Blog: Forests

The palm oil industry is desperate to paint itself as sustainable. Yet for the last couple of years, palm oil plantations have been the number one cause of deforestation in Indonesia.

Sitting in my comfortable office chair and watching these terrible images come through the picture desk, I feel a desperate need to stop this destruction. The devastating forest fires that swept through Sumatra recently caused record breaking air pollution in parts of Malaysia and Singapore.

Notorious Indonesian pulp and paper company APRIL has had a chequered history with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). But late last week we heard that the relationship had finally come to an end – and in a most unexpected way.

Here's a tip for anyone looking to do public relations for forest-destroying companies. The correct way to respond to a simple question about how much forest you're clearing is not to ask the journalist to stop filming.