Oil Palm Expansion Research Articles

Conserving predators across agricultural landscapes in Colombia: habitat use and space partitioning by jaguars, pumas, ocelots and jaguarundis

AbstractLoss and degradation of natural habitats continue to increase across the tropics as a result of agricultural expansion. Consequently, there is an urgent need to understand their effects, and the distribution and habitat requirements of wildlife within human-modified landscapes, to support the conservation of threatened species, such as felids. We combined camera trapping and land cover data into occupancy models to study the habitat use and space partitioning by four sympatric felid species in an agricultural landscape in Colombia. Land use in the area includes cattle ranching and oil palm cultivation, the latter being an emerging land use type in the Neotropics. Factors determining species occupancy were the presence of wetlands for jaguars (positive effect); water proximity for pumas (positive effect); and presence of pastures for ocelots and jaguarundis (negative effect). Only ocelots were occasionally recorded in oil palm areas. Our results suggest that to align development with the conservation of top predators it is crucial to maintain areas of forest and wetland across agricultural landscapes and to restrict agricultural and oil palm expansion to modified areas such as pastures, which are of limited conservation value. Because there is no spatial segregation between the felid species we studied, conservation strategies that benefit all of them are possible even in modified landscapes.

Between structural change and local agency in the palm oil sector: Interactions, heterogeneities and landscape transformations in the Brazilian Amazon

Looking beyond a normative analysis of oil palm expansion, this paper offers a nuanced analysis of landscape transformations in the Brazilian Amazonian region of Tome-Acu. Based on quantitative and qualitative data deriving from interviews with key stakeholders, focus groups and surveys with smallholders and migrant workers, contextualized and cross-checked with observations between 2011 and 2017 and secondary sources, we discuss the processes and outcomes of Brazil's Sustainable Oil Palm Production Program (SPOPP). Despite its participatory component and innovative design, simultaneously tackling environmental, economic and social dimensions, the program underwent rapid structural change and suffered from discontinuity. A new boom and bust cycle emerged in the region, however, both “boom” and “bust” periods were marked by mixed outcomes. Notwithstanding the current governance shift characterized by absent state, reduced participation and disinvestment, local agency has been able to reorganize the sector on the ground and a transformed landscape emerged. However, under the current setting if expansion recommences there is no guarantee the sector will be able to avoid many of the socio-environmental problems experienced in the past.

Social Economic and Ecological Adaptive Strategy of Livelihood of Smallholders in the Oil Palm Expansion Areas (Case Studies in Two Villages of Central Kalimantan)

<p>ABSTRACT<br />The impact of oil palm plantation expansion is felt by the farmers’ households in Central Kalimantan, such as income change, new sources of livelihood related to oil palm, and social economy-ecology ecosystem change. For that, there needs to be an ecological socio-economic strategy. The purpose of this research is to know how socio economic-ecological strategy of farmer’s household in facing the impact of oil palm plantation expansion. Focuses on aspects of socio economic-ecological adaptation mechanisms in relation to local income and their implications for poverty alleviation. The method used is in depth interview, survey, observation and Focus Group Discussion. The analysis used in this research is descriptive qualitative-quantitative. The results showed that there are two factors causing conversion of land into palm land that is economic and policy factors. Conversion of land into oil palm in Beringin Agung Village and Pendahara Village was then addressed differently by farmer households through various adaptation strategies. Adaptation strategies carried out by farmers’ households in two research sites include social economic and ecological strategy. All layers of households in Beringin Agung Village tend to have little choice of adaptation strategy because of the large number of land conversion into oil palm plantations. Meanwhile, all layers of farm households in Pendahara Village have relatively varied adaptation strategies because there are still many natural resources around there.<br />Keywords: adaptation, farmers, households, land conversion, livelihood strategies, oil palm</p><p><br />ABSTRAK<br />Dampak ekspansi perkebunan Sawit dirasakan oleh rumahtangga petani di Kalimantan Tengah, berupa perubahan pendapatan, munculnya sumber mata pencaharian baru yang berhubungan dengan Sawit, berubahnya sosial ekonomi dan ekologi ekosistem. Untuk itu, perlu ada strategi sosial ekonomi ekologi. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui bagaimana strategi adaptasi sosial ekonomi ekologi rumahtangga petani dalam menghadapi dampak ekspansi perkebunan Sawit, dan berfokus pada aspek mekanisme adaptasi sosial-ekonomi-ekologi dalam kaitannya dengan ekonomi lokal dan implikasinya terhadap penanggulangan kemiskinan. Metode penelitian menggunakan in depth interview, survey, observasi dan Focus Group Discussion (FGD). Analisis yang digunakan adalah deskriptif kualitatif-kuantitatif. Hasil penelitian menunjukan bahwa terdapat dua faktor penyebab konversi lahan menjadi Sawit yaitu faktor ekonomi dan faktor kebijakan. Konversi lahan hutan menjadi Sawit disikapi secara berbeda oleh rumahtangga petani melalui berbagai strategi adaptasi bertahan hidupnya. Strategi adaptasi yang dilakukan oleh rumahtangga petani meliputi strategi ekonomi, sosial dan strategi ekologi. Semua lapisan rumahtangga di Desa Beringin Agung cenderung tidak banyak mempunyai pilihan strategi adaptasi karena telah banyaknya konversi lahan menjadi perkebunan Sawit, sehingga cenderung homogen. Sementara itu, semua lapisan rumahtangga petani di Desa Pendahara relatif heterogen strategi adaptasinya karena masih ketersediaan sumberdaya alam yang melimpah disana.<br />Kata kunci: adaptasi, Kelapa Sawit, konversi lahan, petani, rumahtangga, strategi nafkah</p>

