Police stop Greenpeace from preventing palm oil shipment leaving Indonesia

Greenpeace activists have locked themselves to the anchor chain of the Gran Couva to stop it from leaving for Europe since yesterday. The palm oil onboard the Gran Couva is owned by the Wilmar group.
 
"Greenpeace believes that increasing productivity on existing palm oil plantations is the solution to increased global demand, rather than destroying our remaining forests,” said Bustar Maitar, Greenpeace
Southeast Asia Forest Campaigner, “Continued palm oil expansion in the intact forests of Indonesia is the biggest driver of deforestation and peatland destruction."
 
"Ironically, companies like Wilmar and Sinar Mas belong to the industry body RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil). Until these palm oil companies and the RSPO publicly commit to a moratorium on deforestation, ‘sustainable’ palm oil remains a myth,” said Maitar.
 
During the ongoing “Forest for Climate’ Esperanza’s tour of Indonesia, Greenpeace witnessed massive conversion of Papua’s tropical forests for palm oil plantation in a Sinar Mas concession near Jayapura.
Greenpeace also exposed ongoing forest destruction for timber in Papua  and discovered fresh forest clearances in concessions in the peatland forests of Riau
 
“Greenpeace is calling upon RSPO that meets next week to support this moratorium and pressure the Indonesian government to take urgent action. The RSPO standards must be tightened to ensure that members stop deforestation and peatland clearance in all their operations.” Added Maitar
 
The Esperanza, started the Indonesian leg of its “Forest for Climate” tour on October 6th in Jayapura, to shine the spotlight on the rampant destruction of the Paradise Forests - the last remaining ancient forests
of Southeast Asia.
 
Greenpeace is calling on the Indonesian government to implement an immediate moratorium on all forest conversion, including expansion of oil palm plantations, industrial logging, and other drivers of deforestation.