Industrial enterprises in Gitega include a livestock market, peat exploitation, and a tannery.
The Late Holocene is today absent in the peat stratigraphy due to modern peat exploitation by surface mining.
However, due to global warming and unwise use of the marsh resources, including ditching for grassland enlargement, peat exploitation, and livestock grazing, since the 1970s, Zoige Marsh has suffered severe ecosystem degradations such as vegetation recessive succession, biodiversity loss, soil deterioration, and rodent disasters.
This has resulted in close to 60% of the palm oil supply chain being covered by companies' no deforestation, no peat, no exploitation policies.
So when Indonesian Palm Oil Pledge (IPOP) brought together the major traders to endorse a strong NDPE (no deforestation, no peat, no exploitation) standard, many environmentalists believed that the agreement represented a breakthrough.
A spokeswoman for Musim Mas told the Guardian that it wanted to see Korindo engage with civil society groups and adopt a "No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation" (NDPE) policy.
Two years ago, I stood with the CEO of Asia's largest agribusiness, Wilmar International, to launch the company's groundbreaking "No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation" policy.
In 2014, the four largest palm oil trading companies signed an agreement to end deforestation, development of peat lands and exploitation of locals not only with their own operations, but also from all of their suppliers.
As with Starbucks, however, campaigners and consumers need to see fundamental change on the ground – no deforestation, no peat and no exploitation – before we can declare victory.
Many of Felda's and Eagle High's customers have policies on no deforestation, no peat, and no exploitation, including Cargill, Golden Agri-Resources, and Wilmar.
It also lacks commitments to no deforestation, no peat, and no exploitation which many other Indonesian producers of comparable size have, including Astra Agro Lestari and First Resources.
