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NWF's new report warns that the increased demand for palm oil-which makes its way into the U.S. in a myriad of food and cosmetic products-may lead to further loss of tropical forests and create new greenhouse gas emissions if palm oil expansion is not managed sustainably.

Palm oil has overtaken soybean and canola as the world's largest source of vegetable oils. Over the next decade, global demand for vegetable oils and biofuels are expected to rise between 50% and 40% respectively.  However, palm oil expansion has been linked to significant increases in tropical deforestation, social conflict, and emissions of greenhouse gases that result from the clearing and draining of tropical forests and peatlands. While the majority of plantations are currently in Southeast Asia, the palm oil industry is aggressively branching out into Latin America and Africa

http://nwf.org/Global-Warming/Policy-Solutions/Forests-and-Farms/Tropical-Deforestation/International-Agriculture.aspx

08/11/2010
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Despite the worst drought on record in the region, deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon during September fell by 20 percent relative to September 2009, reports Imazon, a research institute that provides monthly updates on forest clearing.

Imazon's satellite-based tracking system found accumulated deforestation during from August 2010 to September 2010 totaled 380 square km, down 22 percent from the 489 sq km cleared from August 2009 to September 2009.

http://news.mongabay.com/2010/1106-amazon_imazon.html

06/11/2010
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Illegal logging is rampant in Vietnam, according to a new report from the the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development's General Forestry Department.

As reported by Viet Nam News, there have been 2,463 illegal logging cases across Vietnam so far this year. Action to address logging has resulted in 44 forest rangers being injured and four deaths.

Illegal logging was worst in the northern provinces of Bac Kan, Lang Son and Thai Nguyen; the central provinces of Quang Binh, Quang Nam and Khanh Hoa; and the Central Highland province of Dak Lak. according to the report.

http://news.mongabay.com/2010/1101-vietnam_illegal_logging.html

01/11/2010
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Golden Agri-Resources (GAR) and its subsidiaries, Indonesia-based PT Sinar Mas Agro Resources & Technology (SMART) and PT Ivo Mas Tunggal, had submitted plans for coming into compliance with the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, a certification body for "greener" palm oil, reports Dow Jones.

SMART had been threatened with expulsion from RSPO following revelations that it engaged in clearing of natural forests and peatlands, failed to secure proper land-clearing permits, and did not to properly consult with local communities in areas affected by its plantations. The conduct violated RSPO standards and led several major customers, including Unilever, Nestle, Kraft, and Burger King, to suspend buying from SMART.

http://news.mongabay.com/2010/1029-gar_smart_palm_oil_rspo.html

30/10/2010
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BNDES, Brazil's national development bank, contributed to Amazon deforestation by lending billions of dollars to commercial meatpackers, driving expansion of cattle ranching across the world's largest rainforest, ruled an audit by the Federal Audit Court.

The ruling, reported by the O Estado de São Paulo, concluded that some of the meatpackers that benefited from nearly $10 billion in loans between 2008 and 2010 were supplied by ranches involved in slave labor and illegal deforestation. BNDES, which lent 137 billion reais ($69 billion) in 2009 alone-more than the World Bank, apparently disregarded internal safeguards in its rush to extend Brazil's position as the world's largest beef exporter.

http://news.mongabay.com/2010/1025-bndes_amazon.html

25/10/2010
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The government of Terengganu, a state in peninsular Malaysia, will clear forests along its border to establish oil palm plantations, reports Malaysian state media.

Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Said, chief minister of the state, said converting the forest area to plantations would help stymie illegal logging in the area bordering the states of Pahang and Kelantan. It wasn't immediately clear how much forest would be converted, but Bernama quoted Said as saying, "We found that of the 500 acres of logging areas awarded, some 200 acres had been illegally logged."

http://news.mongabay.com/2010/1025-terengganu.html

25/10/2010
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