Plant-A-Tree: Tabanan, Indonesia Project

With the support of Standard Chartered Bank, Plant-A-Tree Indonesia c/o BICG will begin a tree planting project to increase food supplies for native fauna in the Protected Forest on Mt Batucaru, Bali, Indonesia (in the Tabanan Regency). The project is entirely funded by Standard Chartered as part of the bank’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Read more

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COP 15: What is the Impact on Malaysia and South East Asia?

By Daniel Chandranayagam

What most can take away from COP 15 is a bitter sense of disappointment with the ‘disagree-to-agree’ outcome of the summit, which has been described as “a theater of the absurd” on HuffPost. With that in mind, it piqued my interest to learn that a talk would be presented by the US Embassy Public Affairs Office, at the Annexe Gallery, on the Copenhagen Summit. Read more

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Earth Hour Malaysia 2010

Earth Hour will be coming soon. The World Wide Fund for Nature Malaysia (WWF Malaysia) urging the nations to fight climate change on 27 March 2010, from 2030 to 2130. Malaysians have been called to switch off all non-essential lights during this hour as a show of support. Read more

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Say No To Political Fund-Raising From Logging

Transparency International-Malaysia (TI-M) recently urged the Malaysian government to reduce the strong links between state financing and forest management, according to Malaysiakini. TI-M president, Paul Low, was reported to have said this at a Forest Governance Integrity (FGI) workshop on 25 Feb 2010.

Low was reported to have said that this move would ensure that forest management is conducted in a sustainable and acceptable manner. According to Low, it is likely that abuses will occur and the forest exploited if political parties rely on timber resources for funding. At the workshop, Low reminded that corruption is “not just about bribery but the abuse of power entrusted by the people for financial and personal gain”, according to the news portal.

In response to politicians having stakes in logging businesses, Low was quoted as saying:

They have to make a choice of either being in the business of exploiting timber or in Parliament looking after the interest of the people.

He added that timber concessions should be open to public tender, with strict terms to be observed in the selection of companies.

When asked what was the biggest criticism regarding our forest management, Low was quoted as having said:

We do hear of abuses in East Malaysia of illegal logging and the exploitation of Orang Asli.

Low also expressed disappointment in the lack of citizens’ participation in forestry lawmaking, urging civil societies to be more proactive and be at the forefront of tackling graft.

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Unilever Stays Away From Indonesia Palm Oil Planter

Unilever, the world’s top palm oil buyer, has instructed dealers to stay away from palm oil sourced from Indonesian planter, Duta Palma, over its concerns about rainforest destruction, according to an Indonesian industry official. This move comes after BBC revealed Duta Palma allegedly clearing forests illegally, and is the second bid against Duta Palma in three months. Read more

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Malaysia’s Reaction To Marks & Spencer’s Sustainable Palm Oil Campaign

Malaysia has hit out against British retailer, Marks and Spencer, in relation to its anti-palm oil campaign. According to news reports, the country is not destroying its forests to plant oil palm trees. Sabah Finance Assistant Minister, Tawfiq Abu Bakar Titingan, was reported to have said that Malaysia has adopted a firm policy and forestry laws that clearly state that forest reserves should remain untouched.

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Standard Chartered Plants Five Thousand Trees in Bali

Standard Chartered Bank Indonesia today completed the planting of 5, 000 trees in Bali, in line with the Bank’s commitment to support forest conservation programme in Indonesia.
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