Environmental group Greenpeace suffered a setback late last week when its flagship, the Rainbow Warrior, was temporarily barred from entering Indonesian waters. The ship would have supported Greenpeace in its campaign against deforestation, which is Indonesia’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions.
The Indonesian government said it needs “clarification” on the purpose of the ship’s visit, according to the AFP.
“There is a difference in the ship’s visit intention in Indonesia submitted by their agent, which asked for entry permission, and from Greenpeace,” Teuku Faizasyah, foreign ministry spokesman, told the AFP.
A group of Greenpeace activists from the Rainbow Warrior have since flown to Sumatra for land-based campaigning.
Logging and industrial conversion of forests for oil palm, timber, and pulp and paper plantations are leading drivers of deforestation in the country. Indonesia recently surpassed Brazil as the world’s top deforester, losing more than 1 million hectares of forest per year.