SURVIVAL
Palawan tribal people say that their coconut trees are dying because of pests spreading from the oil palm plantations. PHOTO/© ALDAW
Tribal people and small-scale farmers in the Philippine province of Palawan have called for a halt to the expansion of oil palm plantations which are destroying the forests they rely on to survive.
Their newly formed Coalition against Land Grabbing (CALG) collected over 4,000 signatures from tribal people and farmers affected by the plantations, calling for a moratorium on oil palm expansion.
Palawan, which is often referred to as “the Philippines’ last ecological frontier”, is a biosphere reserve and home to tribal peoples such as the Palawan, Batak and Tagbanua, who rely on their forests for food, medicines and for building their houses.
Yet there are plans to convert up to 20,000 hectares – an area the size of Washington DC – into oil palm plantations, which will forever destroy the forests the tribes rely on. Oil palm is used for biofuel and is found in many foods and cosmetics.
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