12.9.2007 6:05 AM

Endangered Proboscis Monkey Smells Trouble

Palm Oil Biodiesel Leads to Habitat Destruction, and Global Warming

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A proboscis monkey.

Photo: Frank Wouters/Wiki Commons

By Olivia Zaleski

Those who lay eyes on the Proboscis Monkey describe it in prose that ran the gamut from incredulity to disgust. Call it what you wish—Gonzo, Snuffalufagus, even vaudeville-favorite Jimmy "Schnozzola" Durante—the Proboscis or Large-Nosed Monkey faces extinction. Endemic to Borneo, the world’s most popular site for palm oil plantations, the Proboscis is losing its habitat. Now, environmentalists, conservationists and rare-animal lovers alike, fear that as palm oil gains popularity as a biodiesel, the forests of Borneo may no longer chime "honk-kee-honk.”

The rising demand for palm oil biofuel results in tropical and peat forest clear-cutting and burning to establish new palm plantations. Such forest destruction is said to release more carbon dioxide than is saved by burning biofuels in place of diesel. According to Deutsche Presse-Agentur, Greenpeace calls it an ecological paradox. While Wetlands International believes the Kyoto Protocol made a mistake in supporting the use of biofuels to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

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