The Expansion of Oil Palm Plantations and Ecological Degradation in Borneo: A Thematic (Maudhu‘i) Exegetical Analysis of Qur’anic Verses on the Environment

Oil palm plantations have positive and negative impacts on the environmental, social and economic aspects of local communities. Through an understanding of the data on environmental, social and economic conditions makes it easier for decision makers in policy. This research uses survey methods and in-depth interviews (state the number of respondents, state in-depth interviews). This study aims to measure the level of economic, social and ecological vulnerability due to oil palm plantations. The data used are primary data and secondary data. Primary data collection through structured and in-depth observation and interviews. Secondary data is obtained from the village office, related government agencies, BPS, books, journals, or data from the internet which contains theories or related research results. The results of this study explain that oil palm expansion that occurs in Terantang Manuk Village is through the PIR-Trans pattern, KKPA, PKS without plantation, buying and selling, grants, and self-help or independent. The environmental impact caused by oil palm expansion is reducing fruit, fish, vegetable and game shellfish and decreasing the quantity of groundwater, especially during the dry season. The economic impact due to the expansion of oil palm plantations has seen an increasingly unified economy between the upper, middle and lower classes. Meanwhile, the resulting social impact is the change in customary norms, the practice of leasing and new conflicts.

5. Concluding remarks It is not difficult for policy makers to show that oil palms are an economically rentable crop with a huge potential for further economic growth. In addition to national demands, the growing worldwide interest in biofuels as an alternative to fossil fuels will increase demand for its feedstock and lead to the expansion of oil palm plantations in climatically suitable regions. On the basis of a cost–benefit analysis of various crops, oil palm will probably continue to be seen as a highly profitable crop with interesting possibilities for being promoted as a source of ‘green’ development. The Indonesian population has increasingly been attracted by this crop, as it provides them with opportunities to benefit and multiply their incomes, which will in itself provide capital for improving consumption and having a good life. At the same time, however, Riau shows us that there are environmental costs (deforestation, invasion into peat land areas etc.) and that oil palm expansion is accompanied by rapid immigration and urbanization. Even though policy attempts are made to control land conversion or to stop deforestation, much of what is happening today cannot easily be regulated. It is not the direct effects (i.e. the expansion of plantations and production) but the indirect effects and multipliers that bring into question the long-term sustainability of the development model. The establishment of new settlements, rapid urbanization and continuing immigration will require additional employment opportunities. And along with the growing population and the conversion of rice lands into oil palm fields, food security issues will increasingly become a problem. Rather than making quick money from oil palm production, the Indonesian government should make efforts to better control the indirect effects and especially to investigate the problem how to make oil palm-based economies more sustainable and equitable in the longer term. Without interventions – and with today’s laissez-faire approach – further oil palm expansion will soon lead to the depletion of natural resources and an increase in social tensions as a result of unemployment and food insecurity.

Understanding the impacts on land use through GHG-water-land-biodiversity nexus: The case of oil palm plantations in Thailand

Increasing demand for Elaeis guineensis (African Oil Palm) products both for domestic and industrial use has led to its continuous expansion. The influence of oil palm plantation establishment on the economic well-being of communities and ecosystems cannot be over-emphasised. The study focuses on the rapid expansion of oil palm plantations within all protected areas and forest reserves in the lowland rainforests of Ondo State, Nigeria using. Object-Based Image Analysis (OBIA) was used to map oil palm expansion using 10-metre resolution Sentinel-2A images for 2015 and 2020 in Google Earth Engine (GEE). We found expansion of both smallholder and commercial oil palm plantations within eight of the thirteen protected areas with three protected areas (Ipele, Onisere and Akure Ofosu) showing a significant increase in oil palm plantation establishment. The use of object-based classification techniques, which combines contextual information within the image domain to discriminate landscape features such as oil palm canopy features, was effective in delineating oil palm from the forest canopy and other crops. While Google Earth Engine, a server-based remote sensing domain with petabytes of data, is effective for monitoring large-scale tropical forests.

