Green labelling being misused

摘要

'Green labelling of items produced sustainably has become a much-publicized tool of the environmental movement. But green-label criteria that were developed for forestry are now being inappropriately applied to agricultural crops - with unacceptable risks to wildlife. The high conservation value (HCV) concept was originally intended for timber harvested without harming large forest blocks or critically endangered flora and fauna. It has since been extended to some of the most rapidly expanding crops in the tropics - namely, oil palm, soya bean, sugar cane and cacao - ostensibly to ensure their 'sustainable' production. The combined area of these four crops increased by 36.5 million hectares between 1999 and 2008, largely in countries of exceptional biodiversity, such as Brazil and Indonesia, and largely at the expense of forest. The hope is that green labelling through HCV will stem this tide of habitat destruction and biodiversity loss.