Expansion Of Oil Palm Cultivation Research Articles

La trayectoria del Movimiento Sindical Rural en el Nordeste de Pará desde el punto de vista de sus dirigentes

This article presents narratives on the trajectory of the Rural Trade Union Movement (MSR) in Tomé-Açu, located in northeastern Pará state, Brazil, with a primary focus on its leaders. We also analyze the creation of new unions, the Family Farmers Union (SINTRAF) and the Rural Employees Union (SINDTER), both of which originated from the Rural Workers Union (STTR), along with their impact on the municipality's union movement. A qualitative approach was utilized, with non-directive interviews to collect data. The results demonstrate the importance of leadership in the process of structuring the representation of these categories and reveal the current challenges that face trade unionism in Tomé-Açu, especially those linked to the expansion of oil palm cultivation.

MAPPING THE EXPANSION OF OIL PALM (Elais guineensis Jacq.) IN MEXICO — METHODOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENTS

Oil palm (Elais guineensis Jacq.), a high-yielding oil-seed crop, is associated with multiple socio-environmental impacts. The Mexican oil palm sector is emerging and stands out for its dynamism. This paper presents hitherto unpublished maps to facilitate an independent, transparent and publicly accessible monitoring of the progression of this crop at national level. A first map, with data from 2014 to 2019, satisfactorily captures established plantations (94 % of the areas officially reported for Chiapas), even in very small plots (the area of the smallest polygon being only 330 m²). In the second, with data from 2016 to 2022, both the quality of the mapping and the coverage of cultivated areas increased (70 % of the officially reported planted areas), especially in Tabasco and Campeche, the states with the largest expansion of oil palm cultivation in the country since 2012. Comparing both maps with data on land use, vegetation and protected natural areas (PNAs) highlights the contribution of oil palm to the deforestation of more than 7500 ha of conservation-relevant habitats between 2014 and 2022 (5 % of the total oil palm area). The existence of large areas of oil palm in La Encrucijada Biosphere Reserve (Chiapas) and its presence in other PNAs is confirmed. High spatial resolution maps, such as the one presented here, are necessary for the calibration of surface and terrain models at the regional and global scales, which are used in environmental impact projections. Such projections can then advise public policies and conservation plans at the national level. This paper proposes alternatives for the verification and communication of statistical and spatial data, to support an informed debate on the benefits and impacts of oil palm in Mexico.

Distribution of oil palm plantations and their suitability with spatial planning: An assessment in Aceh, Indonesia

Oil palm plantations are undoubtedly recognized as a significant contributor to economic development in Indonesia. However, uncontrolled expansion of oil palm cultivation presents challenges due to its potential negative consequences on the environment and society. This study aims to assess the distribution of oil palm plantations and their suitability with spatial planning in the Aceh Province, Indonesia. We obtained spatial data on plantations from official authorities, which underwent an extensive inventory process during the year 2021. The total area of oil palm plantations in Aceh was reported at 706,943.87 ha, primarily concentrated in the eastern and western lowland areas of Aceh mainland. Through spatial analysis, we identified that approximately 40% of the oil palm plantations are located in areas where plantation development should not be permitted according to existing spatial planning regulations. This study provides important information for land use management in Aceh and offers policy recommendations to promote sustainable oil palm cultivation practices.

Factors Affecting CSR Disclosure on Palm Oil Companies in Indonesia

The expansion of oil palm cultivation in Indonesia has begun to grow rapidly over the last few decades. Private and government companies play a role in the expansion of oil palm cultivation which currently has a high selling value in the national and global markets. However, the impact of the palm oil industry has a considerable risk both environmentally and socially. To reduce the risk of social conflict with local communities, oil palm companies have begun to increase their attention to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Disclosure of Corporate Social Responsibility as an encouragement to increase public confidence in the achievement of efforts to improve and improve the environment around the company. The information provided must be transparent and accountable for its social activities so that disclosure of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is important. This study aims to analyze the factors that influence the disclosure of CSR reports in 2017-2019. The method used in this research is descriptive quantitative with purposive random sampling technique, the number of samples is 7 companies that have stable profits and annual report records listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange. This research uses the multiple linear regression analysis methods and t-test. The results showed that there was a significant influence between leverage ratios, public ownership, firm size (size), on the disclosure of social responsibility (CSRD). On the other hand, there is no positive and significant effect of the profitability ratio on the disclosure of social responsibility (CSRD).

