Indonesia Fastest Forest Clearer In World

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A lowland rainforest in Sumatra island. Environmental group Greenpeace said thursday Indonesia had the highest deforestation rate in the world between 2000 and 2005 with almost two million hectares destroyed annually.Photo courtesy AFP.

by Staff Writers
Jakarta (AFP) May 03, 2007
Indonesia had the highest deforestation rate in the world between 2000 and 2005 with almost two million hectares destroyed annually, environmental group Greenpeace said Thursday. Indonesia had lost more than 72 percent of its intact ancient forests and much of the rest is threatened by commercial logging and clearance for palm oil plantations, Greenpeace also said in a statement.

The group said Guinness World Records had approved its proposal that Indonesia's destruction be included in its 2008 record book to be published in September. "Of the 44 countries which collectively account for 90 percent of the world's forests, the country which pursues the highest annual rate of deforestation is Indonesia," Greenpeace said the citation would read.

Indonesia had "1.8 million hectares (4.4 million acres) of forest destroyed each year between 2000-2005, a rate of two percent annually or 51 square kilometres (20 square miles) destroyed every day," the group said. Greenpeace accused the government of failing to crackdown on illegal logging because of rampant lawlessness and corruption in its forestry sector.

Several devastating floods and landslides have been blamed on deforestation, most recently in the north of Sumatra island, where more than 400,000 people were forced to flee flash floods in December.

Source: Agence France-Presse

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Indigenous Groups Seek Millions From Credit Suisse Over Timber Deal

Zurich (AFP) May 03, 2007
Groups representing indigenous peoples in Guyana, Cambodia, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea on Thursday urged the Swiss bank Credit Suisse to pay them 10 million dollars (7.0 million euros) in compensation because of its links with a Malaysian timber company. The company, Samling, retained Credit Suisse as an adviser during its stock market flotation in February, along with HSBC and Australian bank Macquarie.

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