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Palm Oil and faulty memory banks |
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Written by Ross Spencer
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Wednesday, 08 February 2012 |
How can people who experienced the same event have radically different recollections of what happened? An Associated Press article summarized the results of dozens of studies on human memory: “Far from being an indelible recording, human memory is fragile, incomplete, malleable and highly subject to suggestion.”
Memories can change with time. In some cases, people may slightly alter their version of an event with each retelling, much like a fisherman’s exaggerated account of “the one that got away.” But an objective, factual record can correct the mental wanderings to which we’re all susceptible.
That’s the reason why Deforestation Watch has, for some time now, met the mental wanderings over palm oil issues of “green” and “civil society” groups such as Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth (FOE), the Rainforest Action Network (RAN), the WWF and even zoos such as the Melbourne Zoo and Auckland Zoo with cold hard facts. For the mental liberties that they take concerning palm oil and deforestation and the alleged extinction of exotic wildlife like the orangutan come unstuck in the face of facts!
For one, Rachel Lowry, Director of Conservation of Melbourne Zoo alleges that "A 2007 report by the UN found that 98% of natural rainforest in Malaysia and Indonesia could disappear by 2022, with palm oil production seen as a key driver of the destruction that sees the equivalent of 300 football pitches of forest wiped out each hour." This report was issued by the UNEP which has lost credibility due to the careless issuance of reports such as this which was issued without the due diligence and proper research that such a report demands.
If the Report is credible, that would mean that Malaysia would have forest cover of just 2% in 10 years. Perhaps someone should apprise Ms Lowry and the UNEP of the fact that Malaysia has been planting palm oil for more than a century, and despite being erstwhile the world's largest producer can still boast of forest cover of 59.50% (see CIA's World Factbook 2011.) after more than a hundred years of palm oil cultivation! Australia, from whence Ms Lowry hails has only a measly 19% forest cover!
Ms Lowry further alleges that such destruction could also drive the orangutan to extinction.
However, the recent discovery of 2,000 orangutan in the wild in Kalimantan which was reported by National Geographic raises questions about Ms Lowry’s and Melbourne Zoo’s credibility. With roughly 50,000 orangutans thought to remain in the wild, the new find could add 5 percent to the world's known orangutan numbers, said Erik Meijaard, senior ecologist for the Nature Conservancy in Indonesia.
So much for habitat destruction and killing of endangered species.
Just imagine if Malaysian and Indonesian plantations were to stop palm oil production for a year. It is not difficult to envision the panic in the edible oil MARKET as over 52% of the total world oils and fats exports will disappear (2006 figures and probably higher% now). The average palm oil yield per year is nearly 6 times that of its nearest competitor, rape seed, which is Australia's third most important crop, 8 times that of sunflower and 10 times that of soyabean. Imagine the deforestation and devastation in the 'developed' countries and tropical forests if oil palm is prevented from production and expansion to meet the world's demand for oils and fats. The oil palm is a perennial tree crop and in no way, can the other competing annual crops be more 'green'. THE END
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Comments
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Rachel Lowry has just made the Melbourne Zoo the joke of the decade!
Posted by Zoopi, on 02/14/2012 at 02:42
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