The pressure of global market demand for palm oil is driving a massive expansion of oil palm plantations in Indonesia. Although it provides benefits in economic terms, it also has social and environmental impacts. The impact is in the form of changes in the ecological landscape, conversion of agricultural land, rural household livelihood systems, reduced biodiversity, deformation, plant monoculturalization, and even a monostructuring of livelihood. This study aimed to provide an overview of changes in the ecological landscape that resulted from the expansion of oil palm plantations and the socio-economic impact of the expansion of oil palm plantations on farmers' household livelihood systems. The study was conducted in West Sulawesi, Indonesia. This study uses the livelihood survey method by selecting 30 farmer households selected by random sampling. The results of the study found the fact that oil palm plantations seemed to provide welfare for rural households, but what happened was a vulnerability and high livelihood dependence on income from the wages of oil palm plantations. The expansion of oil palm plantations has created the integration and dependence of rural economies on the global political economy of oil palm, but at risk to even undergoing household livelihood dilemmas due to the two villages’ deliberate divergence of livelihoods because of shifting ecosystems now leading by palm oil commodities.

ABSTRACTOver the last two decades, the expansion of oil palm and sugarcane plantations in the Polochic Valley (Guatemala) has exacerbated the historical struggle of Maya-Q’eqchi’ peoples for land rights. Based on a mixed-methods approach, I examine the dynamics of the conflict between 1998 and 2014, focusing on the visibility, manifestation and intensity of violence and the role of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and peasant organizations in opposition to oil palm and sugarcane plantations. I show that the evolution of the conflict can be explained by changes in the strength of organizations' alliances due to tensions and lack of coordination, as well as the fear of state repression and the funding context of these organizations. These results allow me to discuss how violence, the role of these organizations and the dynamics of related events have influenced the visibility of the conflict associated with the expansion of oil palm and sugarcane plantations in the Polochic.

Abstract. Indonesia is currently one of the regions with the highest transformation rate of land surface worldwide related to the expansion of oil palm plantations and other cash crops replacing forests on large scales. Land cover changes, which modify land surface properties, have a direct effect on the land surface temperature (LST), a key driver for many ecological functions. Despite the large historic land transformation in Indonesia toward oil palm and other cash crops and governmental plans for future expansion, this is the first study so far to quantify the impacts of land transformation on the LST in Indonesia. We analyze LST from the thermal band of a Landsat image and produce a high-resolution surface temperature map (30 m) for the lowlands of the Jambi province in Sumatra (Indonesia), a region which suffered large land transformation towards oil palm and other cash crops over the past decades. The comparison of LST, albedo, normalized differenced vegetation index (NDVI) and evapotranspiration (ET) between seven different land cover types (forest, urban areas, clear-cut land, young and mature oil palm plantations, acacia and rubber plantations) shows that forests have lower surface temperatures than the other land cover types, indicating a local warming effect after forest conversion. LST differences were up to 10.1 ± 2.6 °C (mean ± SD) between forest and clear-cut land. The differences in surface temperatures are explained by an evaporative cooling effect, which offsets the albedo warming effect. Our analysis of the LST trend of the past 16 years based on MODIS data shows that the average daytime surface temperature in the Jambi province increased by 1.05 °C, which followed the trend of observed land cover changes and exceeded the effects of climate warming. This study provides evidence that the expansion of oil palm plantations and other cash crops leads to changes in biophysical variables, warming the land surface and thus enhancing the increase of the air temperature because of climate change.

