Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Monday, Aug 29, 2005
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Monday, Aug 29, 2005 |
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Opinion
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Letters Palm oil imports
The issue of environmental implications of oil palm cultivation in Malaysia came out prominently in the interview with the Malaysian Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities, Datuk Peter Chin, "Malaysia would like to see India as its hub for Palm Oil" (Business Line, August 12). It was reassuring to learn from the Minister that the areas to go under oil palm cultivation in Malaysia were not forestland and that the government was keen on preserving biodiversity. Conservationists, particularly campaigners against the large-scale conversion of forestland in Malaysia and Indonesia, will be interested to know about such reports and the sources thereof. India is the largest importer of oil palm and more than 90 per cent of it is from Malaysia and Indonesia. To avoid negative impact on both people and the environment, India should insist that all the palm oil imported adheres to verifiable environmental and social criteria. Such sustainability criteria are elaborated by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) (www.rspo.org) and are expected to befinalised by the RSPO Conference on on November 22 and 23. A feasibility study is also being undertaken by the WWF-India on the oil palm sector in India, as part of the Forest Conversion Initiative. The study focuses on the scope of influencing business and industry to reduce India's "foot print" related to oil palm production in Malaysia and Indonesia. The preliminary resultswill be available during Mr Peter Chin's proposed visit to India in November. It is important to both India and Malaysia to ensure that the economic benefits from trade agreements are not at the cost of destroying forests and biodiversity. T. R. Manoharan Senior Coordinator Forest Policy and Economics WWF-India Secretariat
Letters to the editor and contributions can be sent by e-mail to: bleditor@thehindu.co.in
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