Global News - April 2008

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Environmental activists accuse Unilever of endangering Indonesian animals

Tue 22 April 2008 17:00 UK — Asia,Primates

Environmental campaigners have launched a protest over the use of palm oil by one of the world's largest consumer companies.

Yesterday (April 21st), Greenpeace activists, some dressed as apes, scaled two Unilever-owned buildings in the UK to protest against the company's use of palm oil.

The charity was reacting after it published research which indicated that Unilever was "buying palm oil from companies that are destroying valuable rainforest and peatland areas" in Indonesia.

According to Greenpeace, the action is putting the survival of a number of very rare species at risk. These include Sumatran tigers, Javan rhinoceroses and orang-utans.

It added that the destruction of the area to allow more room for palm oil production could have "devastating consequences for the climate".

"As the forests and tropical peatlands of Indonesia are destroyed and converted into oil palm plantations, huge volumes of greenhouse gases are released, accelerating climate change," the charity added.

A spokesperson from Unilever told the BBC that the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), which Unilever chaired in November, agreed to address many of the charity's concerns.

"The problem is simply that demand of palm oil has exploded," the spokesperson added to the broadcaster.

"It is essential that all those involved sign up to agreed criteria to make sustainability work on the ground - but this is not an easy process and is taking longer than we would all like."

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