Borneo and Sumatra

In this photo, oil palm fruits are being harvested from an oil palm plantation.
© WWF-Canon/Hartmut Jungius

The power of a global network

Palm oil is fast becoming one of the world's leading vegetable oils. It can be found in everything from chocolate to detergent and is more in demand as bio-fuel as crude oil prices rise. Significant tracts of forest have already been converted to plantations on Borneo, but many more acres have been cleared and deserted by foreign companies who use palm oil as cover for illegal logging. 

In July 2005, plans were announced to create the world's largest oil palm plantation along Indonesia's mountainous border with Malaysia. The plantation was expected to cover more than 4 million acres through the island's two largest protected areas, effectively ripping the heart of the forest out of Borneo. 

WWF launched a successful network-wide campaign to redirect the proposal to land outside of the conservation area that had already been cleared. This extraordinary win was the result of a high-profile advocacy, communications and policy campaign led by the WWF network: 

2005

• July: WWF-Indonesia organizes local officials, communities and NGO partners to devise a strategy to address the pending proposal
• August: WWF investigates financial partners backing the proposal and begins applying pressure through WWF offices around the globe.
• September: WWF office in China leads negotiations with main bank and palm oil company.
• October: WWF offices in 22 countries contact their Indonesian ambassadors to secure diplomatic pressure.
• November: WWF educates the international press and secures coverage in the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and Financial Times. WWF scientists analyze the ecosystem services of Borneo's forests.
• December: WWF sponsors a public forum, inspiring the Indonesian minister of forestry to intercede with the president of Indonesia, promoting a sustainable alternative proposal.

2006

• January: In the United States, WWF secures support from the World Bank. WWF proves through satellite mapping that more than enough land to accommodate the plantation already lies idle, outside of the treasured forest.
• February: WWF director general meets with president of Indonesia and secures assurance that the proposed oil palm plantation will not interfere with the Heart of Borneo.
• March: The governments of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia and Malaysia launch the Heart of Borneo program at the Convention on Biodiversity conference, confirming the end of the plantation proposal.
• May: Indonesian minister of agriculture reconfirms the government's commitment to the Heart of Borneo by stating that its forests will not be converted to oil palm plantations.

2007

• January: Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei signed the Heart of Borneo agreement. This historic treaty marks the official commitment by the island's three governments: without such cooperation, any effort to save Borneo's forests would be doomed to fail.