Survival strategies of a frugivore, the sun bear, in a forest-oil palm landscape

As large areas of forest are lost throughout the tropics, prime habitat of many species decline and become fragmented. The island of Borneo is a prime example, with accelerated clearing of forests primarily for oil palm expansion. Borneo is recognized as an important stronghold for the conservation of the sun bear (Helarctos malayanus), but it is unclear how habitat reduction and fragmentation is affecting this frugivore. We used camera traps and sign surveys to understand patterns of sun bear habitat use in a matrix of fragmented forests and extensive oil palm development, which has existed as such for > 15 years: the Lower Kinabatangan floodplain in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Within these small forest fragments, squeezed between a major river and oil palm plantations, bears exhibited selection for areas farther from human activity (plantations, river boat traffic, and buildings), and were rarely active during the day, demonstrating both spatial and temporal avoidance of potential human-related threats. They selected large trees to feed and rest, and also exploited adjacent plantations to feed on oil palm fruits. We conclude that even relatively small forest fragments (~ 2000 ha) within large agricultural landscapes can be important for sun bears. Our research highlights the remarkable adaptations this species has employed to persist in a drastically modified landscape.

Power and dispossession in the neoliberal food regime: oil palm expansion in Guatemala

ABSTRACTGuatemala’s palm oil production has surged in line with the global demand for biodiesel and vegetable oil production. While corporate land grabs have been a popular concept in agrarian studies, we emphasize the integral roles of the state and racially-charged political power relations, enhanced by the neoliberal food regime. These power relations, with racism at their core, foster land control grabs occurring alongside the rise of the palm oil industry. Their effects extend beyond merely the dispossession of land. The oil palm expansion and related dispossessions mostly benefit the international markets and the wealthy ruling class comprised of creole descendants and affluent ladinos. The soaring industry has given rise to human rights violations and a lack of access to or control of various resources, such as food and water. Based on fieldwork, we show that dispossessed Guatemalans, especially the indigenous, experience rising poverty, domestic food shortages and an influx of foreign foodstuffs as the meagrely paid work in the oil palm sector is only available for the few.

Indonesia's Moratorium on Palm Oil Expansion from Natural Forests: Economy-Wide Impacts and the Role of International Transfers

Indonesia has introduced a moratorium on the conversion of natural forests to land used for palm oil production. Using a dynamic, bottom-up, interregional computable general equilibrium model of the Indonesian economy, we assess several scenarios of the moratorium and discuss its impacts on the domestic economy as well as on regional economies within Indonesia. We find the moratorium reduces Indonesian economic growth and other macroeconomic indicators, but international transfers can more than compensate the welfare losses. The impacts also vary across regions. Sumatra, which is highly dependent on palm oil and is home to forests that no longer have a high carbon stock, receives fewer transfers and suffers the greatest economic loss. Kalimantan, which is relatively less dependent on palm oil and has forests with a relatively high carbon stock, receives more transfers and gets greater benefit. This implies that additional policy measures anticipating the unbalanced impacts of the moratorium are required if the trade-off between conservation and reducing interregional economic disparity is to be reconciled.

