Woodlark Island, Papua New Guinea is almost completely covered by very biodiverse rainforest, and home to around 6,000 people. Islanders depend on forest and marine resources, as well as small-scale farming.

The Malaysian Company Vitroplant Ltd have been granted permission to turn 60,000 out of the 85,000 hectares of land on the island into a palm oil plantation for biodiesel, both for domestic consumption and for export. Plans are strongly opposed by the islanders, who will lose their livelihood. If the project goes ahead, many endemic species will be lost, marine life will be destroyed, and islanders will have to work on the plantation in order to survive.

For more background information, see the most recent World Rainforest Movement bulleting, www.wrm.org.uy/ and also  http://news.mongabay.com/2007/1112-hance_woodlark.html .

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