Transformation and endurance of Indigenous hunting: Kadazandusun‐Murut bearded pig hunting practices amidst oil palm expansion and urbanization in Sabah, Malaysia

Abstract Land‐use change and political–economic shifts have shaped hunting patterns globally, even as traditional hunting practices endure across many local socio‐cultural contexts. The widespread expansion of oil palm cultivation, and associated urbanization, alters land‐use patterns, ecological processes, economic relationships, access to land and social practices. In particular, we focus on the socio‐ecological dynamics between Kadazandusun‐Murut (KDM) hunters in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, and bearded pigs (Sus barbatus; Malay: ‘babi hutan’), the favoured game animal for non‐Muslim communities throughout much of Borneo. We conducted 38 semi‐structured interviews spanning over 50 hr with bearded pig hunters, asking them about contemporary hunting practices and motivations, changes in hunting practices, changes in pig behaviour, and patterns of animal protein consumption in village and urban contexts. Amidst widespread land‐use change, primarily driven by oil palm expansion, respondents reported substantially different characteristics of hunting in oil palm plantations as compared to hunting in forests. Additionally, 17 of 38 hunters—including 71% (10/14) of hunters who started hunting before 1985, compared to 26% (6/23) of hunters who started hunting in 1985 or later—mentioned that bearded pigs are behaving in a more skittish or fearful way as compared to the past. Our respondents also reported reductions in hunting frequency and wild meat consumption in urban contexts as compared to rural contexts. However, despite these substantial changes in hunting and dietary practices, numerous KDM hunting motivations, hunting techniques and socio‐cultural traditions have endured over the last several decades. For some, bearded pig meat remains deeply tied to food provision, gifting and sharing customs, and cultural components of celebrations and feasts. Oil palm has cultivated new hunting practices that differ from those in forests, and has potentially contributed to altered bearded pig behaviour due to increased hunting accessibility. Together, oil palm and urbanization are helping reshape the KDM‐bearded pig socio‐ecological system. In light of these reshaped connections, we recommend location‐specific management approaches that ensure fair access to the dietary and social benefits of bearded pig hunting while preserving the critical conservation needs of bearded pig populations and habitat. These twin goals are particularly urgent given the confirmed outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF), and mass deaths of domestic pigs and wild bearded pigs, in Sabah and Kalimantan in 2021. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

Oil palm modelling in the global land surface model ORCHIDEE-MICT

Abstract. Oil palm is the most productive oil crop that provides ∼ 40 % of the global vegetable oil supply, with 7 % of the cultivated land devoted to oil plants. The rapid expansion of oil palm cultivation is seen as one of the major causes for deforestation emissions and threatens the conservation of rain forest and swamp areas and their associated ecosystem services in tropical areas. Given the importance of oil palm in oil production and its adverse environmental consequences, it is important to understand the physiological and phenological processes of oil palm and its impacts on the carbon, water and energy cycles. In most global vegetation models, oil palm is represented by generic plant functional types (PFTs) without specific representation of its morphological, physical and physiological traits. This would cause biases in the subsequent simulations. In this study, we introduced a new specific PFT for oil palm in the global land surface model ORCHIDEE-MICT (v8.4.2, Organising Carbon and Hydrology in Dynamic Ecosystems–aMeliorated Interactions between Carbon and Temperature). The specific morphology, phenology and harvest process of oil palm were implemented, and the plant carbon allocation scheme was modified to support the growth of the branch and fruit component of each phytomer. A new age-specific parameterization scheme for photosynthesis, autotrophic respiration and carbon allocation was also developed for the oil palm PFT, based on observed physiology, and was calibrated by observations. The improved model generally reproduces the leaf area index, biomass density and fruit yield during the life cycle at 14 observation sites. Photosynthesis, carbon allocation and biomass components for oil palm also agree well with observations. This explicit representation of oil palm in a global land surface model offers a useful tool for understanding the ecological processes of oil palm growth and assessing the environmental impacts of oil palm plantations.

Shifts in mosquito diversity and abundance along a gradient from oil palm plantations to conterminous forests in Borneo.

Deforestation precipitates spillover of enzootic, vector-borne viruses into humans, but specific mechanisms for this effect have rarely been investigated. Expansion of oil palm cultivation is a major driver of deforestation. Here, we demonstrate that mosquito abundance decreased over ten stepwise distances from interior forest into conterminous palm plantations in Borneo. Diversity in interior plantation narrowed to one species, Aedes albopictus, a potential bridge vector for spillover of multiple viruses. A. albopictus was equally abundant across all distances in forests, forest-plantation edge, and plantations, while A. niveus, a known vector of sylvatic dengue virus, was found only in forests. A. albopictus collections were significantly female-biased in plantation but not in edge or forest. Our data reveal that the likelihood of encountering any mosquito is greater in interior forest and edge than plantation, while the likelihood of encountering A. albopictus is equivalent across the gradient sampled from interior plantation to interior forest.

