15 November 2007 - Dumai,
Indonesia — (UPDATED - see below) With a
banner reading 'Palm Oil Kills Forests and
Climate' the Rainbow Warrior has anchored
next to a palm oil tanker blocking it in
port. Our ship is stationed close enough
to the tanker that the tug boats can't get
it out of dock.
The tanker is a large one, loading 33,000
tonnes of palm oil. The Rainbow Warrior
has two anchors out from its bow. One is
actually under our ship and our crew has
rigged ropes from the back of the Warrior
to the anchor's chain. This keeps the Rainbow
Warrior from being swung around by current
or wind - so it stays in good position.
16 November - Blockade continues. And this
morning eight activists climbed on the palm
oil tanks nearby with a banner saying "Palm
Oil Kills Climate & Forests". They've
been taken into custody since.
What's wrong with this stuff
This particular cargo of palm oil is headed
for India, but countries all over the world
import the stuff. The harbour here has huge
holding tanks full of it from plantations
on what was once rainforest land.
The exporting company is Permata Hijau
Sawit. They source oil from companies known
to be involved in forest destruction and
forest fires on peat land in Riau province,
Indonesia.
The expansion of palm oil plantations into
forest and peatland areas poses a serious
threat to the global climate and Indonesia's
remaining forests. Expansion plans in Riau
province alone have the potential of triggering
a 'climate time bomb'. Riau's peatland forests
store a massive 14.6 billion tonnes of carbon
- equivalent to one year's global greenhouse
gas emissions.
Among other things, palm oil is used in
cosmetics and to make snack foods like Pringles
and KitKats. It's also used for biofuels.
Taking action in the port and in the forest
"The crew and captain did an amazing
job getting us into position - calm, smooth
and controlled," said Sue Connor, Greenpeace
International forests campaigner on board
the Rainbow Warrior. "The logging,
draining and burning of Indonesia’s peatland
forests releases a massive amount of stored
carbon back to the atmosphere. This contributes
to Indonesia being the third largest emitter
of greenhouse gases on the planet. That's
why we're here."
We're also taking direct action in the
forest. The peat soils of Riau have the
highest concentration of carbon stored per
hectare of anywhere in the world. But as
the forests are cleared, drained and burned
this carbon is released.
Our solution - stop the draining. With
the help of locals, activists at our Forest
Defenders Camp have been damming up the
drainage canals. This will prevent the peatland
from drying out and releasing carbon dioxide,
the leading greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere.
In less than three months time, Indonesia
is also going to host a meeting in Bali
where governments will decide their next
steps on climate change. Commitment to zero
deforestation is one of the things that
needs to come out of that meeting.
