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Palm oil boycott could actually increase deforestation — sustainable products are the solution. But what it blots out are the people who live in and around the same forests, for whom such a separation is much harder — and by no means apolitical. The idea that environmental and conservation causes are above politics thus makes sense only from a particular Western perspective — one built around an image of the forest-as-wilderness that is not universally shared.


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The depiction of such causes as apolitical has facilitated their spread across the world, while shielding them from scrutiny and critique. And as various analysts have pointed out, simply boycotting palm oil could ultimately backfire.

A collapse in global demand would disproportionately affect smallholders, generating further poverty and resentment. It could also encourage the cultivation of other ecologically-damaging crops such as soy or rapeseed, which would displace rather than reduce forest conversion and biodiversity loss — an unfortunate geopolitical outcome. None of this mitigates the need to address the problems of environmental destruction and extinction. For the sake of both orangutans and the people who share their forests, we need fewer emotive simplifications and more acknowledgement of the complex political realities at stake.

Pets in Victorian paintings — Egham, Surrey. The history of pets and family life — Egham, Surrey. Available editions United Kingdom. Liana Chua , Brunel University London. People live in those forests too But show the same footage to rural communities on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, where most palm oil is produced, and we may well get a different response. A village in Malaysian Borneo. Not so popular with local humans. We produce knowledge-based, ethical journalism.

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Please donate and help us thrive. You might also like Shutterstock. Expert Database Find experts with knowledge in: Even politicians of the opposition now acknowledge it was a mistake that needlessly polarised Icelandic politics. The comparative experience of other countries, such as Greece, shows that prosecuting politicians can have deleterious effects on much needed consensus-building in times of crisis.

An endless blame game will have an adverse impact on economic recovery. Political leaders should be punished in the ballot box, not in a courtroom. True, other factors have played a significant role in protecting democratic politics from the emergence of populist leaders. Yet by pursing accountability, the state signalled it was performing its duty to uphold the rule of law and, by doing so, it may have protected democratic politics for decades to come.

In a post-truth political era, a report of the Special Investigation Commission SIC in Iceland established the truth about the causes of the crisis. Meanwhile, in Greece, populist politicians still contest the figures of state deficits that triggered the crisis. They maintain that deficits were artificially inflated to force Greece into external supervision.

1. Establish resources for special investigations

Think, for example, of the waves of indictments against the former head of the Greek statistical authority. The policy recommendations of the commission set the stage for a comprehensive set of institutional reforms, geared at protecting democratic institutions from a future financial crisis. At the same time, the Office of the Special Prosecutor developed unparalleled expertise in white collar crime investigation.

Iceland advert: conservation is intensely political, let's not pretend otherwise

In contrast, other European countries do not have a better capacity to investigate corporate crimes now than they did ten years ago. The experience of Iceland shows that pursing policies of accountability after a crisis may protect democracies from political instability and strengthen state institutions, thus protecting that country from a future crisis. Pets in Victorian paintings — Egham, Surrey.

The history of pets and family life — Egham, Surrey. Available editions United Kingdom. Iosif Kovras , City, University of London.

Christianization of Iceland

Iceland erupts in Prosecutions of bank executives Establish resources for special investigations As we show in our ongoing research with Stefano Pagliari, even though the judiciary is independent, politicians can take steps to boost the effectiveness of prosecutors. When truth leads, justice follows Uncovering the truth and punishing those responsible are equally valuable objectives.

The Conversation is a non-profit. Help knowledge-based, ethical journalism today. You might also like Parliament in the early s: Pre-election rally of the extreme-right Golden Dawn party in Athens in For the many, not the…who? Trading for almost years in Switzerland, BSI was brought down by the recklessness of its overseas operations. Expert Database Find experts with knowledge in: