International Outrage May Have Delayed Further Elephant Habitat Destruction
Since Alternet first posted about the ongoing destruction of the Leuser Ecosystem by rogue palm oil company PT. Agra Bumi Niaga, Rainforest Action Network (RAN) has continued to track the company’s activities in the Leuser Ecosystem.
Through a series of reports this year, RAN sounded the alarm on the company, and mapped how the palm oil coming from the plantations of this one company found its way into the products of many global brands, including PepsiCo and others. Shockingly, the company continued to clear forests for palm oil––clearing a further 12 hectares of forest in July 2017, so that only 54 hectares of standing forest remains in the area controlled by PT. ABN.
However, recent field reports show that the pressure garnered from the international scandal may be having an effect. The latest reports optimistically say that the company has stopped clearing the forests in the Leuser Ecosystem.
But time will only tell if this is a moment for celebration for the endangered Sumatran elephants living in this same forest. Satellite imagery is needed to confirm that the deforestation has indeed stopped, and ongoing attention and pressure is needed to keep it that way. Watch the short video from Rainforest Action Network below, and voice your concern. Tell PepsiCo, Nestlé, Unilever, Mars, Kellogg’s, McDonald’s, Procter & Gamble and others to put elephants over earning a quick buck and end the destruction of the Leuser Ecosystem for their products!
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