Greenpeace suggests that ‘the growing need for bio-fuels are fuelling the growth for deforestation in Indonesia.’

Under an EU directive, bio-fuels should have a 5.75 percent market share by 2010. Earlier this month, Indonesia signed dozens of agreements on bio-fuel production worth a total of 12.4 billion dollars. Local governments in Kalimantan, on Borneo island, and West Papua have provided about one million hectares (2.4 million acres) of land to support the project.

Kalimantan and Papua have some of the last areas of Indonesian rainforest and are home to a rich variety of plant and animal life, with new discoveries being made on an almost monthly basis.

While Greenpeace supported the use of bio-fuels to curb greenhouse gases, “trying to solve one environmental problem by wiping out Indonesian forests is not only senseless but could further put the lives of Indonesians in danger,” Hapsoro said.

This is a similar problem to what Lester Brown suggested for corn as fuel or food.