The guardian has printed pictures of the deforestation in Kalimantan, specifically for oil palm plantations – and the pictures never fail to astound.
An oil palm plantation inside the PT Karya Makmur Abadi Estate II palm oil concession. PT KMA II contains important areas of mapped orangutan habitat and is a subsidiary of the Malaysian Kuala Lumpar Kepong Berhad (KLK) group.
Guardian: deforestation of Kalimantan rainforest – in pictures
I’ve not been to Kalimantan but I have been to Sabah and Peninsula Malaysia, both which have been subject to extensive deforestation, largely as a result of the growing demand for palm oil. For both trips I was travelling as a wildlife tourist and both time I was completely in awe of the pure extent of the palm plantations. Their size is absolutely astonishing.
To reach Endau Rompin National Park from Kluang we drove for hours down straight dirt roads with plantations extending into the distance as far as we could see. There seemed to be no end to the rows on rows of oil palm. When you consider that this would have been forested not all that many years ago, it is a scary thought, and puts into context the timescale in which the clearing is occurring.
Before we reached Kampung Peta, Mersing, the entrance to the National Park, the home of the Orang Asli Jakun tribe, and our home for the following days, the road ahead was completely at the mercy of a lot of heavy machinery. According to the authorities, the new infrastructure including quite a substantial bridge, was to benefit the tourist industry and the Orang Asli, who now acted a hosts and guides to those us who wanted to venture into the national park. At least that is what they told the tribe. These “improvements” started from where the plantations ended, leading into the forest. It was plain to see what the intention behind this new road was for.
As it turned out only months after my visit the tribe were granted an appeal against an eviction notice from their ancestral lands.
Endau Rompin National Park
It is heavily publicized the impacts of oil palm plantations are having on forest ecosystems and native wildlife, but less so is the impact on the indigenous communities of South East Asia.
As a conservationist I have often disregarded the plight of people as a second hand concern, after the priority of ecosystem preservation. However, during my time with the Orang Asli, although the intention behind my visit was to experience the wildlife of Endau Rompin National Park, I was able to discover first hand the impact of deforestation on the forest community. Once you have been invited into the home of a person it is difficult to distance yourself from their troubles, particularly when the cause is a global consumption issue.
In addition to their hospitality and being guided around the national park, it was extremely interesting to glimpse their life and livelihood. From my days there these are the things I remember most fondly about the Orang Asli:
- Above their front door, and surrounding the sacred sites, they had three pieces of cloth hanging, one green, one yellow and one white. These represent the forest, the people and the spirits. I was I could remember more detail about this!
- They were terrific cooks. My goodness everything was delicious. Apart from one very special tapioca dish, made with local herbs from the forest. A recipe from that village only. Among the worst things I’ve ever tasted, but we ate the majority regardless, as they went to a particular effort to make it for us.
- One household had a pet mouse deer.
- Lop, our guide, was to soon look for a wife in another of the six Orang Asli villages along the Sungei Endau. He told us that in their language there is no word for “wife” or “husband”, only “friend for life”, which struck me as a wonderful way of thinking.
- Although the community remained hopeful to stay on their ancestral lands for the time being, they were resigned to the inevitable reality of eviction, to make way for yet more oil palm plantations.
I am extremely grateful to the Orang Asli for providing me with a broader understanding of the consequences of the expanding palm oil industry and giving me an insight into their lives, which may very realistically be lost within the next decade.
So I ask, what will be the cost of our demand for palm oil? And what will quench this demand? If the extensive destruction of the South East Asian rain forest and the subsequent impact on biodiversity are not enough, how about the indigenous Orang Asli being evicted from their ancestral land, leaving behind their homes and livelihoods, while being offered no alternative?
For information on the Orang Asli, including Lop see Tan Foundations’s Story of the Orang Asli
Sungei Endau
Palm oil is an ingredient in pretty much everything now a days, so it’s hard to avoid it completely. Let’s try to at least cut down the amount we consume. It is a tricky customer and can be packaged under different names; “Say No to Palm Oil” provides a list of products to avoid and has some helpful hints on spotting palm oil in the ingredients list.
If you’re interested here are some more links for both practical actions and for getting a grasp on palm oil:
Sara Green 