Palm Oil Land Grabbing Harms Environment and Indigenous People

New research has exposed the dark side to businesses taking land for palm oil production. This practice is extremely harmful to the climate, environment, and people.

Land grabs are not only common for palm oil, but also for the production of other goods such as coconuts, tea, cocoa, cobalt, and minerals. Land grabbing has displaced indigenous communities and wiped out delicate ecosystems and wildlife habitats. It puts people, animals, and the climate at great risk, all in the name of profit.

Will Nichols, Verisk Maplecroft’s head of environmental research, said, “There is a lot of money to be made from trashing the environment rather than saving it. When you are a landowner or someone looking to invest in these kinds of industries, and you’re aware that the government isn’t going to stand in your way. The onus falls on corporations to be diligent about where they are sourcing, auditing suppliers, making sure commodities are coming from where they are told they are coming from.”

Despite the current urging for better choices to be made in regards to the environment, big businesses and governments keep taking land for palm oil and other goods. They ruthlessly disrupt a natural balance, uprooting indigenous communities, destroying wildlife habitats, and contributing to the climate crisis.

Sign this petition telling the governments of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei to crack down on palm oil fires.

Related Content

• 4 Ways Indigenous Communities are Stepping Up for Climate Change
• The Kayapó Indigenous People in Brazil are Fighting Hard to Protect the Amazon
• Supplying Beef to the U.S. is Destroying Nicaragua’s Indigenous Communities
• Palm Oil Deforestation: A Threat to Orangutan Populations, Indigenous People and Biodiversity

For more Animal, Earth, Life, Vegan Food, Health, and Recipe content published daily. Subscribe to the One Green Planet Newsletter! Lastly, being publicly funded gives us a greater chance to continue providing you with high-quality content. Please consider supporting us by donating!