Potential environment and socio-economic impact of biofuel production in Malaysia: a preliminary review

Malaysia is the second-biggest palm oil producer worldwide. Roughly 5.9 million hectares of area is planted with oil palm in Malaysia as recorded in 2019, making the palm oil industry one of the main income-generating industries for the country’s economy. As the palm oil industry in Malaysia grows, concern has been raised as several environmental and socio-economic issues are linked with the expansion of oil palm cultivation. The findings of this research contributes towards the preliminary investigation on the effect of biofuel demand in Malaysia on potential deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions due to land use changes and water pollution due to palm oil mill effluent (POME); and the effect of biofuel demand in Malaysia on other types of crops.

Interlinkage between water-energy-food for oil palm cultivation in Thailand

Biofuels for use in on-road transportation have been promoted in Thailand over the past decade to reduce dependence on imported fossil resources as well as possibly reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This has led to an increase in production of biodiesel which is produced from palm oil. However, as palm oil is also used for food, it is important to take this into consideration as well. Also, oil palm cultivation is rather water-intensive. Hence, it is necessary to analyze the interlinkage between water, food, and energy to have a holistic understanding and prevent trade-offs when addressing one issue in isolation. The water-energy-food nexus for oil palm cultivation in Thailand has been conducted following two widely used methods, the Water-Food-Energy Nexus (WFEN) and Water-Energy-Food (WEF) nexus assessment method. The results are demonstrated as a single score, which is easier for suggesting a suitable area for oil palm plantation. The assessment indicates the southern region of Thailand is the most suitable for oil palm plantation. The recommendation is consistent with the suggestion of the government, based on land and climate suitability. However, this study considers more comprehensive aspects including various other environmental aspects. Oil palm cultivation mainly relates to the amount of freshwater consumption, leading to the increment of fuel consumption for pumping water. On the other hand, the effectiveness of fresh fruit bunch yield (for food and energy production) should be developed in the future. Besides, the results recommend the central region for the expansion of oil palm cultivation in the future because of the availability of a good irrigation infrastructure.

Identification of Priority Areas for Ecological Restoration in Eastern Pará, Brazil

Abstract This study aimed to identify priority areas for the passive restoration of the Arauai river basin, municipality of Moju, Para, using a multicriteria model. This basin is located in a region with intense land use dynamics and expansion of oil palm cultivation, and with high forest loss and fragmentation. The Weighted Linear Combination method was used, with the aggregation of five criteria (Natural Erosion Vulnerability, Potential Land Use and Cover to Passive Restoration, Proximity to the Primary Forest, Forest cover deficit in PPAs, and Distance from Roads and Highways). This analysis allowed to evaluate different biophysical classes and types of land use that affect the selection of areas for restoration. A total of 207.82 km2 of priority areas for passive restoration were identified in the studied basin, with about 80% of its priority areas having medium to very high priority. The final map generated proved to be a useful instrument in the environmental management of restoration plans in the Amazon watershed.

PERFORMA PRODUKSI KEBUN KELAPA SAWIT RAKYAT PADA DATARAN TINGGI

The limitation of mineral land as a productive land makes some people expand oil palm cultivation to peat land in marginal class conditions (Class S3). The expansion of oil palm plantations into peatlands is accompanied by Government Regulation No. 57 of 2016 concerning Protection and Management of Peat Ecosystems. The regulation has a positive effect to protect and restore the hydrological function of peat, but also affects the management of oil palm cultivation. The limitation of peatlands also makes some people switch to using the highlands as a form of agricultural and plantation extensification. Planting oil palms in the highlands is a form of expansion of oil palm cultivation that is limited due to lack of sufficient land availability. It is necessary to carry out technical culture and cost requirements that are "more" in order to obtain the same production resembling the treatment of oil palm technical culture in very suitable class land conditions (Class S1). Some state-owned companies have planted oil palms in the highlands. Some state-owned plantation sites have even been converted to oil palm from other plantation crops. This will certainly be very different if done by farmers (smallholders) who are in the highlands. Farmers' knowledge of technical culture and the high amount of funds that will be used to cultivate oil palms are an inhibiting factor other than marginal land class.

Is Gurney's pitta Hydrornis gurneyi on the brink of extinction?

