How ongoing deforestation is rooted in colonialism and its management practices

Deforestation and fires persist in Indonesia’s pulpwood and biomass plantations

JAKARTA — Industrial plantations of trees to make paper and wood pellets are causing widespread and persistent environmental and social violations in Indonesia, despite claims to the contrary by the industry and government, a new report shows. A coalition of 13 NGOs, including Walhi, Indonesia’s biggest environmental watchdog, looked into the operations of 33 plantation companies and used ground investigations, satellite imagery and community in…

Deforestation Is Pushing the Amazon to Collapse — Here's How We Can Stop It and Why We Need Your Help

Picture this: you're reading this article, maybe sipping your coffee or on your way to work. In the minute it takes to get to the end of this piece, the world will have lost rainforest land equivalent to 10 football (soccer) fields. It’s hard to wrap your head around, isn’t it? But that’s the stark reality. The world’s tropical rainforests are the lungs of our planet, but they’re being pushed to a point of no return.  The Amazon: More Than Just …

How ongoing deforestation is rooted in colonialism and its management practices

As early as 1917, the Michelin company invested in plantations to produce rubber in what is now Vietnam. Here, hevea trees are seen in Southeast Asia in 1913. W. F. de Bois Maclaren, The Rubber Tree Book.Half of the world’s forests were destroyed during the 20th century, with three regions mainly affected: South America, West Africa and Southeast Asia. The situation has worsened to the point that, in 2023, the European Parliament voted to ban th…

Approximately 45 million hectares of forests have disappeared in 20 years, according to the WWF. The causes are numerous, but one of them depends heavily on the consumption choices we make on a daily basis.