As you read these words there are four people in the heart of the Indonesian forest that are putting everything on the line to show the world where climate change starts from and who is responsible for the world’s biggest threat.

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Four activists from the Philippines, Germany, Indonesia and Holland are still preventing a crane from operating in the pulp and paper mill of climate criminal APP despite countless efforts by company security to get them down. All while company boats on the river nearby have been agitating the water to stop photographers from recording the action.

Yet, enduring threats, fatigue, heat and the rancid chemical smell of the plant for more than nine hours - four of our activists are still holding their ground and making sure that the eyes of the world point this way.

And what the world has witnessed is no short of shocking. Vast spreads of once untouched forest now completely destroyed to make way for either palm oil or acacia plantation. Deep peat land forests burnt and releasing enough carbon dioxide – the greenhouse gas – to constitute a real threat to the earth’s climate.

One of the activists still on the crane, Joel from the Philippines had this to say: “I’m here on the crane and will stay here for as long as I can because I really want to help. This gigantic facility is destroying Indonesia’s forest and causing climate change. I think we should all do something about this, climate change affects us all. We’ve recently just had what’s probably the two most devastating typhoons in the Philippines. I know that I’m doing something that can help prevent that from happening again”.

The mill chews through more than 2 million tonnes of pulp every year, coming from plantations and natural forest including from around the threatened Kampar Peninsula. Despite endless calls for an immediate halt companies like APP keep on doing their dirty work, putting all life on the planet at serious risk.

As darkness falls on the APP mill, we are all conscious that there might be only four activists stopping the crane but there are millions of us down here that can make a difference each day to avoid runaway climate change.

>>Read the full action story here

Posted by Patrick at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The climate can’t wait, the remaining Indonesian forest can’t wait, and today Greenpeace sent a strong message to world leaders by blocking the Asia Pulp & Paper mill in the heart of the Indonesian forest. This mill is a massive greenhouse gas emitting facility – it is so big that it has its very own coal-fired plant to fuel it's operations!

At dawn, 12 activists [from Germany, Belgium, the US, the Philippines, the Netherlands and Indonesia] made their way through the hot and rancid air of the plant, climbed the towering cranes used for exporting pulp and took their positions. Within minuted they had lowered themselves from these enormous structures, and suspended mid-air, they unveiled banners saying "Climate criminals" and a sending a direct message to world leaders "You can stop this".

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Posted by Crina at 5:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

There are officially enough videos on YouTube about the Canadian tar sands to warrant a 'top tar sands videos on YouTube' list. Here is the short version:

The animation sequence from H2Oil (put together by La Moustache) is at the top in two categories - 'Best tar sands animation' and 'Best at answering the question - what are the tar sands and why are they so bad?'. It is a really amazing animation on its own - but also provides a clear and visually compelling explanation of exactly how ridiculous and destructive tar sands development is. You must watch:

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Posted by Laura at 8:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A few days ago, Swiss Forest Campaigner Asti described her first impressions of the camp. Since arriving she has been busy helping the local community finish a dam that will help preserve the precious peatland and help save the climate.

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The latest from Asti:

The dam site near the Climate Defenders Camp has probably never seen so many workers, as it did on the last day of its accomplishment. Even a group of around ten Indonesia boy scouts joined the work, putting up their flags all over the place. I do hope that Indonesian scouts are soon going to be called “forest rescuers” all over the country.

The number of heavy sandsacks which were filled and carried up to the dam are almost uncountable – I hope not too many people are feeling it their backs now.

The dam has created a real pool in which you are able to swim – we call it 'Whiskey Lake'. Whiskey Lake contains reddish-brown peat water. If you taste this water, you might instead call it 'Lemon Lake' – it’s incredibly acid. After having tasted it you understand right away why these peatland canals are having a negative impact on the water balance and its fish population.

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Posted by Crina at 9:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From Asti, Forest Campaigner from Switzerland, who has finally arrived at the camp:

There is a big buzz in the Climate Defenders Camp this afternoon. With at least 400 local visitors, including loads of children, and plenty of laughing and singing – it’s open house again. Krisna Mukti, a famous indonesian singer and actor, is just one of the attractions. Youngsters of Teluk Meranti are having a Bantun contest – which is a very nice Malai Tribe tradition to form your everyday life into poems. I know I miss a lot not being able to understand it – todays Bantun poems are all about the forests. Public outreach in the camp is both amazing and motivating.

I finally made it to the camp yesterday evening after almost getting grey in hotelrooms– it was empowering right away from the first step entering it. We (Swiss and Indian campaigners, accompanied by Indonesian colleagues) made sure to travel the last part of the trip in the dark as we wanted to reach the camp at least before possibly getting detained and deported. This happened to our friends from Italy, India and Belgium last Monday.

>> Read more about the Climate Defenders Camp

>> Join the call for an ambitious deal at the UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen this December including a forest fund

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Posted by Crina at 6:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From Ashish, a Campaigner from India, who has finally arrived at the camp:

We got into the Climate Defenders Camp late Friday night, the yellow Greenpeace banner emerging out of the night as our boat crossed the river from Teluk Banjai. I got to Jakarta over a week ago, and was beginning to wonder if I would ever see the camp, after the police harassment and deportations of last week. But I was finally here. There wasn't time for much more than a round of introductions, some dinner and then sleep.

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Posted by Crina at 5:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

After what she describes as two very emotional and intense weeks at the Climate Defenders Camp in Sumatra, Corinna Hölzel, Forest Campaigner from Germany has now left Indonesia. Corinna had intended to stay in the camp much longer but after our successful actions against climate criminals APRIL, circumstances have changed and tight restrictions have been placed on foreigners travel within Riau Province.

Before leaving, Corinna took some time to describe her experiences working with the local community to preserve this vital rainforest ecosystem:

I belong to the group of people who at least had a chance to stay in the Climate Defenders Camp for some days, but some of my colleagues who arrived later than me haven't had the opportunity to make this important experience at all.

Now that foreigners are not allowed to go to the village of Teluk Meranti or the camp, and while our Indonesian colleagues are interrogated by the police, I am concerned what will happen to the people from the local communities that supported our work and prevented the eviction of the camp.

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Posted by Crina at 4:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)