Oil palm (Elaeis spp.) is one of the world’s most rapidly expanding crops. Especially prevalent in Malaysia and Indonesia, oil-palm plantations are also increasing rapidly across tropical regions as diverse as New Guinea, Equatorial Africa, Central America, and the Amazon (Butler & Laurance 2009; Koh & Wilcove 2009). Oil palm is an important driver of tropical deforestation, in part, because plantation owners often use timber revenues from old-growth forests to subsidize the initial costs of plantation establishment and maintenance (Fitzherbert et al. 2008). Expansion of oil palm imperils both lowland rainforests and peat-swamp forests, which are, respectively, among the biologically richest and most carbon-dense ecosystems on Earth (Butler & Laurance 2009; Koh et al. 2009a). The rapid expansion of oil palm seems likely to continue for many years because of its high profitability and the growing global demands for edible oils and biofuel feedstocks. Proponents of palm oil emphasize that its main alternatives, including soy, sunflower, and canola (rapeseed) oils, have production efficiencies just 10–20% as high as palm oil on a per-hectare basis and would therefore require much larger areas of cultivated land to have a similar benefit (Basiron 2009). Nevertheless, from climate-change and biodiversity perspectives, the advantages of palm-oil production are greatly diminished when it contributes either directly or indirectly to deforestation (Gibbs et al. 2008; Danielsen et al. 2009). Growing concerns about the environmental impacts of palm oil helped initiate the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), a nonprofit, industry-led trade organization whose stated mission is to “provide RSPO-certified palm oil to the market in a clear and transparent manner” and to “promote the growth and use of sustainable palm oil” (www.rspo.org/What_is_RSPO@.aspx). As implied by the word roundtable, the RSPO professes to advocate a balanced, multistakeholder approach, with considerable emphasis on environmental sustainability. According to the RSPO, this is evidenced by the fact that four of the 16 members of its executive board are from conservation or social-developmental organizations. The RSPO also takes pains to draw a distinction between itself and industry-advocacy groups, such as the Malaysian Palm Oil Council and Indonesian Palm Oil Producers Association, by emphasizing its efforts to improve the industry’s sustainability and transparency (V. Rao, personal communication). The RSPO has considerable potential to improve the environmental performance of producers and users of palm oil. Although established only in 2004, it is strategically positioned within the palm-oil industry and is particularly influential in Malaysia. The growing membership of RSPO already accounts for approximately 35% of the global production of palm oil, although only about one tenth of this oil is currently certified as sustainable (RSPO 2008). To define sustainability in the oil-palm sector, the RSPO has developed 39 sustainability criteria, organized under eight general principles, which are designed to limit environmental impacts of growing and processing palm oil. These criteria focus on issues, such as reducing herbicide impacts, air pollution, and losses of biodiversity as well as on social and legal concerns (RSPO 2006). Nevertheless, some environmental organizations have repeatedly criticized the RSPO and its members, particularly for enabling tropical deforestation and atmospheric carbon emissions under the guise of stated, but unfulfilled, sustainability criteria (e.g., Down to Earth 2004; Greenpeace 2008; Maitar 2009). Here, we critique the RSPO from an environmental perspective and identify some specific ways it can become more effective in reducing threats to tropical ecosystems.

Oil palm expansion that occurred in Indonesia become the concern today. The expansion of oil palm plantations is a major contribution to the national economy. However oil palm plantations is claimed as the cause of the destruction of primary forests and reduce the diversity of plant species. Therefore, research is needed to explore the history of land cover of oil palm plantations and knowing the divers ity of plant species before and after the oil palm plantations. The study was conducted in March-April 2016 in 6 companies in Riau province. The data collected by the analysis of Landsat imagery to see the condition of land cover prior to their oil palm plantations. In addition, analysis of vegetation in 2-3 plots on land cover before and after the oil palm plantations. The land cover were observed after the oil palm plantations that HCV suspected area as an area that has a high diversity of plant species in oil palm plantations. Analysis of landsat satelite indicated that the history of land cover oil palm plantations is come from secondary forest (19.88%), rubber plantations (59.26%), open land (19.87%), and mixed agriculture (0.99%). The highest diversity of plant that is in HCV which forest areas form . The results showed that the number of plant species was decreased about 60.56-93.33% in the three companies, while the other three companies does not have change the number of plant species. The company did not change the diversity of plant species are those with HCV area in the form of secondary forest that had existed before the oil palm plantations. Thus, there was no history of land cover palm oil from primary forests, and then to the impact of oil palm plantations on plant species diversity was decreased significantly.

Despite the negative impacts arising from oil palm plantations, nowadays, oil palm expansion is still ongoing. At least this happened to independent farmers who converted their land into oil palm plantations. However, this expansion is not always related to deforestation, because some of the oil palms are not converted from forest areas but from community fields that have been previously cultivated. This research was conducted on oil palm farmers in Kuantan Singingi Regency, Riau Province using data collection techniques through FGDs and in-depth interviews. The research results show that changes in land cover to oil palm plantations do not always change directly from forest areas, but some of the land has previously been agricultural land. Land transformation is driven by several factors, such as the market including price fluctuations, both the price of palm oil and previous commodities. Easiness of access to markets is also a driving factor for farmers to switch to oil palm cultivation. The emergence of processing factories that are ready to accommodate fresh fruit bunch (FFB) has encouraged farmers to be willing to switch their cultivation.

