Bioenergy boom brings millions of native peoples in serious difficulties

The Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV) is raising the alarm. The bioenergy boom in Europe is bringing millions of native people in serious difficulties. In Indonesia and Malaysia alone approximately 47 million members of indigenous nations are affected by the planned expansion of the oil-palm plantations, reports the GfbV in its 44-page human rights report "Palm-oil is not an alternative”, which is appearing for the International Day of the Indigenous Peoples (9th August). Indonesia and Malaysia account together for 85 percent of the world-wide production of palm-oil.

The bioenergy boom in Europe is bringing millions of native people in serious difficulties. This is the result to which the Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV) in its 44-page human rights report "Palm oil is not an alternative”, which is appearing for the International Day of the Indigenous Peoples (9th August). In Indonesia and Malaysia, which together account for 85 percent of the world-wide production on palm oil, approximately 47 million members of indigenous nations are affected by the planned expansion of the palm-oil plantations. For this purpose huge areas of forest, in which and from which native peoples live, are being cleared and cultivated by slash-and-burn. They are being robbed by the palm plantations not only in their economic basis.

Their culture and identity are also being destroyed. For this reason the GfbV warns the German government against recognizing as worthy of financial support the use of palm-oil in block-type thermal stations in the amendment to the Renewable Energy Law (EEG) this autumn.

"We call for tests to be made, not only for the environmental suitability, but also for the social compatibility of plantation projects. It will then be clear that there can be no question of sustainability in the production of palm oil”, said the GfbV. Respect for their land rights and involvement in decision-making can be of vital significance for the native people. However the planting of palm-trees is mostly decided over the heads of those affected. Protests against the stealing of land and the destruction of forest are ignored or put down by force and compensation which has been agreed on is not paid.

In Indonesia some 300 peoples are affected by the planned extension of the plantations. If all this takes place the extensive forests, which form the largest collective areas of rain forest in the world, will be largely destroyed. In other countries too the rights of indigenous peoples are being infringed upon by the setting-up of palm plantations. Indian communities in Colombia have been driven out in this way to make room for the planting of palms. The Society for Threatened Peoples has information on the use of forced labour for the clearing of forest areas for palm-oil production and in Cambodia also indigenous peoples are being expelled for this reason.

There are in the world 350 to 400 million people belonging to about 5000 indigenous tribes in 75 states. Among them are the 70 million Adivasi in India, the Sami in northern Europe, the Indians in North, Central and South America, the aborigines in Australia, the San in southern Africa and many others. The 9th August was fixed by the United Nations in 1994 as the International Day of the Indigenous Peoples. Twelve years previously a UN working party of the UN on indigenous populations met in Geneva for the first time. This organ met annually until the new Human Rights Council abolished it in 2007 - in spite of international protests of those affected and of their supporters, among them the GfbV.