Mastodawn

"Labor’s nature laws have ‘gigantic loopholes you could drive a heavy hauler through’."

"The laws to overhaul the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act are scheduled for debate on Tuesday, with the government planning to rush them through the lower house this week."
>>
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2025/nov/03/australia-politics-live-nationals-net-zero-liberals-labor-bulk-billing-optus-sussan-ley-anthony-albanese-question-time
#biosphere #pollution #FossilFuels #climate #ExtremeHeat #Biodiversity #deforestation #harm #EPBCAct #exemptions #PayToDestroy #law #limits

Australia politics live: Liberals under pressure after Nationals abandon net zero target; Labor spruiks rise in bulk-billing GPs

Follow live

the Guardian

Palm Oil Detectives Sep 23, 2023

Choose Indigenous Trees Over Palm Oil In India

In an effort to combat #India’s edible oil shortage, the Indian government has heavily promoted the cultivation of exotic palm oil trees. This is a decision mired in controversy due to the associated severe ecological repercussions witnessed in other nations. The thirst for high rainfall, crucial for palm oil’s yield, threatens India’s already dwindling groundwater reserves. Notably, proposals to introduce palm oil in the ecologically sensitive regions of Assam and the North East have sparked significant backlash. Writer Bharat Dogra advocates for a shift in focus, suggesting that the solution may lie in harnessing the potential of indigenous trees capable of producing oilseeds for edible oil.

#India is turning towards #palmoil growth is a massive mistake for local #biodiversity #landrights and #climatechange, resist and #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife @palmoildetect https://palmoildetectives.com/2023/09/24/instead-of-risky-palm-oil-in-india-indigenous-trees-should-get-more-attention/

Share to BlueSky Share to Twitter

https://youtu.be/jer1UJbL_Kc?si=Gqd6gLsKD1JwfED_

Article originally published in Countercurrents on 18th June, 2023. Written by Bharat Dogra is Honorary Convener of the campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include India’s Quest for Sustainable Farming and Healthy Food, Man over Machine and Planet in Peril.

Recent government policy has resorted to huge promotion of exotic palm oil trees to end edible oil shortage in India. However, this is associated with highly disruptive ecological costs, as has been seen from the experience of several countries.

The kind of high rainfall conditions needed for its high yield are not readily available in India and this will lead to heavy extraction of already scarce groundwater. Plans for large-scale introduction of palm oil in India’s ecologically fragile regions of Assam and the North East have already faced much criticism.

Palm oil plantations at the foothills of Eastern Ghats near Srungavarapukota in Vizianagaram district by Adityamadhav83 on Wikipedia

A better option would be to explore the potential of several indigenous trees which yield oilseeds from which edible oil can be obtained.

There are several such indigenous trees which can provide edible oils, such as mahua, karanj, sal, kokum, kusum etc. (not to mention coconut, which is already well established as a supplier of edible oil). Some of these trees are known and some are not so well-known and need to be explored further. The edible oil contained from some of these trees is known to be very good for nutrition and to be rich in poly unsaturated fats, important for nutrition.

Availability of edible oils can increase significantly even from already existing trees. However once this importance is realised and conscious efforts are made to increase these trees, then edible oil availability for domestic use ( particularly in tribal community areas) as well as for export markets for niche uses, including medicinal value, can increase even more significantly.

It will be a mistake to grow these trees as plantation crops. This will be harmful for biodiversity, environment and food security. It will be much better for all families in a tribal community to grow two additional such trees each on their land. In this way about two to four hundred additional oilseed trees can grow in each village, and about 200,000 villages in India are likely to be suitable for growing these trees.

Bharat Dogra

A 2019 World Health Organisation (WHO) report into the palm oil industry and RSPO finds extensive greenwashing of palm oil deforestation and the murder of endangered animals (i.e. biodiversity loss)

As almost all of these trees have multiple uses for their fruits, flowers, seeds, leaves etc., benefits for these farmers and villagers will be many. Mahua tree can provide very nutritious and filling food which is all the more useful in lean season and drought years, its fodder is also very useful while at the same time the use of its flower as an intoxicant should be minimised.

Cooperatives of farmers and villagers to collect tree oilseeds can be set up to ensure a fair price. However instead of selling these to big processors, value addition can be obtained by local processing.

Local processing units in all these villages should be set up, particularly to extract oil but also to process other produce of these trees. This local processing will generate more livelihoods, while the residue (after oil extraction) will provide nutritive feed for animals and organic fertiliser for farms.

