14 DAY TRIAL // A new Greenpeace report argues that plans to develop Africa's palm oil industry will result in the destruction of the rainforests still standing in this part of the world, and that whatever financial gains might be at stake are simply not worth considerably damaging these natural habitats.
According to this organization, it may very well be that local communities in Africa rely heavily on oil palms, either for boosting harvests by using their ashes in agricultural practices or simply for building their huts, but this does not mean that large-scale oil palm cultivation will not negatively impact on the environment.
Only yesterday, Greenpeace decided to take matter into its own hands and the organization's official website saw the publication of a highly ironic article intended to raise awareness with respect to how Herakles Farms, a company which claims to support sustainable development, is actually about to destroy about 73,000 hectares of land in order to grow a new oil plantation.
The company's CEO, Bruce Wrobel, is the person first and foremost targeted by Greenpeace. As these environmentalists put it, “Bruce loves Africa and he and his buddies like to get together and ponder how they could end hunger there (among other things) over games of golf.”
Still, “Of course, Bruce and his buddies don't say they are in the agriculture business for the money; instead, they would have you believe they are 'addressing a dire humanitarian need.'”
Turning back to the report discussing the negative consequences of destroying that much land in order to accommodate for a new oil palm plantation, it seems that Greenpeace is especially concerned about how phenomena such as climate change and global warming will be affected by having even fewer rainforests around.
This is because forests are known to store CO2 in their soils and, therefore, chopping down trees will only result in harmful emissions being released into the atmosphere.
“Greenpeace believes the growing demand now pushing the expansion of the large scale palm-oil industry into western and central Africa should not occur at the expense of the few remaining natural forests or undermine the rights and livelihoods of local residents,” concludes the organization.