AbstractThe remaining large patches of lowland forest in Tanintharyi, southern Myanmar, are the last global stronghold for the Endangered Gurney's pitta Hydrornis gurneyi. Except for a few individuals, the remaining population is now restricted to this forest, below 150 m altitude, mostly within the Nga Wun, Lenya, and Parchan Reserved Forests. However, as in much of South-east Asia, Tanintharyi has been subjected to extensive deforestation, particularly for oil palm cultivation. The aim of this research was to determine the extent of remaining habitat suitable for Gurney's pitta. During January–October 2016 we revisited 142 locations (of 147) where the species was detected during 2003–2012, and found it in only 41 of those locations (29%); in all other locations the forest had been cleared. We measured the decline of suitable habitat since 1999 by examining all available intact forest in areas with elevations < 150 m and slope < 10 °. In less than 2 decades suitable habitat has declined from 3,225 to 656 km2 (80%). Protection of remaining lowland forest is now critical. Although the expansion of oil palm cultivation has slowed since its peak in the early 2000s, two national parks proposed by the Myanmar government in 2002, which would potentially offer legal protection for most of the remaining Gurney's pitta habitat, remain on hold because of political uncertainties. We recommend an alternative conservation approach for this species, based on an Indigenous Community Conserved Area model, and further research to improve knowledge of the species and to determine how it could be saved from extinction.

Understanding the expansion of oil palm cultivation: A case-study in Papua

The overall objective of this article is to understand the reasons underlying the expansion of oil palm plantations in forested land, as well as to define ways to improve business as usual practices in Indonesia. In order to do so, a case study is addressed in a recently established oil palm plantation in Papua, Indonesia. Based on field work and literature data a cost benefit analysis comparing the benefits of the original primary forest land use to those of the newly established oil palm plantation was conducted. It was shown that development is important to local population; oil palm plantations can bring wealth and improved living standards, but establishment on forested areas also takes a lot of value away due to the loss of ecosystem services. The benefits from primary forest ecosystem services were estimated at 3,795.44 USD ha−1 y−1 while the profits estimated for the new established oil plantation were 2,153.00 USD ha−1 y−1, therefore the land use change was not feasible. When running sensitivity analysis, it was revealed that prices of carbon emissions and commodities (Crude Palm Oil and Kernel Oil) have a large impact on the results. The beneficiaries are changing due to land use change, being the local population the biggest loser and the plantation company the biggest winner. Benefits are transferred from the local and global level to the national level. Case to case feasibility analysis including economic, environmental and social aspects should be required in advance to decide on the approval of an oil palm project.

India in the Oil Palm Era: Describing India’s Dependence on Palm Oil, Recommendations for Sustainable Production, and Opportunities to Become an Influential Consumer

India is the largest consumer and importer of palm oil in the world. Its demand for palm oil is expected to double by 2030, which cannot be sustained just by increasing the import quantity, as it would be exporting its biodiversity issues to the supplying countries. We support the Government of India’s views to expand oil palm cultivation in India. However, an aggressive push toward domestic oil palm cultivation at the expense of biodiversity is currently underway. Unsustainable expansion of oil palm cultivation in India with short-term economic goals will lead to both biodiversity and social issues. In this article, we outline India's position in the production and trade of palm oil. By reviewing the situation of Malaysia and Indonesia, we also propose necessary, workable solutions for sustainable oil palm cultivation in India. We recommend working within an integrative framework involving scientific research, social measures, and political actions: the ‘SSP framework.’ We believe that such an integrated approach is critical to achieve global sustainability targets from Paris Agreement at COP21 and 2015–2030 United Nation Sustainable Development Goals.

Terrestrial mammal responses to oil palm dominated landscapes in Colombia.

The rapid expansion of oil palm cultivation in the Neotropics has generated great debate around possible biodiversity impacts. Colombia, for example, is the largest producer of oil palm in the Americas, but the effects of oil palm cultivation on native fauna are poorly understood. Here, we compared how richness, abundance and composition of terrestrial mammal species differ between oil palm plantations and riparian forest in the Colombian Llanos region. Further, we determined the relationships and influence of landscape and habitat level variables on those metrics. We found that species richness and composition differed significantly between riparian forest and oil palm, with site level richness inside oil palm plantations 47% lower, on average, than in riparian forest. Within plantations, mammalian species richness was strongly negatively correlated with cattle abundance, and positively correlated with the density of undergrowth vegetation. Forest structure characteristics appeared to have weak and similar effects on determining mammal species richness and composition along riparian forest strips. Composition at the landscape level was significantly influenced by cover type, percentage of remaining forest and the distance to the nearest town, whereas within oil palm sites, understory vegetation, cattle relative abundance, and canopy cover had significant effects on community composition. Species specific abundance responses varied between land cover types, with oil palm having positive effects on mesopredators, insectivores and grazers. Our findings suggest that increasing habitat complexity, avoiding cattle and retaining native riparian forest–regardless of its structure–inside oil palm-dominated landscapes would help support higher native mammal richness and abundance at both local and landscape scales.