The potential for this is the highest in tribal communities, but certainly potential exists in other villages also for various communities.

Isn’t it irrational that the authorities are ignoring this potential but instead going in for the ecologically disruptive option of palm oil plantation?

There are also trees like neem whose oil may not be used for cooking but has important medicinal uses. Then there are other trees which provide non-edible oil with several uses such as for soap making and can be used for cottage scale units of soap or other products of everyday use.

In addition there is much potential for better protection and improvement of coconut trees which have so many different uses apart from providing edible oils.

There is a strong case for giving much more attention to all indigenous trees which provide edible oils and for providing many more sustainable livelihoods on the basis of their various products including oilseeds, with the added caution that these indigenous trees should be grown not as big monoculture plantations but instead in their usual natural way co-existing with all biodiversity.

ENDS

Read more about Indian animals threatened by palm oil deforestation in India

Rivers are still people in South East Asia despite court showdown

Healthy rivers are essential for community wellbeing. India and Bangladesh legally recognise rivers as natural persons with rights and powers. Take action!

Protecting India’s Tigers Saves One Million Tonnes of CO2

#India’s fifty year long Project #Tiger has been a successful conservation project. A new research study finds that protecting tigers and their rainforest home has additional benefits to #carbonemissions, saving 1 million tonnes…

Concerns Mount Over Palm Oil Expansion in Nagaland

The NCCAF raises grave concerns over palm oil expansion in Nagaland, India with threats to deforestation, biodiversity, livelihoods. Take action!

Sloth Bear Melursus ursinus

The sloth bear (Melursus ursinus), with their distinctive “Y” or “V” shaped chest patch and shaggy fur, are unique bears native to the Indian subcontinent. Once exploited as ‘dancing bears’ by the Kalandar…

Nicobar Long-Tailed Macaque Macaca fascicularis umbrosa

Discover the intriguing Nicobar long-tailed macaque, intelligent and highly social survivors on India’s islands, help them to survive and boycott palm oil!

Phayre’s Leaf Monkey Trachypithecus phayrei

Phayre’s leaf monkey, also known as Phayre’s langur, are remarkable Old World monkeys distinguished by large, white-rimmed eyes that lend them a “spectacled” appearance. Known locally as ‘Chasma bandor’ they live mostly in…

India’s Palm Oil Plans Wreak Havoc On The Ground

#India’s aggressive push for #palmoil plantations in #Nagaland, #Assam and #Mizoram is wreaking havoc on both the environment and local communities. The government plans to ramp up oil palm cultivation in the northeast,…

Irrawaddy Dolphin Orcaella brevirostris

Intelligent and social Irrawaddy dolphins, also known as the Mahakam River dolphins or Ayeyarwady river #dolphins have endearing faces. Only 90 to 300 are estimated to be left living in the wild. Their…

Sambar deer Rusa unicolor

The majestic Sambar deer, cloaked in hues ranging from light brown to dark gray, are distinguished by their rugged antlers and uniquely long tails. Adorned with a coat of coarse hair and marked…

Lion-tailed Macaque Macaca silenus

Lion-tailed macaques hold the title of one of the smallest macaque species in the world and sport a majestic lion-esque mane of hair. They exclusively call the Western Ghats in India their home.…

Load more posts

Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.

Take Action in Five Ways

1. Join the #Boycott4Wildlife on social media and subscribe to stay in the loop: Share posts from this website to your own network on Twitter, Mastadon, Instagram, Facebook and Youtube using the hashtags #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife.

Enter your email address

Join 3,521 other subscribers

2. Contribute stories: Academics, conservationists, scientists, indigenous rights advocates and animal rights advocates working to expose the corruption of the palm oil industry or to save animals can contribute stories to the website.

Wildlife Artist Juanchi Pérez

Mel Lumby: Dedicated Devotee to Borneo’s Living Beings

Anthropologist and Author Dr Sophie Chao

Health Physician Dr Evan Allen

The World’s Most Loved Cup: A Social, Ethical & Environmental History of Coffee by Aviary Doert

How do we stop the world’s ecosystems from going into a death spiral? A #SteadyState Economy

3. Supermarket sleuthing: Next time you’re in the supermarket, take photos of products containing palm oil. Share these to social media along with the hashtags to call out the greenwashing and ecocide of the brands who use palm oil. You can also take photos of palm oil free products and congratulate brands when they go palm oil free.

