Abstract
Oil palm agriculture threatens tropical forests and biodiversity. Previous studies focused on finding ways to reduce the impacts of oil palm on biodiversity and the environment. However, the actual uptake of sustainable practices depends in part on economic demand. We undertook the first investigation on consumer attitudes and willingness-to-pay (WTP) for deforestation-free sustainable palm oil. In a sample of 251 consumers in Singapore, we found little consumer bias against palm oil per se. However, consumers had strong negative opinions toward products that cause deforestation. On average, consumers stated a WTP of 8.2–9.9% more for common palm oil-containing products that are deforestation-free. Given the current premium for segregated certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO; 1.5–5%), there is an incentive for manufacturers to use CSPO. Educational campaigns by environmental organizations and prominent advertising of CSPO usage through sustainability labels can potentially improve the economic demand for sustainable practices in oil palm agriculture.
Highlights
IntroductionForest conversion to oil palm monoculture negatively impacts biodiversity, carbon storage, and water quality in Southeast Asia—a global biodiversity hotspot (Wilcove et al 2013; Carlson et al 2014)
Agricultural expansion is threatening forests and biodiversity
Forest conversion to oil palm monoculture negatively impacts biodiversity, carbon storage, and water quality in Southeast Asia—a global biodiversity hotspot (Wilcove et al 2013; Carlson et al 2014). These impacts will likely worsen as oil palm cultivation moves into other biodiversity-rich regions, e.g., the Neotropics (Lees & Vieira 2013) and Afrotropics (Wich et al 2014). This raises the question: What policies can governments, conservation organizations, and growers pursue to minimize environmental impacts of oil palm cultivation? Researchers have demonstrated that certain strategies—maintaining forested riparian reserves and avoiding conversion of primary and secondary forests (Edwards et al 2010; Giam et al 2015)—can reduce biodiversity impacts of oil palm production
Summary
Forest conversion to oil palm monoculture negatively impacts biodiversity, carbon storage, and water quality in Southeast Asia—a global biodiversity hotspot (Wilcove et al 2013; Carlson et al 2014). These impacts will likely worsen as oil palm cultivation moves into other biodiversity-rich regions, e.g., the Neotropics (Lees & Vieira 2013) and Afrotropics (Wich et al 2014). This raises the question: What policies can governments, conservation organizations, and growers pursue to minimize environmental impacts of oil palm cultivation? RSPO standards should be made more stringent (Laurance et al 2010) [e.g., protecting secondary forests against conversion (Giam et al 2011), lowering areal thresholds for forest protection (Edwards et al 2012)], RSPO-certified plantations are likely more sustainable than noncertified plantations with all else (e.g., preconversion conditions) being equal
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