Greenpeace welcomes move to save Indonesia's forests

Yahoo News 2 May 08;

Environment group Greenpeace on Friday welcomed Unilever's backing of a moratorium on palm oil deforestation in Indonesia, saying the move will help save forests in the sprawling archipelago.

The Anglo-Dutch food and consumer goods company announced Thursday it would aim to use only palm oil from fully traceable sources by 2015 in an effort to reduce the rapid despoiling of Indonesia's carbon-rich forests and peatlands.

"The writing is on the wall -- the pressure from the market will only increase as companies join this call for a moratorium on deforestation," Greenpeace advisor Arief Wicaksono said in a statement.

The multibillion-dollar company's support could also help put pressure on Indonesian authorities to place a moratorium on logging and the clearing of forests to make way for plantations.

High global prices for palm oil, which is used in goods from soap to biscuits and biodiesel, spurred deforestation in Indonesia, the world's largest crude palm oil producer.

Indonesia is the world's third-highest emitter of greenhouse gases, after the United States and China, mostly due to deforestation.