Slash dan membakar amalan bagi minyak sawit membawa kepada peningkatan mendadak dalam hutan di Indonesia kebakaran tahun ini. jenama pengguna global Top terus membeli produk mentah dari pengeluar terlibat dalam aktiviti-aktiviti ini.
Oleh Zachary Frye
Indonesia is struggling with forest fires and the destruction of natural ecosystems. Setiap tahun, palm oil producers burn swathes of land across the country to make way for new crops. While this may be financially beneficial, the fires are leading to severe air-quality problems.
According to a newly released Keamanan hijau kajian, big-name consumer brands, including Unilever, Mondelez, Nestlé, and Proctor and Gamble, continue to buy products from suppliers that utilize dangerous farming techniques. The report claims these companies are linked to over 10,000 fire hotspots around the country.
Sehingga September 2019, 857,756 hektar (over two million acres) were burned this year alone. The islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan were hit hardest, leaving many parents scared or unwilling to let their children go outside.
“I keep all the doors and windows closed and keep my two children locked up in the house," kata Yuli, a mother in Jambi, Sumatera. “I’m not brave enough to let them go outside. I’m so worried and I just hope it ends soon. I feel so sorry for the children,"Tambahnya.
Sebahagian 900,000 Indonesians are suffering from respiratory problems due to toxic haze. Despite the risks to public health and the environment, many companies continue to engage with the status quo.
Global brands aren’t doing enough to prevent environmental destruction
Minyak sawit merupakan produk mentah yang penting digunakan dalam pelbagai barangan runcit pengguna sehari-hari. Ia digunakan sebagai bahan dalam anggaran 50% dari semua produk di pasar raya, termasuk dalam makanan dan barangan penjagaan diri.
Ia mempunyai penggunaan yang luas dalam pembuatan produk, tetapi kebimbangan alam sekitar dan sosial telah ketinggalan industri untuk tahun. Sebagai ladang yang besar terkeluar, hutan semula jadi adalah dihina. Haiwan dan tumbuhan ekosistem mendapatkan rosak, dan sesetengah masyarakat tempatan kehilangan akses kepada tanah asal mereka.
Industri kelapa sawit membuat janji untuk membersihkan ladang bahawa undang-undang rehat dan menyakiti alam sekitar daripada rantaian bekalan, tetapi bukti menunjukkan bahawa ia tidak melakukan secukupnya.
Menurut Greenpeace, minyak sawit terus diperoleh daripada pengeluar dikaitkan dengan kebakaran berulang. dalam yang laporan, Greenpeace used satellite imaging to map forest fires associated with global palm oil supply chains. It found 21 groups of palm oil producers contributed to this year’s fires, including Wilmar, Rajawali, Genting and Rachmat. These companies partner with local farmers and sell the product in bulk to global manufacturing brands for further processing.
“Companies have created a facade of sustainability. But the reality is that they source from the very worst offenders across the board,” says Annisa Rahmawati, a Senior Forest Campaigner at Greenpeace Indonesia.
“The companies responsible for the fires and those who financially benefit from them should be held accountable for these environmental atrocities and the devastating health impacts caused by the fires,"Tambahnya.
In response to these allegations, Unilever and Nestlé reaffirmed their stance against forest fires and deforestation. Speaking with ASEAN Today, a Unilever spokesman claimed the company “has been leading efforts to end deforestation and is fully committed to working with suppliers and partners around the world to make that happen.”
They added that Unilever has “already suspended sourcing from a number of suppliers mentioned in the report” and is “reviewing the full list of companies to understand any possible links to our extended supply chain.” In line with internal policies, they say they will “take any appropriate action.”
A Nestlé spokesman also confirmed they were “aware of the allegations in the Greenpeace report” and are “currently investigating and verifying occurrences of land clearing and burning.” They also claimed that ten companies were dikeluarkan from their supply chain by September 2018 for not complying with their standards.
Transboundary haze is impacting regional health
Toxic haze created by forest fires doesn’t just affect local areas. Smoke and smog drift across the region, affecting the health of communities where fires are not burning. Tahun ini, Indonesian forest fires impacted the air quality in parts of Malaysia, singapore, the Philippines and Thailand.
The inability to limit air problems contained to certain political jurisdictions makes slash and burn farming and supply chain management an international issue.
As it stands, ASEAN governments are failing to put the proper systems in place to prevent this problem. On the international stage, regional governments have a tendency to put economic pertumbuhan ahead of environmental concerns.
Foto: M. Naswira Saputra
Speaking with ASEAN Today, Ms Rahmawati urged the region’s leaders to come together to prevent unnecessary forest fires. “If ASEAN countries want to take on the problem of deforestation, the very basis is getting transparency out [sic]. Deforestation isn’t just a problem in Indonesia. Many countries are contributing. Information is power.”
“The ratification and reaffirmation of the transboundary haze agreement is good, but the implementation, including the issue of transparency as a shared commitment” is a problem, dia berkata.
Consumers and governments have a big role to play in making amends, but broken supply chains haunt sustained progress
This year’s haze crisis is clear evidence that companies aren’t doing enough to curb forest fires. The blame, namun begitu, doesn’t solely rest in their hands.
To make progress on the issue, governments need to increase the political will to take action, especially due to the lasting threat forest fires post to public health. Consumers also need to become more informed and principled shoppers.
With palm oil used in such a wide variety of everyday products, pengguna boleh mempunyai peranan outsize dalam mengubah tingkah laku korporat.
Ia adalah Possibyang untuk menghasilkan minyak sawit mapan dan sihat. Tetapi dengan keleluasaan minyak sawit di pasar raya kami, ia adalah tidak realistik untuk mengharapkan orang ramai untuk melaksanakan pemulauan ekonomi barangan keperluan rumah. Atas sebab ini, usaha kerajaan untuk mengurangkan kecenderungan paling teruk dalam industri adalah penting.
Kerajaan mempunyai kuasa untuk menghukum pesalah yang paling teruk dan penguatkuasaan garis arus. Walaupun ia menyalahi undang-undang ke negeri yang jelas dengan api di Indonesia, penguatkuasaan yang lemah dan rasuah makanan ke dalam status quo. Menurut Greenpeace, tidak ada yang serius sabitan atau sekatan diturunkan kepada syarikat-syarikat yang berkaitan dengan kebakaran dari 2015 ke 2018.
Ini perlu berubah untuk kemajuan sebenar yang akan dibuat. Terdapat success dalam mengurangkan dan menolak inisiatif pengurusan tempatan, tetapi terdapat sedikit bukti bahawa ini adalah penyelesaian meluas yang berdaya maju. insentif pasaran terlalu berakar umbi dalam amalan industri untuk menyerahkan keseluruhan rantaian bekalan kepada pengeluar tempatan bebas.
Cara yang paling cepat untuk mempengaruhi perubahan adalah untuk memanfaatkan kuasa di bahagian atas. jenama besar seperti Unilever dan Proctor and Gamble mempunyai wang dan pengaruh untuk membuat perbezaan. Mereka perlu memastikan bahawa produk mereka datang dari sumber yang disahkan dan verifiably bersih. Pengguna dan kerajaan mempunyai kuasa untuk memberi insentif kepada tingkah laku ini, tetapi sebagai kebakaran toksik tahun ini krisis menunjukkan, banyak lagi kerja yang perlu dilakukan untuk ini untuk menjadi kenyataan.
pembetulan: Artikel ini telah dikemaskini untuk menambah sebut harga daripada wakil Unilever.
