The ongoing expansion of oil palm plantations in the humid tropics, especially in Southeast Asia, is generating considerable concern and debate. Amid industry and
environmental campaigners claims, it can be hard to perceive reality. Is oil palm a valuable route to sustainable development or a costly road to environmental ruin? Inevitably, any answer depends on many choices. But do decision makers have the information they require to avoid pitfalls and make the best decisions?
This review examines what we know and what we dont know about oil palm developments. Our sources include academic publications and grey literature, along with expert consultations. Some facts are indisputable: among these are that oil palm is highly productive and commercially profitable at large scales, and that palm oil demand is rising.
Implementing oil palm developments involves many tradeoffs. Oil palms considerable profitability offers wealth and development where wealth and development
are neededbut also threatens traditional livelihoods. It offers a route out of poverty, while also making people vulnerable to exploitation, misinformation and
market instabilities. It threatens rich biological diversitywhile also offering the finance needed to protect forest. It offers a renewable source of fuel, but also threatens to increase global carbon emissions.
We remain uncertain of the full implications of current choices. How can local, regional and international benefits be increased while costs are minimised? While much important information is available, it is often open to question or hard to generalise. We conclude this review with a list of pressing questions requiring further investigation. Credible, unbiased research on these issues will move the discussion and practice forward.
Topic: climate change,livelihoods,oil palms,deforestation,greenhouse gases,carbon,emission,biodiversity,impact,small businesses
Series: CIFOR Occasional Paper no. 51
Pages: 67p
Publisher: Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Bogor, Indonesia
Publication Year: 2009
ISBN: 978-979-1412-74-2
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