Background.
Two palm oil companies, subsidiaries of Singaporean company Goodhope Holdings, have been granted concessions to create palm oil plantations in remote West Kalimantan. The property lines granted includes small villages and farms in Serawai and Ambalau.
Some community members are in favour of the plantation but many others are against it and its these people that we stand with. The Dayaks have long been beaten up by both corrupt local governments and big foreign palm oil companies. This situation shows just how abusive these palm oil companies can get! They may have been granted concessions but the actual license to clear forests and lands have NOT BEEN granted!
Yet they've gone in with their bulldozers and taken down small rice paddies and rubber plantations belonging to local villagers. We need to tell these palm oil plantations that these people have rights! They have a freedom to choose whether to accept an industrial plantation or NOT!
Update April 30 2013. Foreign NGOs www.regenwald.org and www.save-wildlife.org are supporting this fight. Secretariat for Forest Conservation ( SKEPHI ) has also joined the campaign,
-The company Goodhope has responded to our complaint to the RSPO, which includes violations of over forty of its Principles & Criteria.The company is looking for an "amicable settlement" We're not sure what this means exactly as the only settlement we are looking for is for the company to respect the wishes of those villagers who DO NOT want the plantation on their lands.
Two palm oil companies, subsidiaries of Singaporean company Goodhope Holdings, have been granted concessions to create palm oil plantations in remote West Kalimantan. The property lines granted includes small villages and farms in Serawai and Ambalau.
Some community members are in favour of the plantation but many others are against it and its these people that we stand with. The Dayaks have long been beaten up by both corrupt local governments and big foreign palm oil companies. This situation shows just how abusive these palm oil companies can get! They may have been granted concessions but the actual license to clear forests and lands have NOT BEEN granted!
Yet they've gone in with their bulldozers and taken down small rice paddies and rubber plantations belonging to local villagers. We need to tell these palm oil plantations that these people have rights! They have a freedom to choose whether to accept an industrial plantation or NOT!
Update April 30 2013. Foreign NGOs www.regenwald.org and www.save-wildlife.org are supporting this fight. Secretariat for Forest Conservation ( SKEPHI ) has also joined the campaign,
-The company Goodhope has responded to our complaint to the RSPO, which includes violations of over forty of its Principles & Criteria.The company is looking for an "amicable settlement" We're not sure what this means exactly as the only settlement we are looking for is for the company to respect the wishes of those villagers who DO NOT want the plantation on their lands.