河的左邊種滿油棕；右邊則是Padang Sugihan野生動物保護區。照片來源：Faizal Abdul Aziz／CIFOR（CC BY-NC-ND 2.0）

環境資訊中心外電；姜唯 翻譯；林大利 審校；稿源：ENS

雀巢、百事可樂、聯合利華等世界10大棕櫚油生產商和採購商正在合作資助開發一種新的森林監測系統「伐林監測雷達警報（Radar Alerts for Detecting Deforestation, RADD）」。

這些企業相信，新的監測系統將幫助公司和其他利益相關者即時精確地偵測出毀林狀況。兩家參與企業表示，有了這些資訊，他們可以更快速部署地面因應行動，努力改善商品供應鏈的永續性。

各國和企業正努力實現零毀林承諾 因此有必要即時取得森林變化動態

嘉吉（Cargill）公司農業供應鏈永續性負責人約翰．哈特曼（John Hartmann）說：「嘉吉與產業夥伴合作，致力促進創新並推動有意義的改革，結束森林砍伐……我們對於將RADD導入棕櫚油業感到興奮，期待開發可公開取得的可靠即時數據，增強我們因應毀林警報的能力。」

人類活動造成森林大量流失，加上極端氣候事件越發頻繁，地球森林生態系統的壓力也越來越大。不過同時，各國和主要商品產業正努力實現零毀林承諾。因此，有必要即時取得森林變化動態和驅動因子的資訊，以加強永續土地管理和執法行動、打擊盜伐和盜獵。

棕櫚油是一種植物油，由源自西非的非洲油棕（Elaeis guineensis）的果實製成。它可以生長在任何潮濕的熱帶氣候中，是印尼、馬來西亞和婆羅洲的大宗產品。

棕櫚油約佔西方國家所有家庭和食品銷售的一半，普遍存在於洗髮精、牙膏、清潔劑、冷凍微波食品、餅乾、花生醬、人造奶油、護膚液和化妝品中，也用來取代乳品過敏食品中的牛奶成分。

森林砍伐、種植油棕是紅毛猩猩瀕臨滅絕的主因 雨林破壞也使盜獵增加

棕櫚油好吃又方便，但是砍伐天然林種植油棕是紅毛猩猩瀕臨滅絕的主要原因。紅毛猩猩是猿類中最依賴樹木的類群，大部分時間都在樹上活動。牠們也是絕頂聰明的靈長類動物之一，學界有許多研究探討牠們的學習能力。

紅毛猩猩的主要威脅是油棕園擴張導致森林砍伐，以及引火清除土地導致棲息地流失。在過去的20年間，印尼和馬來西亞多達80％的紅毛猩猩棲地消失。根據澳洲婆羅洲猩猩生存組織（Borneo Orangutan Survival Australia, BOSA）的說法，雨林破壞也使非法寵物貿易和盜獵活動增加。

根據最新統計，現今大約有1萬5000隻蘇門答臘紅毛猩猩（Pongo abelii） 和5萬7000隻婆羅洲紅毛猩猩（Pongo pygmaeus）在野外生存。BOSA指出，紅毛猩猩數量下降的速度有所爭議，但最近的估計仍然顯示，每年大約減少3000至5000隻。

全世界最大的棕櫚油種植商馬來西亞森那美油棕園也是支持RAAD的10個合作者之一。森那美的永續長洛德（Simon Lord）博士說：「世界各地的人們都對森林砍伐的速度感到擔憂，令人遺憾的是，油棕產業常常與此有關。身為永續棕櫚油生產商，森那美了解這個問題，而且，我們認為推出可追溯的供應鏈是停止森林砍伐的關鍵。」

根據最新統計，5萬7000隻婆羅洲紅毛猩猩在野外生存。照片來源：Kate Tann（CC BY-SA 2.0）

RADD系統使用雷達波 將不受雲層、陽光影響

RADD系統由荷蘭瓦赫寧根大學和荷蘭遠距影像公司Satelligence合作開發。現有的公開監測工具大多以衛星影像為基礎，當雲層遮蓋森林時，這種監測工具可能會發生延遲。在美國世界資源研究所（World Resources Institute）的推動下，RADD將成為不受雲層影響的監測生力軍。

因為使用雷達波，RADD系統可以穿透雲層並收集森林變化資訊，不會受到雲層或陽光的影響。研究人員希望使用新的雷達感測器以高空間解析度和近即時方式監視全球森林地景動態。

目前的RADD系統是為印尼和馬來西亞量身開發。在這兩個國家的初步測試結果顯示，RADD可比光學系統提前幾週在熱帶雨林發現伐木事件。

RADD與眾不同之處在於，它是第一個大規模的雷達監測系統，其毀林警報可以公開檢視。系統完成後，將可在Global Forest Watch和Global Forest Watch Pro上看到警報，觸發警報的演算法也將是公開資訊。

未來兩年合作企業將收到森林砍伐事件警報 且RADD資訊是公開的

新系統將利用歐洲航太總署的Sentinel-1A和B衛星免費提供的雷達資料。該衛星每6到12天繞地球一周，提供更高的空間解析度，改善小規模森林砍伐事件的檢測。

在未來兩年的RADD系統開發過程中，合作企業將收到森林砍伐事件警報，並提供反饋來改進系統。RADD資訊是公開的，不只合作企業，政府、民間社會組織和利益相關者都可以使用相同的資訊來源和標準來監測森林。

全球最大食品公司瑞士雀巢公司的全球採購負責人班傑明．韋爾（Benjamin Ware）表示：「我們採用整合性的方法來解決毀林風險，並結合認證、供應鏈地圖繪製、地面驗證和衛星監控。我們很高興支持像RADD這樣的公共森林監視系統的開發，因為它將為整個產業帶來責任感和透明度。」

世界資源研究所大宗商品經理安妮．羅森巴格（Anne Rosenbarger）說：「我們很高興看到這麼多公司透過這種方式共同創造集體改革。這個共享的先進監測系統將能更有效地利用資源，讓企業更容易追蹤並協助防止進一步的森林砍伐。」

Palm Oil Industry Funds Radar to Detect Deforestation

WASHINGTON, DC, April 27, 2020 （ENS）

Ten of the world’s largest palm oil producers and buyers are collaborating to support and fund the development of a new, publicly-available, radar-based forest monitoring system known as Radar Alerts for Detecting Deforestation, RADD.