https://twitter.com/CuriousApe4/status/1526136783557529600?s=20

https://twitter.com/PhillDixon1/status/1749010345555788144?s=20

https://twitter.com/mugabe139/status/1678027567977078784?s=20

4. Take to the streets: Get in touch with Palm Oil Detectives to find out more.

5. Donate: Make a one-off or monthly donation to Palm Oil Detectives as a way of saying thank you and to help pay for ongoing running costs of the website and social media campaigns. Donate here

Pledge your support

#Assam #biodiversity #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4wildlife #BoycottPalmOil #childLabour #childSlavery #climatechange #deforestation #humanRights #India #indigenousRights #landRights #landgrabbing #landrights #PalmOil #palmoil #slavery

BellingenNSW 2h ago

We must stop destroying what we have

https://theconversation.com/in-2024-the-climate-crisis-worsened-in-all-ways-but-we-can-still-limit-warming-with-bold-action-268579
#biosphere #pollution #FossilFuels #climate #ExtremeHeat #Biodiversity #deforestation #destruction #harm #EPBCAct #exemptions

In 2024, the climate crisis worsened in all ways. But we can still limit warming with bold action

We are living in a hotter, more chaotic world, with more emissions, fires and fossil fuel consumption.

The Conversation

Animal Rebellion NL 3h ago

17-12-2021 #NoLoveInIt De campagne om McDonalds te laten stoppen met hun ecocide gaat door. Een plantaardig menu voor 2025, het is mogelijk - en het is vooral heel erg nodig! 💪🌏 Help je een handje mee door deze campagnebeelden te delen? "Wist jij al dat de producten van McDonald's bijdragen aan ontbossing, enorme CO2- & methaanuitstoot, biodiversiteitsverlies, droogte, landonteigening, ziektes en kans op nieuwe pandemieën? McDonald's weet dit, maar doet niets. Hun winst gaat over de ruggen van mens, dier en planeet. En dat terwijl er genoeg heerlijke, plantaardige alternatieven voor vlees, vis en zuivel bestaan om niets te hoeven missen! Wij vragen ze daarom over te stappen op een #plantaardigmenuvoor2025 , voor een leefbare planeet, nu én in de toekomst" Deel deze tekst, of zeg het in je eigen woorden, en laat McDonald's Nederland ook weten dat ze hun verantwoordelijkheid moeten nemen! En vergeet ze niet te taggen 😉 #animalrebellionnl #mcdonalds #mcdonaldsnl #ecocide #klimaatcrisis #klimaatactie #klimaatrechtvaardigheid #decrisisisnu #plantaardigeten #systeemverandering #systemchange #plantbasedtransition #plantbasedtreaty #mcdonaldsuk #plantbasedfoodsystem #plantaardigeeiwittransitie #climateactivism #deforestation #stopdeforestation #deforestacion #ontbossing #stopontbossing #animalrebellion

https://animalrebellion.nl/sluit-je-aan

Animal Rebellion NL 3h ago

21-11-2021 🪵🌲De oorzaak van ontbossing🌲🪵 ⛔️ De Europese commissie wil de import van producten verbieden die ontbossing veroorzaken. “Door ‘ontbossingsvrije’ producten te promoten en de Europese impact op globale ontbossing te verminderen, wordt verwacht dat door de nieuwe regels broeikasgas uitstoot & biodiversiteitsverlies zal verminderen”. ❓Maar betekent dit ook dat de EU gaat stoppen met hun financiering en subsidie op dierlijke producten, en in plaats daarvan plantaardige vlees- en zuivelvervangers gaat promoten?.. 🐄🌱 De veehouderij is namelijk de belangrijkste veroorzaker van wereldwijde ontbossing, omdat er enorme bosgebieden worden gekapt voor land om vee op te houden of om veevoer te verbouwen. Ongeveer 75% van alle verbouwde soja in de wereld wordt verbouwd voor veevoer! Als soja direct voor plantaardig voedsel zou worden verbouwd, zouden we veel minder soja hoeven te verbouwen en kunnen we veel meer mensen voeden [1]✊🌿 ✅ De oplossing is glashelder. Maar waarom pakt de overheid deze crisis niet daadkrachtig aan? Er is NU ACTIE nodig! Ontbossing stoppen per 2030 is niet snel genoeg, en kan niet worden aangepakt zonder ons voedselsysteem aan te passen. Help daarom mee om een plantaardig voedselsysteem te eisen! 💚 [1] Bron: (Vertaald uit het Engels). [Poore, J., & Nemecek, T. (Oxford Study) (2018)] With a purely plantbased food system we would use 76% less agricultural land and we could feed 10 billion people (current population around 7. 8). [FAO (2017); Brack et al. (2016)]. Artikel: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/qanda_21_5919 #plantbasedfoodsystem #plantaardigvoedselsysteem #plantaardigeeiwitten #plantbasedfuture #detoekomstisplantaardig #ontbossing #deforestation #animalagricultureiskillingtheplanet #animalagricultureistheleadingcauseofdeforestation #veehouderij #cop26 #systeemverandering #klimaatcrisis #klimaatactie #noplanetb #animalrebellion #animalrebellionnl

