Swiss food giant Nestle will resume purchases of palm oil from Sinar Mas Agro Resources and Technology following an 18-month halt after Smart made improvements to abide by Nestle’s guidelines for responsible environmental practices.

The parent company of the palm oil producer known as Smart, Golden Agri Resources, has been working with environmental group The Forest Trust on the implementation of a Forest Conservation Policy. The plan would ensure that GAR has no deforestation footprint and also seeks sustainable growth.

TOSHAOS and Regional Chairmen of the 10 administrative regions yesterday declared that Guyana does not have any existing group of indigenous people living in isolation. This declaration came following a presentation by Project Coordinator- Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, Sharon Austin, on the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organisation (ACTO) with particular emphasis on indigenous peoples living in voluntary isolation and initial contact.

A new report from World Growth International, a lobby group for industrial forestry interests, contains "false and misleading" information on the economic impact of reducing Indonesia's deforestation rate, says an Indonesian environmental group.

The report, released today, claims that reducing deforestation in Indonesia will cost the country 3.5 million jobs annually by slowing growth of the forestry sector.