web, 16 July 2019
Ghana, Timber, Illegal logging A judge let Chinese rosewood queen walk - Prosecutors
The Tamale Circuit judge who discharged the Chinese Rosewood Queen, paving the way for her deportation, has been accused of ignoring or concealing charges filed by prosecutors.Ghana Web, 16 July 2019
Ghana, Timber, Pterocarpus erinaceus, rosewood INTERVIEW -Protected forests to grow under new rules, says palm oil watchdog
Protected forest areas will grow by up to 10% under new rules to stop deforestation, the palm oil industry watchdog said on Tuesday, which is working to make the edible oil greener. Under pressure to tighten standards, the 4,300-member Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), introduced tougher rules late last year to include a ban on cutting down forests or converting peatlands for oil palm plantations.Yahoo, 16 July 2019
, Palm Oil, RSPO, deforestation Yusof Basiron to lead CPOPC secretariat for 3 years
Palm oil industry stalwart Tan Sri Dr. Yusof Basiron is now the new Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC) executive director for three years to 2022. In the statement, Malaysia's Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok and Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Darmin Nasution announced appointment of the CPOPC Secretariat Members from mid-2019 to mid-2022.New Straits Times, 16 July 2019
Malaysia, Indonesia, Palm Oil, CPOPC, Council od Palm Oil Producing Countries Experts deny alleged manipulation of Amazon satellite deforestation data
The Brazilian National Institute of Space Research (INPE) issues annual Amazon deforestation reports via its PRODES satellite monitoring system (which relies on NASA Landsat satellite imaging), while the DETER system issues monthly deforestation/degradation alerts (which rely on Sino-Brazilian satellites). While experts consider INPE’s monitoring systems among the best in the tropics, ministers in the Bolsonaro administration have insinuated that the deforestation data may be manipulated. Experts have denied this, and note that INPE findings align well with those collected by NGOs Imazon and ISA, and Global Forest Watch (GFW).Mongabay, 16 July 2019
Brazil, Timber, Beef, Soy, deforestation Palm oil: Malaysia announces a complaint against the EU
Malaysia will lodge a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) against the European Union plan to remove palm oil from European biofuels by 2030, the Malaysian minister in charge of the dossier said Tuesday.Teller Report, 16 July 2019
Malaysia, Europe, Palm Oil, palm oil ban, EU ban Most big companies fail to report role in deforestation, charity says
Most big companies are failing to report the damage their operations are doing to forests despite committing to lighten their footprint under wider efforts to tackle climate change, according to a report published on Tuesday (Jul 16).Channel News Asia, 16 July 2019
, Palm Oil, Timber, Soy, Beef, deforestation Malaysia, Indonesia to challenge EU’s biofuel regulation at WTO
Both Malaysia and Indonesia are committed to challenge the European Union (EU) Delegated Act that curbs palm oil use in biofuels through the World Trade Organisation Dispute Settlement Body as well as other possible avenues. They are also currently reviewing their relationship with the EU and its member states, the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) said in a statement today following the 7th Ministerial Meeting of the Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC) held here.Nam News Network, 16 July 2019
Malaysia, Indonesia, Europe, Palm Oil, palm oil ban The Amazon Is Not Brazil's to Destroy
“The Amazon is ours,” Brazilian President José Sarney defiantly declared before the United Nations General Assembly in 1989. The slogan’s obvious nationalist force made it a favorite of right-wing politicians, including members of Congress linked to construction companies with stakes in the rainforest’s development. Thirty years later, President Jair Bolsonaro is now leading their ranks – and threatening the wellbeing not only of the Amazon, but also of Brazil and the entire planet.Jewish Journal, 16 July 2019
Brazil, Timber, deforestation Environmentalists put more pressure on Cargill to slow forest-to-farm movement in Brazil
Environmental groups want the Minnetonka, Minn.-based grain trader and food processor to intervene in the clearing of habitats in the Cerrado region of central and southern Brazil, particularly for soybean production, as it did previously in the Amazon region in that country's north.Phys.org, 16 July 2019
Brazil, Soy, cerrado, native vegetation Court summons four more suspects over Mondulkiri logging
Mondulkiri provincial Military Police are hunting four more people on court orders after tycoon Soeng Sam Ol and three alleged accomplices were placed in pre-trial detention on illegal logging charges.Phnom Penh Post, 16 July 2019
Cambodia, Timber, Illegal logging, illegal timber trade, Mondulkiri Malaysia, Indonesia to challenge EU’s biofuel regulation at WTO
Both Malaysia and Indonesia are committed to challenge the European Union (EU) Delegated Act that curbs palm oil use in biofuels through the World Trade Organisation Dispute Settlement Body as well as other possible avenues. They are also currently reviewing their relationship with the EU and its member states, the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) said in a statement today following the 7th Ministerial Meeting of the Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC) held here.Nam News Network, 16 July 2019
Malaysia, Indonesia, Europe, Palm Oil, palm oil ban EU biofuel policy faces palm oil backlash from Indonesia
Indonesia’s newly re-elected president, Joko Widodo, has vowed to fight the European Union over plans to restrict the use of palm oil in biofuels.Portal Macauba, 15 July 2019
Indonesia, Palm Oil, palm oil ban, EU ban Govt to file complaint over EU’s biofuel mandate
The government expects to lodge a complaint against the European Union’s (EU) classification of palm oil cultivation to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) as early as November.The Malaysian Reserve, 15 July 2019
Malaysia, Palm Oil, palm oil ban, EU ban Forest landscapes, wildlife of Northern Congo declining under logging pressure
A new study says that the tropical forests of Western Equatorial Africa are increasingly coming under pressure from logging, poaching and associated disturbances.Washington University in St. Louis, 15 July 2019
Democratic Republic of Congo, Timber, Illegal logging, deforestation, chimpanzee, lowland gorilla Officials questioned over tycoon’s logging
Five senior officials in Mondulkiri were questioned by the National Committee for Forest Crime Prevention on Saturday over a large-scale illegal logging operation allegedly run by well-known timber tycoon Soeng Sam Ol, who was arrested last week.Khmer Times , 15 July 2019
Cambodia, Timber, Illegal logging