Southeast Asia is home to some of the world’s most biodiverse organisms, but it is also home to some of the most threatened species and tropical forests (Bateman 2010). The lush tropical habitats that once covered the area are rapidly decreasing and so are the organisms that thrive in that environment. The Panthera tigris sumatrae, more commonly known as the Sumatran Tiger, is the smallest surviving tiger subspecies left in the world (WWF 2017). Found only on the Indonesian Island of Sumatra, fewer than 400 of these large carnivores exist today (WWF 2017). This statistic is alarming because experts estimate that in 1978, the population of Sumatran Tiger was over 1,000 (WWF 2017). Due to the rapidly decreasing population, in 2002, the Sumatran
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Green activists try to draw attention to the damage done to tropical rainforest in Indonesia due to the production of palm oil (Economist 2010). They do this by creating social media campaigns, boycotting certain products, and even putting on live shows in big cities to display the negative effects of palm oil (Economist 2010). In response to these attacks by green activists, companies that use palm oil are changing their palm oil buying policies and they are paying more attention to the supply chain of their products (Economist 2010). More than 20 large, international companies committed to using only sustainable oil in their products after these attacks (Economist 2010). This provides a good example of how greens can utilize social media to make consumers aware of what they are buying and the consequences of those products so that companies will change their policies out of fear of losing business (Economists 2010). Environmental groups are portraying the palm oil industry as a danger not only to Asian biodiversity, but as a danger to the health of the planet as a whole (Economist 2010). The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was a group that formed in response to the palm oil outbreak, and its goal is to promote sustainably produced palm oil (Bateman 2010). Sustainable produced palm oil is defined as palm oil that was not involved in the destruction of areas of high conservation, however, the supply and demand for this certified sustainable oil has been growing very slowly (Economist 2010). Members of the RSPO contribute to about half of the supply of palm oil in the world, so there are still lots of palm oil companies that are not agreeing to following the RSPO’s standards (Bateman
Green activists try to draw attention to the damage done to tropical rainforest in Indonesia due to the production of palm oil (Economist 2010). They do this by creating social media campaigns, boycotting certain products, and even putting on live shows in big cities to display the negative effects of palm oil (Economist 2010). In response to these attacks by green activists, companies that use palm oil are changing their palm oil buying policies and they are paying more attention to the supply chain of their products (Economist 2010). More than 20 large, international companies committed to using only sustainable oil in their products after these attacks (Economist 2010). This provides a good example of how greens can utilize social media to make consumers aware of what they are buying and the consequences of those products so that companies will change their policies out of fear of losing business (Economists 2010). Environmental groups are portraying the palm oil industry as a danger not only to Asian biodiversity, but as a danger to the health of the planet as a whole (Economist 2010). The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was a group that formed in response to the palm oil outbreak, and its goal is to promote sustainably produced palm oil (Bateman 2010). Sustainable produced palm oil is defined as palm oil that was not involved in the destruction of areas of high conservation, however, the supply and demand for this certified sustainable oil has been growing very slowly (Economist 2010). Members of the RSPO contribute to about half of the supply of palm oil in the world, so there are still lots of palm oil companies that are not agreeing to following the RSPO’s standards (Bateman