We need all the good news we can get for rainforests at the moment, and there's two sets of good news from the Sumatran Orangutan Society today!

Temporary Moratorium set to become a Permanent one!

In an email, SOS sent a link to Mongabay which report that a temporary moratorium which prohibits the issuing of new permits to clear primary and peat forests is set to become permanent later this year.   There is more that can be done to strengthen this action, such as including secondary forests, say environmental activists.  

When it was first introduced back in 2011, the moratorium was largely ineffective in stemming deforestation;  but since 2016, it has been shored up by peat-protection regularions which have helped to slow the loss of forest cover.  And fears that the move would harm the economy have been unfounded. 

There's also a need to close a loophole which allows primary and peat forests to be razed for rice, sugarcane and other crop planatations.  

But the move to make the moratorium permanent is a start.  Indonesia has pledged to slash its carbon dioxide emissions by at least 29% by 2030.   Although it is one of the top emitters world-wide, most of the emissions come from deforestation and not the burning of fossil fuels.

Swing over to Mongabay for more information. 

And there's more!

Palm oil plantations to be cleared ready for new forest

From 2018 to 2019, SOS ran an urgent appeal - the Rainforest Home Appeal.   They needed to raise £870,000 to buy 890 acres. 

Visit SOS, the Sumatran Orangutan Society

The public did it and the money was raised - and on 17th June 2019, a restoration team will start to clear the oil palm trees using chainsaws.   Once the oil palms have gone, the next phrase of restoration will start, bringing the land closer to being forest again!