This partnership includes Bunge, Cargill, Golden Agri-Resources, Mondelēz International, Musim Mas, Nestlé, Pepsico, Sime Darby Plantation, Unilever, and Wilmar. They believe the new monitoring system will make it easier for companies and other stakeholders to see deforestation happening in near-real-time and with greater accuracy than they can today.

With this information, the companies say they can more quickly mobilize follow-up actions on the ground and work to improve the sustainability of commodity supply chains.

“Cargill is committed to working with industry partners to spur innovation and drive meaningful change to end deforestation,” said John Hartmann, Cargill’s agriculture supply chain sustainability lead. “We are delighted about RADD’s introduction to the palm oil sector and look forward to developing credible, real-time data that is publicly accessible to enhance our ability to act on deforestation alerts.”

A high rate of forest loss due to human activities combined with more frequent extreme climate events is increasing the pressure on the Earth’s forest ecosystems. At the same time, countries and major commodity sectors are committing to zero-deforestation pledges.

These circumstances make it urgent to obtain accessible and timely information on the dynamics and drivers of changes in forests to empower sustainable land management and law enforcement actions against illegal logging and poaching.

Palm oil is a type of vegetable oil made from the fruit of the African oil palm tree, which originates in West Africa. It can be grown in any humid tropical climate and has taken a strong foothold in Indonesia and Malaysia and on the island of Borneo.

Palm oil is in roughly half of all household and food products sold in western countries. It is found in shampoo, toothpaste, detergent, frozen microwave dinners, cookies, peanut butter, margarine, skin lotion, and cosmetics. It is used to replace dairy ingredients in foods intended for people allergic to milk products.

Palm oil tastes good and is convenient, but the clearing of native forests to plant oil palms is the leading cause of the extinction of orangutans. Orangutans are the most arboreal of the great apes and spend most of their time in trees. They are among the most intelligent primates and have been studied for their learning abilities.

The primary threat to orangutans is the loss of habitat through deforestation for palm oil plantations as well as fires set to clear land. Up to 80 percent of the forest in Indonesia and Malaysia suitable for orangutan habitat has been lost in the past 20 years. Destruction of the rainforest also enables the illegal pet trade and poaching, according to Borneo Orangutan Survival Australia.

Most recent estimates indicate that around 15,000 Sumatran orangutans and 57,000 Bornean orangutans survive in the wild today. There is a debate as to the rate of population decline, says BOS Australia, but still, recent estimates suggest a loss of between 3,000 and 5,000 orangutans every year.

Dr. Simon Lord, is the chief sustainability officer of Malaysia’s Sime Darby Plantation, the world’s largest palm oil planter and one of the 10 collaborators supporting RAAD.

“People around the world are concerned about the rapid rate of deforestation and regrettably the oil palm industry is often associated with it,” said Lord. “As producers of sustainable palm oil, Sime Darby Plantation understands this concern and believes that traceability in our supply chain is necessary to draw the line on deforestation.”

Developed by The Netherlands’ Wageningen University and Satelligence, a Netherlands-based remote imaging company. and facilitated by the U.S.-based World Resources Institute, the RADD system will augment existing publicly available monitoring tools that rely on optical-based satellite imagery, which can be delayed when clouds obstruct the view of forests.

Through the use of radar waves, the new RADD system can penetrate cloud cover and gather forest change information without obstruction by clouds or sunlight.

The researchers aim to use the new radar sensors to monitor dynamics in forest landscapes at global scale, high spatial resolution, and in near real-time.

The RADD system is currently being developed for Indonesia and Malaysia. Preliminary results for two countries indicate that the new RADD system can detect tropical deforestation several weeks earlier than optical-based systems.

What makes RADD unique is that it is the first radar-based monitoring system of this scale that will make deforestation alerts publicly available.

Once the system is complete, the alerts will be available on Global Forest Watch and Global Forest Watch Pro, and the methodology behind the alerts will be published.

The new system will utilize freely available radar data from the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-1A and B satellites, which orbit the Earth every six to 12 days. These satellites provide high spatial detail that will improve the detection of smaller forest-clearing events.

Throughout the RADD system development over the next two years, partner companies will receive alerts about detected deforestation events and will provide crucial feedback to improve the system.

The open nature of the system will enable companies – plus governments, civil society organizations, and concerned stakeholders – to monitor forests using the same information source and standards.

Benjamin Ware, global head of responsible sourcing at the largest food company in the world, the Swiss multinational Nestlé, said, “We take an integrated approach in addressing the risks of deforestation, combining tools like certification, supply chain mapping, on-the-ground verification, and satellite monitoring. We are pleased to support the development of a publicly available forest monitoring system like RADD as it will bring accountability and transparency across the industry.”

“We’re thrilled to see a major group of companies coming together in this way to create a collective change,” said Anne Rosenbarger, commodities manager with the World Resources Institute. “Uniting around this shared, cutting-edge monitoring system will allow for more efficient use of resources, create more streamlined conditions for companies to follow up, and ultimately help prevent further deforestation.”

※ 全文及圖片詳見：ENS

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