The Governor of the province
of Riau on the island
of Sumatra in Indonesia has pledged
to halt deforestation, which could help protect Riau's vast peatlands and
forests that store 14.6 billion tonnes of carbon. Just to give you an estimate
of what that figure means, it's the equivalent of an entire year's greenhouse gas
emissions for the entire planet. Moreover, aside from being an important carbon store,
this area is also important for biodiversity and critical for the people that
depend upon these forests for their survival.
There are many causes of forest destruction here - from palm oil and timber to pulp and paper. We are urging that Riau's moratorium will stay in place until a permanent law can be passed.
Meanwhile, we are currently focusing our efforts on a halt on any further expansion of the palm oil industry in Indonesia and the wider region. We are lobbying for a proposal to halt such destruction to be accepted at the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, which meets in November.
If Riau's stance is an indication of things to come, then we'll definitely have more good news to write about.
