Malaysia’s palm oil shipment to Rotterdam Port, thegateway to Europe has fallen by an average of 12 per cent every year
since 2006’s peak of 1.7 million tonnes.
Green Concerns or Trade Barriers?
This year, it is poised to shed another 30 per cent to 900,000 tonnes.
At
the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) conference last month,
environment activist Wetlands International called for an address of
“the alarming emissions from forest and peat swamp areas’ conversion
into oil palm plantations”.
The Netherlands-based
non-governmental organisation (NGO) alleged that “the continuous
emissions caused by drainage of carbon rich tropical peatsoil in
Indonesia and Malaysia are enormous.”
At the end of the meeting,
Wetlands lamented that its attempts to insert a Greenhouse Gas Emission
criterion had been frustrated by members representing Indonesian and
Malaysian oil palm planters.
In an interview with Business Times, Malaysian Palm
Oil Association chief executive Datuk Mamat Salleh shed light on the
ulterior motive and double standards deployed by the NGOs to the
detriment of the global palm oil industry.
Under RSPO, palm oil has to be sustainably-produced. On the other hand,
other vegetable oils like canola and soyaoil only need to be
responsibly-produced.
“Did you know that the term ‘responsibly-produced’ allows for genetically modified oilseeds?” Mamat questioned.
Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth (FOE), and Wetlands International
claim oil palm cultivation cause tropical deforestation. But these NGOs
are silent on soyabean, rapeseed and sunflower farming causing
deforestation in temperate countries.
“How come these NGOs do
not lobby for reforestation in Europe and the US? At the very least
they should campaign for 10 per cent of the 100 million hectares
planted with soyabean, rapeseed and sunflower to be with replanted with
trees to absorb carbon dioxide from the polluted air there.
“How come these NGOs do not tell their own governments to replant
forest and restore the habitats for racoons, beavers, frogs, wild
foxes, deers and bears?” Mamat posed more questions.
The United
Nations Copenhagen Climate Summit, scheduled to run from December 7 to
18, will see 192 countries meet to set targets on carbon emissions.
As
the summit draws near, Greenpeace and its affiliates have become more
vociferous for a moratorium on the forest and peatland in Malaysia and
Indonesia.
Without providing scientific evidence that can be
verified, these pressure groups claim oil palm planting on peatland
pollutes the air to the extent that this agriculture activity makes
Indonesia the world’s third biggest polluter, after the US and China.
Surprisingly, there is no such call by these NGOs for a moratorium on
cars, ships, airplanes, oil exploration, coal mining and petrochemical
processing industries, which all emit more carbon dioxide to the air
than agriculture.
“Isn’t it ironic that the carbon emission
of 3.5 tonnes from one tonne of depleting fossil fuel is tolerated
while biofuels, which have the advantage of being renewable, are
abhorred even though they are proven to be 35 to 65 per cent less
polluting than fossil fuels?” Mamat asked.
Human settlement,
forest clearing, industrial revolution in developed countries have long
emitted the large portion of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere now.
“These Europe-based NGOs just close two eyes to unsustainable farming
in their home countries. When we questioned their silence, they concede
with their own governments’ view that it was their grandfathers’ right
to clear-cut forest for industrialisation.
“But what about our grandchildren’s rights to progress and prosperity?” Mamat asked.
On the one hand, Malaysia and Indonesia face threats from Greenpeace,
FOE and Wetlands activists who are skilful at propaganda to impose
moratorium on tropical forest and peatland.
On the other hand, global
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