
no worries, fair question and I agree with you. My main occupation isn't the plantation business anymore a I feel I've done what I could to address these issues, more with palm oil for the last while. My main aim was to further the importance of the RSPO, which is vital in addressing the disaster that plantations can bring, it needs to be balanced with the needs of literally tens of thousands of people who live from this industry. The annual peat and forest decimation in Indonesia can only be addressed on a G-G basis with enough clout but there are too many vested interests for this to bear fruit . . . western countries have piled as much pressure as they can - Cargill is a good example - like the EU's insistence on sustainable management or it's a 'no buy' to the extent that the Malaysian government is suffering . . . and complaining. Plus India's cessation of buying Malaysian palm oil due to the now former PM Mahatir weighing in on the Kashmir and immigration issue.
Rubber is now secondary and not a cause of much land-clearance due to the low price of latex.
Palm oil is unfortunately the cheapest and 'cleanest' oil on the market . . . and demand is only growing.
So, yes. It is depressing. Big business, local interests and government corruption (especially in Indonesia) will guarantee that this doesn't stop.
We still have several plantations of our own, but we use sustainable techniques to increase yield and allow them to re-forest.
But that is what I concentrated on pretty much in the past, now I'm working with sustainable tourism and consulting for oil- and related companies, developers and similar to set benchmarks for SLO legitimacy wherever they're operating.
But yes. It is depressing, so the best thing to do is try to convince corporations to be more socially responsible - and social media actually helps in that regard quite a bit. Asia is slowly starting to accept that it is as important to get societal approval as it is to operate.
I hope that answers your question a little bit