According to Greenpeace, Indonesia had the fastest rate of deforestation in the world between the years 2000-2005. This rampant destruction – both illegal and legal – is fueled by the worldwide demand for palm oil, paper and tropical wood. Deforestation of Indonesia’s rainforest and peatlands contributes to rising greenhouse gases in multiple ways, including eliminating carbon sinks, releasing CO2 trapped in peat and from slash and burn methods of agriculture.
Political journalist Andre Vltchek describes the dilemma in Indonesia – heedless environmental wreckage against a backdrop of desperate poverty – in his story ‘In the Tropical Forests of Sumatra: Notes from Climate Change “Ground Zero”‘.
Rural Indonesia is extremely poor and underdeveloped — moral and ethical questions here are simply perceived as odd. Caring for the environment and the world are luxuries most impoverished Indonesian can’t afford, while for the rich rulers of this nation they are simply not profitable enough.
Can forest protection ever become profitable enough? Some entrepreneurs in Indonesia think so. Investors are seizing the opportunities they are anticipating to be brought about by carbon trading schemes like the UN’s REDD program. Though systems such as REDD are not yet in place, these Indonesian investors see them as a way to preserve vital forestland while bringing development and economic growth to the area. What benefits such plans will have for the nation’s poor are as yet unknown.
Al Jazeera English reports on hopes in Indonesia to make money by preserving forests.
http://www.greenfudge.org/2010/02/20/can-carbon-trading-save-indonesias-forests/