Studies on oil palm plantation expansion have been widely conducted and still debatable. This condition is caused by the increase in the oil palm land expansion every year. It cannot be separated from the role of investors/private companies, the state, and smallholders. This paper focuses on the farmer perspective on the oil palm plantations expansion with the purpose of describing the expansion of oil palm plantations from the farmer perspective in economy, income diversification and working time. This study used a qualitative and quantitative approach with the types of data used in this study were secondary data and primary data. The farmers feel the benefit in the economic side, increasing income and welfare levels. On the other hand, the presence of oil palm has led to the diversification of livelihoods in farmer, it makes easy in to borrow formal and non-formal institutions.

Contested territorialization and biophysical expansion of oil palm plantations in Indonesia

Mitigation options for improving the ecosystem function of water flow regulation in a watershed with rapid expansion of oil palm plantations

The area size of oil palm plantation in Indonesia increases significantly every year. The great expansion of oil palm plantation stimulates the emergence of negative accusation that oil palm plantation development caused deforestation, reduction of biodiversity, and environmental degradation. This research aimed to analyze the impact of oil palm plantation development on species diversity of tropical vegetation. This research was conducted on 5 types of land cover in BPME oil palm plantation (young growth oil palm, medium growth oil palm, and old growth oil palm, bush land, and coconut plantation) by single plot method. Research results show that, the change of bush land to oil palm plantation caused biodiversity loss as many as 7 species (38.89%), biodiversity gain as many as 44 species (244.44%) and 18 species being found both in bush land and oil palm plantation, while 3 species of epiphyte moss were found too. On the other hand, change from coconut plantation to become oil palm plantation caused biodiversity loss as many as 6 species (60%), biodiversity gain as many as 52 species (520%) and 10 species being found both in coconut plantation and oil palm plantation, while 3 species of epiphyte moss were also found.

Tropical peatlands are one of the largest reservoirs of terrestrial organic carbon. However, present-day tropical peat swamp forests are under threat by anthropogenic disturbances and have already been widely degraded. Anthropogenic pressures on peatland ecosystems have resulted in ecological and biogeochemical changes and the release of carbon to the atmosphere. In Southeast Asia, the conversion of peatlands to oil palm plantations has accelerated significantly during the last 2 decades. This research analyzed direct and indirect land-use changes (DLUC and ILUC) that have been associated with oil palm expansion and anthropogenic impacts in the Princess Sirindhorn Wildlife Sanctuary (PSWS), Narathiwat, southern Thailand. Our analysis is based on land-use and land-cover data of the Land Development of Thailand from two different periods: 2000–2009 and 2009–2016. For the purpose of comparison, the data were reclassified into 12 types of land use: oil palm, para rubber, paddy field, abandoned paddy field, orchard, other agriculture lands, wetlands and peatlands, mangrove, evergreen forest, water area, build-up area, and unused area. In addition, the area of net change due to DLUC and ILUC was calculated, and carbon stock changes were estimated from above- and below-ground biomass and soil organic carbon. The results show that the total oil palm plantation area has increased from 0.04% in 2000 to 6.84% in 2016, because of a Thai government policy promoting the use of biodiesel and increasing capacity of palm oil production in 2005. Paddy field, evergreen forest, wetlands, and peatlands were the main areas being replaced. The clearance of natural forest greatly increased in the period of 2000–2009. The ILUC indicates that the expansion of oil palm plantations invades other croplands (paddy field, para rubber, and orchard). The results demonstrate that the conversion of natural landscapes (evergreen forest, mangrove, wetlands, and peatlands) to oil palm plantations at Princess Sirindhorn Wildlife Sanctuary area had a negative effect, with carbon stock changes of 4 million Mg C during 2000–2016 (0.25 million Mg C/year). Given the significance of carbon stock changes arising from land-use changes, this research highlights the need for sustainable land-use management and long-term monitoring.