Malaysia refutes allegations of plantation damage
Wednesday, 20 June 2007
KUALA LUMPUR, June 19 (AFP): A Malaysian cabinet minister, fresh from a charm offensive in Europe, has refuted allegations that plantation industries lead to widespread deforestation, pollution and the death of organgutans, a report said today.
Plantations Minister Peter Chin made the comments after he returned from a trip to Europe, where he sought to dispel concerns that palm oil plantations endanger tropical forests, The Star reported.
Malaysia and Indonesia, the world's leading producers of crude palm oil, are leading a campaign to fight environmentalists' claims that plantations destroy vast swathes of tropical forest, pushing endangered animals like the orangutan towards extinction.
At a press conference in Miri, on Borneo island, Chin countered what he said were accusations from Western non- governmental organisations that Malaysia fells trees "all the time" in its plantations, The Star reported.
He said oil palm trees are productive for up to 25 years and rubber trees can produce latex for 35 years.
"Our timber trees take decades to mature, so how can we be chopping down trees every year?" he was quoted as saying.
Chin also countered allegations that Malaysian and Indonesian plantation development contributes a large chunk of greenhouse gas emissions, which scientists blame for global warming.
"How can this be? Can our agriculture projects be more polluting than the heavy industries in America, Europe, China and India and the millions of vehicles there?" Chin was quoted as saying.
Ahead of his European trip earlier this month, Chin branded as "disinformation" allegations of environmental devastation. He tried to strike a softer tone in Brussels, where he led a delegation that also included industry executives.
Demand for biofuels is set to boom in Europe in the coming years after European Union leaders agreed in March that bio- fuels, made from plants, should make up 10 percent of total vehicle fuel in the 27-nation bloc by 2020.
Plantations Minister Peter Chin made the comments after he returned from a trip to Europe, where he sought to dispel concerns that palm oil plantations endanger tropical forests, The Star reported.
Malaysia and Indonesia, the world's leading producers of crude palm oil, are leading a campaign to fight environmentalists' claims that plantations destroy vast swathes of tropical forest, pushing endangered animals like the orangutan towards extinction.
At a press conference in Miri, on Borneo island, Chin countered what he said were accusations from Western non- governmental organisations that Malaysia fells trees "all the time" in its plantations, The Star reported.
He said oil palm trees are productive for up to 25 years and rubber trees can produce latex for 35 years.
"Our timber trees take decades to mature, so how can we be chopping down trees every year?" he was quoted as saying.
Chin also countered allegations that Malaysian and Indonesian plantation development contributes a large chunk of greenhouse gas emissions, which scientists blame for global warming.
"How can this be? Can our agriculture projects be more polluting than the heavy industries in America, Europe, China and India and the millions of vehicles there?" Chin was quoted as saying.
Ahead of his European trip earlier this month, Chin branded as "disinformation" allegations of environmental devastation. He tried to strike a softer tone in Brussels, where he led a delegation that also included industry executives.
Demand for biofuels is set to boom in Europe in the coming years after European Union leaders agreed in March that bio- fuels, made from plants, should make up 10 percent of total vehicle fuel in the 27-nation bloc by 2020.