A new report from published by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) highlights the benefits — and controversies — of large-scale expansion of oil palm agriculture in Southeast Asia. The review, titled "The impacts and opportunities of oil palm in Southeast Asia: What do we know and what do we need to know?", notes that while oil palm is a highly productive and profitable crop, there are serious concerns about its environmental and social impact when established on disputed land or in place of tropical forests and peat lands. The report notes that the area allocated for oil palm has expanded dramatically since the early 1980s, more than tripling to 14 million hectares in 2007. With around 6.2 million hectares officially designated for oil palm, Indonesia is the world's leading grower and producer, followed by Malaysia. This growth has created new fortunes in both countries, but has come at a high ecological cost: more than half of oil palm expansion in Malaysia and Indonesia between 1990 and 2005 occurred at the expense of natural forests.
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