Abstract
With 15–20% of Indonesian oil palms located, without a legal basis and permits, within the forest zone (‘Kawasan hutan’), international concerns regarding deforestation affect the totality of Indonesian palm oil export. ‘Forest zone oil palm’ (FZ-OP) is a substantive issue that requires analysis and policy change. While spatial details of FZ-OP remain contested, we review literature on (1) the legal basis of the forest zone and its conversion, (2) social stratification in oil palm production (large-scale, plasma and independent growers), and (3) environmental consequences of forest conversion to FZ-OP, before discussing policy options in a range of social and ecological contexts. Policy options range from full regularization (as FZ-OP stands could meet international forest definitions), to conditional acceptance of diversified smallholder plantings in ‘agroforestry concessions’, to gradually phasing out FZ-OP and eviction/destruction. A nuanced and differentiated approach to FZ-OP is needed, as certification of legality along supply chains is vulnerable to illegal levies and corruption. Corporate actors trading internationally can avoid use of uncertified raw materials, effectively shifting blame and depressing farmgate prices for domestic-market palm oil, but this will not return forest conditions or stop further forest conversion. We discuss an agenda for follow-up policy research.
Highlights
A reader cannot safely assume to understand what the word ‘forest’ means in any new context, as the ecological and social meanings of the word ‘forest’only partially overlap [1,2]
Up to one-fifth of oil palms in Indonesia are located within the ‘forest zone’ (Kawasan hutan), especially in lands indicated as production forest, with smaller fractions in protection forest and conservation areas and substantial variation between the provinces and islands
Provinces are responsible for two-thirds of the forest-zone oil palm, while harboring nearly one-third of Indonesian oil palms
Summary
A reader cannot safely assume to understand what the word ‘forest’ means in any new context, as the ecological (vegetation-based) and social (institutional, rule-based) meanings of the word ‘forest’. Recent estimates, discussed below, show that, based on remote sensing, 15–20% of Indonesian oil palms are located within the ‘forest zone’ (Kawasan hutan), a primarily institutional indication of land status We indicate these as Forest Zone Oil Palm (FZ-OP). The history of forest legality and oil palm expansion in Indonesia as context for current forest-related issues of local land use versus designation of the land as part of the forest zone; Spatial analysis of FZ-OP at the intersection of forests and tree crops for Indonesia as a whole and zoomed in on two provinces with higher-resolution data; Social and economic concerns on oil palm expansion and the role of smallholders in FZ-OP; Environmental concerns on tree crops in relation to the primary designated forest function in (A) production forest (income generation), (B) protection forest (watershed protection) and (C). We conclude by formulating more specific policy research questions as a follow-up
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