IPOH, Aug 24 (NSTP): Anti-palm oil activists have turned to usingalleged despoiling of the environment to discourage the consumption of thecommodity. Primary Industries Minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik saidthese groups claimed that consumption of palm oil based products woulddestroy the forests in the developing world.

"They have also come out with advertisements that when you consume palmoil you also destroy the orang Utan," he told reporters after attendingthe Malaysian Palm Oil Promotion Council gala dinner at a hotel hereyesterday.

Dr Lim said this sinister move was put into action as Malaysiasuccessfully thwarted a campaign sometime back which claimed that palm oillacked nutritional value when compared to its rival vegetable oils.

He said the environment issue had something to with the World TradeOrganisation trading arrangement which raised, among others, labour andhuman rights subjects to bring advantage to developed countries in thisera of globalisation.

Dr Lim, who would be closely observing any trade issues associated withenvironment and forest destruction at the Johannesburg Earth Summit, saidhe would provide his input if the need arose.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will lead theMalaysian delegation which is scheduled to leave on Sept 1.

He cited about 60 per cent of Malaysia's land area was still covered withforest and those against developing countries were unfair.

"What has palm oil got to do with environment and forestry. Soya bean inthe United States is planted on forest removed about 400 years ago," hesaid.

Dr Lim said there still arose problem on the definition of sustainabledevelopment of forest.

"Instead, such definition is linked to timber certification andeco-labelling because the United Nation Forum on Forest has not come outwith the criteria," he said.

He said NGOs, namely the Forest Stewardship Council had bulldozed andpressured most of the European Governments to accept them as the authorityfor the signing of agreements with timber producing countries.

"They insist that it is their certification that is valid,' Dr Lim added.

The Johannesburg meeting on sustainable development is the second afterthe first global agreement on the environment held in Rio De Janeiro in1992.

Dr Lim said the United States under the leadership of George Bush(1988-1992) declared there would be no forest convention without firstholding an Earth Summit.

"Tan Sri Razali Ismail was appointed chairman of the UN Commission onSustainable Development to implement the decision of the first Summit,"

"Malaysia called for a convention on forestry and the first one to runaway was the US," he added.

Dr Lim said developed nations only talked but lacked action.

" They and their NGOs will instead make use of the Johannesburg meeting topush for more conditons to promote their cause," he said.