https://animalrebellion.nl/sluit-je-aan

Palm Oil Detectives 8h ago

The Talaud Bear Cuscus 🐻🇮🇩 is a critically endangered #marsupial from #Salibabu island #Indonesia, rapidly vanishing from #palmoil #deforestation 🌴🔥⛔️ Fight back! #BoycottPalmOil #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife for their survival @palmoildetect https://palmoildetectives.com/2021/01/26/talaud-bear-cuscus/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=Palm+Oil+Detectives&utm_campaign=publer

Stuff I found 10h ago

Vegan Nutella my ass 🤡 #nutella #vegan #veganism #veganlife #palmoil #deforestation #veganoptions #activism #climate #climatechange #climatechangeisreal #ferrero

Palm Oil Detectives 17h ago

#News: The environmental toll of ultra-processed #food is buried in global #supplychains. It’s time for the whole industry to pay the true cost and address deforestation. #UPF #ClimateAction #Deforestation #BoycottPalmOi #Boycott4Wildlife #Vegan
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/oct/08/ultra-processed-foods-environment-impact?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=Palm+Oil+Detectives&utm_campaign=publer

The hidden cost of ultra-processed foods on the environment: ‘The whole industry should pay’

Industrially made foods involve several ingredients and processes to put together, making it difficult to examine their true cost

The Guardian

Giuseppe Zolli 1d ago

25% of #land in #Africa is damaged by #climatechange #mining and #palmoil #deforestation. Yet strong policies for #agroecology would restore land for people, plants and animals to thrive #BoycottPalmOil #ClimateActionNow #Boycott4Wildlife @palmoildetectives https://wp.me/pcFhgU-90N

Around 25% of Africa’s Land is Damaged: This is How We Fix It!

Almost 25% of all land in Africa has been damaged driven by climate change and deforestation for mining palm oil and cocoa. Take action and protect forests!

Palm Oil Detectives

Palm Oil Detectives 1d ago

Around 25% of Africa’s Land is Damaged: This is How We Fix It!

Almost 25% of all land in Africa has been damaged. Land degradation is worrying issue across the continent of Africa. This is being driven by climate change and deforestation for extractive industries like rare mineral mining and monocultures like palm oil and cocoa. Other big drivers includes invasive species and environmental pollutants and toxins. Mlungele Nsikani is a land restoration specialist and environmental scientist. He explains how ecological restoration and agroecology is a great way to reverse land degradation so that people, plants and animals can thrive. Another powerful way to make an impact is through boycotting industries destroying the world like gold mining, palm oil and the meat industry. #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife

Share to BlueSky Share to Twitter

Written by Mlungele M. Nsikani, Senior scientist, South African National Biodiversity Institute. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

https://youtu.be/obON0prYOGw

What’s driving land degradation on the continent?

Africa is one of the most degraded continents in the world. About 23% of the surface of Africa, or over 700 million hectares of land, is already degraded. Another three million hectares is being further degraded annually.

Degraded land is land that has lost some of its natural productivity through processes caused by humans. It’s estimated that up to 40% of the planet’s land is degraded.

The “big five” drivers of land degradation globally and in Africa are:

biological invasions, where plant species have spread outside their indigenous area and disrupted the services provided by ecosystems
climate change driven events, such as intense droughts and severe fires
extractive activities, such as mining and over-harvesting
habitat transformation or fragmentation, including deforestation and poor agricultural practices
pollutants such as sulphur dioxide, and eutrophication – where algae and other plants take over plant life.

Factors that have made the situation worse in Africa include: development demands; a high dependency on natural resources at the household level (such as the use of firewood for cooking); agricultural practices (including clearing indigenous plants to grow cash crops); weak governance; insecure land tenure; pervasive poverty; and population growth.

What is ecological restoration?

Ecological restoration is the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged or destroyed. Removing invasive plants and reintroducing indigenous species is one way to reverse damage. Ecological restoration is about helping to create conditions in which plants, animals and microorganisms can carry out the work of recovery themselves.

