EcoJustice Radio discusses the dangers palm oil plantations present to tropical rainforest biodiversity and Indigenous communities in Southeast Asia, Central and South America, and Africa. We talk with Olivia Chaffin, a Girl Scout from Tennessee who has been petitioning to get not-sustainable palm oil out of Girl Scout cookies, and […]
Tag: deforestation
An Orangutan’s Journey Though Palm Oil Killing Fields
The film “Green” documents deforestation and orangutan extinction in the Indonesian rainforest. It is a silent film (without narration) presenting the treasures of rainforest biodiversity and the devastating impacts of logging and land clearing for palm oil plantations.
Peru: lllegal Gold Mining versus Biodiversity and Ecotourism
A gold rush that accelerated with the onset of the 2008 global recession compounds the woes of the Amazon basin, laying waste to Peruvian rain forest and spilling tons of toxic mercury into the air and water.
Honduras: Narcotrafficking Leads to Native Dispossession, Deforestation
In the isolated region of La Mosquitia, Honduras, narco-traffickers act as shock troops in the assault on native Miskitu, Tawahka, and Pech homelands, ruthlessly dispossessing residents and rapaciously converting forest commons to private pasture primed for sale to multinational corporations.
Asian Rosewood: Soaked in Blood
Deep in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia grows a rare and beautiful tree whose wood is so highly prized that men will kill to possess it. In Thailand, environmental organizations and park rangers are fighting back against organized crime syndicates bent on logging it and smuggling it to the burgeoning Chinese market.
Honduras: Miskitu Facing Dams and Deforestation Granted Land Rights
Honduras grants Miskitu People title to huge swath of coastal, border lands they occupy, but massive dams under construction on the Patuca River and pilfering of the Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve continue unabated in a region undergoing massive militarization.
Papua New Guinea: Rainforest World of Sustainable River Guardians
The Sacred Land Film Project captured a revival of a canoe ceremony with feasting, dancing and carving, honoring their sacred Ramu River. The region is part of the third largest intact rainforest ecosystem left on earth, where sustainable agriculture and forestry practices have allowed societies to thrive for thousands of years, now threatened by multinational logging interests and corrupt governmental entities.