Sumatran Elephants and Wildlife Officials

wildlife officials: The loss of vast areas of rainforest to make way for palm oil plantations has put the survival of animals such as orang utans, Sumatran elephants and tigers at risk, but most other companies in the industry have signed up to strict no deforestation policies, according to The Independent. According to wildlife officials, dozens of Sumatran elephants have died after being poisoned The researchers also claimed that AAL drained peatland to make way for palm oil plantations and in doing so produced annual carbon emissions equivalent to those emitted by 830,000 cars. A team of researchers, working for US-based campaign group Forest Heroes and others, used satellite images, drones and reports from the field, which they claim establishes that palm oil firm Astra Agro Lestari , a subsidiary of Jardine Matheson, has felled more than 14,000 hectares of forest since 2006 in Indonesia. And they highlighted several disputes over land with indigenous people in Indonesia, including one alleged incident in which staff from an AAL plantation are said to have attacked and burned a community camp set up on its land. Forest Heroes hopes to put pressure on Jardine Matheson, one of the 200 largest companies in the world, by persuading major investors to get rid of their shares in the company because of ethical concerns about AAL operations. AAL said it has strong relationships with local communities and an active community support programme in Indonesia. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.