Topic: palm oil

A summary of key elements, and unanswered questions, in Indonesia’s recent moratorium on new forest permits.

A highly anticipated two-year moratorium on new forest conversion permits could bring fundamental improvements to forest and land management in Indonesia.

The World Bank Group should aim to achieve and measure poverty reduction, not palm oil investments.

The following interview with Craig Hanson and Moray McLeish was conducted and compiled by Jeremy Hance and Rhett A. Butler for mongabay.com and is reposted with permission. Read the entire piece here on the Mongabay website.

Expanding agriculture onto already degraded lands could relieve pressure on the world’s remaining forests.

Enabling tropical countries to boost their economies and feed global populations whi

Common data and clear definitions will enable the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil and REDD+ policy-makers to achieve a shared goal: sustainable oil palm expansion on degraded land in Indonesia.

In May 2010, Norway agreed to contribute up to $1 billion towards reducing deforestation and forest degradation and loss of peatland in Indonesia, which now account for more than 80 percent of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions. The “Letter of Intent” is a promising first step, yet the two countries must still settle key details of the agreement. Below is WRI’s analysis of the Letter of Intent and recommendations for what should be addressed next.

A new policy to develop oil palm on degraded land could protect Indonesia’s forests. But what does “degraded” really mean?

An upcoming United States-Indonesia partnership is an opportunity to tackle deforestation.