Understanding the expansion of energy crops beyond the global biofuel boom: evidence from oil palm expansion in Colombia

BackgroundThe global palm oil market experienced a remarkable boom since the year 2000. Since palm oil can be used for biodiesel production, the global expansion of oil palm cultivation has been associated with the global biofuel boom. Biofuel policies—especially those adopted in the European Union (EU)—have been blamed for the socio-environmental impacts of oil palm expansion. We explore how the global biofuel boom interacts with national geographies and social-economic and political processes to produce country-specific trajectories of biofuel crops expansion. We analyse the expansion of oil palm cultivation in Colombia between 2000 and 2010 from a political ecology perspective.MethodsThe analysis is based on a framework that positions expansion of commodity frontiers within the ‘space-of-flows’ and the ‘space-of-place’. Through this approach, we identify the markets and geographies that define the country-specific trajectories of expansion of oil palm in Colombia, and their connections with general patterns of land control. The empirical analysis is based on primary data collected during fieldwork, and on an extensive review of secondary data about the palm oil sector and the socio-environmental effects of oil palm expansion in the country.ResultsThe contemporary oil palm expansion in Colombia was not specifically influenced by the international biofuel market. Expansion was characterized by an increasing production of palm oil for biodiesel, to supply a policy-driven national biofuel market controlled by national palm oil producers. The evidence shows that this oil palm expansion proceeded through a variety of land control practices that constitute forms of ‘accumulation by dispossession’ and ‘assimilation’. These are embedded in contextual factors that include the agrarian history of Colombia, the armed conflict, and government policies.ConclusionsOur study shows that the ways in which expansion of biofuel crops unfold in each producing country depend not only on the global biofuel market. They are also shaped by the country-specific geographies and political economies. Therefore, research and policies on the global expansion of energy crops should account for the complex and interrelated factors that mediate the specific ways in which the global demand for biofuels creates biofuel crop booms at country level.

Nocturnal bird composition in relation to habitat heterogeneity in small scale oil palm agriculture in Malaysia

The expansion of oil palm cultivation is recognised as a major cause of tropical biodiversity loss. In contrast to large-scale plantations, oil palm smallholdings being more heterogeneous may support greater biodiversity. This study examined the effects of local and landscape level variables on the composition of nocturnal bird species in Malaysian oil palm smallholdings. Using visual and aural point sampling, we made 1408 encounters with nine owl and two nightjar species. The Biota-Environment-Stepwise matching analyses (BEST) indicated four predictor variables (three local variables; number of crop species, widths of roads and trenches, and one landscape variable; distance to the nearest main road) significantly influenced the community assemblages of nocturnal bird species in the smallholdings. Generalized Linear Models (GLMs) further indicated seven predictor variables (numbers of palms and houses, widths of roads and trenches, distances to the nearest forest and house, as well as palm height) significantly influenced the abundances of certain nocturnal species. These findings not only improve our understanding on habitat preference of nocturnal birds in the Sunda region but also support the argument that habitat complexity in cultivated areas may aid in biodiversity conservation, at least for nocturnal birds.

Climate, soil and land-use based land suitability evaluation for oil palm production in Ghana

Abstract In the past decade, oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) has become the world’s most important oil crop. The large demand for palm oil has resulted in a rapid expansion of oil palm cultivation across the globe. Because of the dwindling availability of land in Southeast Asia, most expansion of the industry is expected in Central and South America and sub-Saharan Africa, where land with suitable agro-ecological conditions is available. Using Ghana as a case study, a method for evaluating areas that are both suitable and available for oil palm production is presented. Our assessment used spatial data and GIS techniques, and showed that areas with suitable climatic conditions (annual average water deficit

A dendeicultura na Amazônia paraense

Analisamos a expansão da dendeicultura na microrregião de Tomé-Açu, na Amazônia paraense. Em que transformações da paisagem, da configuração espacial, da dinâmica social, enfim, do território, podemos identificar esse boom? Partimos do território usado, o que nos permite considerar a dendeicultura um evento e afirmar que estamos diante de um boom do dendê materializado por territórios-rede do dendê. Baseamo-nos em entrevistas, coleta de dados, mapas e trabalho de campo levantados desde 2008 nos municípios de Moju, Acará, Tailândia, Tomé-Açu e Concórdia do Pará, lugares onde a monocultura da palma africana se expande e exige um olhar geográfico, atento aos usos e abusos do território.

Agrarian transformation in Indonesia with the expansion of oil palm cultivation

Agrarian transformation in Indonesia with the expansion of oil palm cultivation