Monthly Archives: June 2018

Melanesia

Dutch pension fund divests from Korean firm Posco Daewoo over deforestation in Indonesia

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APB, the Dutch pension fund for government and education employees, announced it would divest 300,000 euros from the firm owned by one of South Korea’s largest conglomerates over forest destruction for palm oil in Indonesian Papua.

Dutch national pension fund APB is divesting 300,000 euros ($351,000) from Korean firm Posco Daewoo over deforestation in Indonesia’s easternmost Papua province.

The announcement by ABP follows a series of media reports in the Netherlands about forest destruction by PT Bio Inti Agrindo, an oil palm plantation company owned by Posco Daewoo.

In May, consumer television program Kassa—the name means “cash register” in Dutch—aired a 16-minute segment on the pension fund’s investment in Posco Daewoo. That same month, the Dutch website Oneworld.nl published its own exposé of the land clearing in Papua.

Environmental groups have campaigned against the deforestation in Papua by Posco Daewoo, and by other companies, for years. The palm oil industry is rapidly expanding there.

If ABP wants to be seen as a responsible trustee of Dutch resources, they have to stop financing rogue actors like Posco.

Rolf Schipper, forest campaigner, Milieudefensie

In 2015, Norway’s pension fund divested from Posco Daewoo—then named Daewoo International—and from Posco, the parent company.

APB still has a 157 million euro ($183 million) investment in Posco.

“Norway got it right—Posco’s massive deforestation and land grabbing isn’t something to play games with,” Rolf Schipper, forest campaigner at Milieudefensie, a Dutch group, said in a statement. “If ABP wants to be seen as a responsible trustee of Dutch resources, they have to stop financing rogue actors like Posco, period.”

The land PT Bio Inti Agrindo has been licensed to develop by the Indonesian government overlaps with a WWF Global Ecoregion home to 344 registered bird and 69 mammal species, some of which are endangered and endemic to the area.

PT Bio Inti Agrindo has cleared more than 200 square kilometers (77 square miles) of forest in Papua since 2013, according to a report released by think tank the World Resources Institute in March.

This story was published with permission from Mongabay.com

Source: https://www.eco-business.com/

Nature Care

Water is an essential part of a Mother and Child’s life

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Krienna Reni with a cup of clean drinking water with children of Lanvitvit village. Photo:VRCS Fern Napwatt
Krienna Reni with a cup of clean drinking water with children of Lanvitvit village. Photo:VRCS Fern Napwatt

Krieanna Reni, is a mother who has walked some distances to fetch water in the village of Lanvitvit, Aulua area South east of Malekula.

Ms Reni is a class 6 leaver and has children who she claimed were her great help in the daily chores she carried out as a mother.

“For a very long time now, we used to walk for less than half an hour to the big river to catch water in our containers and walk back to the village,” she said.

“It takes almost 2 to 3 times a day to go to the river for water to use in the activities we carry out at home.”

Reni reiterated that it was mostly mothers and children involved in the daily activity of fetching water from the big river.

“The water we use for cooking and swimming and we used to do our laundry at the river, dry them out in the sun and then carry back them when they are dried,” she said.

“Every day you see mothers and children with jerry cans and containers transporting water to the houses, it is seldom you see fathers helping out.”

With the new water system built by the French Red Cross and Vanuatu Red Cross Society, funded by USAID, Reni and her children are now smiling as they will access water from their doorstep.

“I am so happy because my children and i will not be walking a long distance for water anymore but turning on the tap from home whenever we want to,” she said.

“Now our children will kept clean, they will not thirst anymore and water is readily available for us as mothers to prepare our meals, wash our clothes and keep our children clean and healthy.

“We also want to thank God for providing our need through the donors who have collaborated in this project.”

Ms Reni and other mothers of Lanvitvit village can now access water at walking distance from their homes.

Source: Vanuatu Daily Post

fern@dailypost.vu

Development Projects

NZ High Commissioner supports ‘no plastic bags’ effort

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NZ High Commissioner supports ‘no plastic bags’ effort
NZ High Commissioner supports ‘no plastic bags’ effort

New Zealand High Commissioner, Jonathan Schwass pledged to support Vanuatu’s efforts to beat plastic pollution at the ‘No Plastik Bag, Pls’ exhibition at Alliance Française Monday night.

He pledged that:

· We ( NZHC) pledge to implement a no single-use plastic policy in our High Commission office

· We ( NZHC) pledge that whenever our High Commission has meetings or conferences or functions, we will ask the venue/contractor for a plastic-free event.

· We ( NZHC) pledge that our High Commission will assign a person to be our environment representative, who will look at ways our office can reduce our plastic footprint

news@dailypost.vu

Tribal Chiefs

Chief Worwor expresses concerns about upcoming chiefs elections

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Chief Isaac Worwor officiating at the 2018 Chief Day on March 5. By Jonas Cullwick
Chief Isaac Worwor officiating at the 2018 Chief Day on March 5. By Jonas Cullwick

The caretaker President of the Port Vila Town Council of Chiefs and member of the caretaker Malvatumauri council of chiefs has raised concerns about what he said was a new method being introduced for election of Malvatumauri, island councils of chiefs and the two urban councils of chiefs due next month.

All the councils of chiefs including Malvatumauri were dissolved last month and all of them are now serving in caretaker roles.

“The new method for elections will be a surprise to everyone because even the national council of chiefs, Malvatumauri, was not aware of it because it was not put through to the council to know how the new election procedure would be undertaken,” Chief Worwor, who is a member of Malvatumauri said.

‘The new election system will result in a lot of confusions in the nakamals,” he added.

Since the Malvatumauri was established in 1981, this is the first time a new voting system will be implemented, but Chief Worwor said he was not against new election systems, except that it should be put to the Malvatumauri for consultation before it was approved for use.

He said since Malvatumauri was dissolved last month, members have not yet been paid their gratuity payments.

He said the office of the Customary Land Management Office (CLMO) and those in the office of Malvatumauri are currently visit the islands of the country speaking with Area Council Secretary to inform them of the new election process, which he said should first be done with Malvatumauri.

The Daily Post hoped to get clarification from the government in the coming days as everyone in CLMO and Malvatumauri administrations are all out in the field.

Source: Vanuatu Daily Post

Jonas Cullwick, a former General Manager of VBTC is now a Senior Journalist with the Daily Post. Contact: jonas@dailypost.vu. Cell # 678 5460922