Assisting recovery can be as complex as altering landforms (intentionally changing aspects of the landscape), planting vegetation, changing the hydrology (water flow), and reintroducing wildlife. It can also be as simple as removing an invasive species or reintroducing a lost plant species to the land.

For example more than 8,750 plant species have found their way to South Africa. Over 785 species have made the country their permanent home on a significant scale and have had negative impacts. These include at least 14 Australian Acacia tree species which are invasive across South Africa. These cover about 554,000 hectares of the country.

They use up water resources and reduce grazing land. They also change soil microbial community structure, diversity and function. Invasive Acacia trees have established extensive woodlands that compete against native species, leaving little room for native plants and trees to grow. This costs more than R4 billion annually (about US$214 million) – the combined cost of clearing invasive species and the value of reduced ecosystem services in invaded areas.

The fynbos biome, which covers large parts of South Africa’s Western Cape province, has been the most affected. Since 1995, the publicly funded Working for Water programme has cleared invasive species, leaving ecosystems to recover naturally. The Greater Cape Town Water Fund has also funded the removal of thousands of thirsty invasive trees in mountain areas in a bid to save water and restore indigenous fynbos. This is known as passive restoration.

Planting native vegetation (often done through seed) – active restoration – has also helped the land recover. However, it has been applied at a smaller scale than passive restoration because it is more expensive. Planting native vegetation after clearing invasive species is often a more effective way to help native species recover in the restoration site, particularly if the native soil seedbanks have been depleted by the long duration of invasion.

How can people help?

Anyone can contribute to the restoration of ecosystems. The first thing is to advocate for and actively engage in the conservation of intact ecosystems. As the old adage goes, prevention is better than cure.

Ecological restoration is a great tool to tackle land degradation. But it’s not a quick fix. It’s still necessary to protect and conserve natural ecosystems.

Secondly, everyone should get involved in ecological restoration efforts, no matter how small. We can help remove invasive species or plant native species where we live. We can donate or be part of organisations that are involved in ecological restoration.

Above all, we should continue to spread the ecological restoration message and show that we are #GenerationRestoration!

The need for ecological restoration on the continent is great. Only functioning landscapes can provide affordable food, water and energy. These are the cornerstones of economic development. Ecological restoration can protect and enhance environmental assets and natural resources, provide employment, and help national development, security and social stability.

ENDS

Read more about conservation and reasons to be hopeful

Around 25% of Africa’s Land is Damaged: This is How We Fix It!

Almost 25% of all land in Africa has been damaged driven by climate change and deforestation for mining palm oil and cocoa. Take action and protect forests!

Protecting India’s Tigers Saves One Million Tonnes of CO2

Dung Beetles Are Rainforests’ Diligent Regrowth Soldiers

The dung beetle may eat and nest in poop, but their role in nature is anything but humble. These hardshelled scarabs live on every continent except Antarctica, recycling feces and suppressing parasites that…

Protect Nature to Avoid Future Pandemics

Research from University of Queensland and published in The Lancet: Planetary Health finds that the COVID-19 pandemic is linked to the decline of ecosystems and biodiversity, creating a cycle that could lead to…

Food Without Agriculture

Researchers argue food can be made without destroying rainforests, using alternative energy sources like microbes, yeast and CO2, saving animals and emissions

Load more posts

Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.

Take Action in Five Ways

Enter your email address

Join 3,521 other subscribers

Wildlife Artist Juanchi Pérez

Mel Lumby: Dedicated Devotee to Borneo’s Living Beings

Anthropologist and Author Dr Sophie Chao

Health Physician Dr Evan Allen

The World’s Most Loved Cup: A Social, Ethical & Environmental History of Coffee by Aviary Doert

How do we stop the world’s ecosystems from going into a death spiral? A #SteadyState Economy

https://twitter.com/CuriousApe4/status/1526136783557529600?s=20

https://twitter.com/PhillDixon1/status/1749010345555788144?s=20

https://twitter.com/mugabe139/status/1678027567977078784?s=20

4. Take to the streets: Get in touch with Palm Oil Detectives to find out more.

5. Donate: Make a one-off or monthly donation to Palm Oil Detectives as a way of saying thank you and to help pay for ongoing running costs of the website and social media campaigns. Donate here

Pledge your support

#Africa #agroecology #agroforestry #Boycott4wildlife #BoycottPalmOil #ClimateActionNow #climatechange #conservation #deforestation #environment #GenerationRestoration #land #mining #PalmOil #palmOilDeforestation #palmoil #ReasonsToBeHopeful