Towards global oil palm plantation mapping using remote-sensing data

ABSTRACTIn recent decades, palm oil, which forms one of the world’s major bulk feedstock and oil crops, has been cultivated at an increasing scale to meet new demand. Oil palm expansion has driven not only socio-economic development but also serious ecological problems and environmental pollution through deforestation and fires to clear the forests. Uneconomic oil palm plantations can influence the balance of regional ecosystems and the carbon cycle. Many countries report national statistics on the area of oil palm, but few document the extent and locations of oil palm plantations. In this study, we produce and make available oil palm maps that include 15 countries with more than 10,000 ha of planted oil palms. Phased Array Type L-band Synthetic Aperture (PALSAR-2) images and high-resolution (<2.5 m) images in Google Earth were used to produce oil palm maps by supervised classification and visual interpretation. Two independent verification systems were used to evaluate map accuracy. The characteristics of oil palm plantations distribution and their environment suitability including terrain and climate conditions of the global oil palm planted regions are also discussed. The results indicate that the total area of oil palm in global in 2016 was estimated to be 29.49 million hectares (Mha) although the mapping result showed a good correlation with other records, but relatively large uncertainty in Africa. Most oil palm trees grow in warm (24–29.5°C), wet conditions (1000–4000 mm p.a. of precipitation), flat terrain (slope less than 8°), and low elevation (0–800 m); however, these growing conditions are slightly different in different continents.

Quantifying impacts of oil palm expansion on Colombia's threatened biodiversity

Large-scale conversion of forest to oil palm has precipitated severe environmental impacts in the lowlands of Malaysia and Indonesia. It is a major conservation priority to ensure that projected expansion of oil palm in Africa and Latin America does not lead to analogous environmental devastation in these mega-diverse places. In an effort to minimize negative impacts from a species conservation perspective, we present a framework for spatial planning that accommodates inevitable oil palm expansion into regions of high biodiversity. Using megadiverse Colombia as an example, we investigated current and projected impacts of oil palm on threatened vertebrates (birds, mammals, and amphibians). We highlight a few areas where expansion would be detrimental to threatened fauna and should be avoided, but generally, there is minimal overlap between suitable areas for oil palm production and threatened vertebrate distributions. Our analysis demonstrates that there is room for oil palm to expand in Colombia without incurring severe conservation risks for threatened vertebrates, so long as it avoids a few high-priority areas such as la Serranía de la Macarena, the Andes-Amazon transition, the Darién, and the Tumaco forests. By applying this approach to other countries facing imminent oil palm expansion, it may be possible to meet a growing commodity demand without severely exacerbating the biodiversity crisis.

Estimation of sediment production in oil palm expansion areas in the Amazon

ABSTRACT Currently, an activity that has become strategic at a national level is the cultivation of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) in the northeast region of the Pará State, in eastern Brazilian Amazon. However, the impacts of this crop expansion on the hydro-sedimentological cycle are still unknown. Therefore, this study estimated the impacts of oil palm crop expansion on sediment production in a sub-basin under consolidated use of this crop. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model was applied in the Mariquita sub-basin, calibrated by the flow regionalization technique, using data measured in the field with a current meter. Simulation results indicated an increase in sediment production between the years 2008 and 2013, which can be attributed to the large reduction of areas of secondary vegetation that were replaced by pasture, oil palm and general agriculture. Oil palm areas had a lower average monthly sediment yield in the rainiest period in all simulated years, compared with areas of general agriculture and pasture.

Evaluating the effect of forest loss and agricultural expansion on Sumatran tigers from scat surveys

Sumatran tigers (Panthera tigris sumatrae) are a critically endangered carnivore restricted to the island of Sumatra, and like many other large mammals on the Indonesian archipelago, they are threatened by high levels of poaching and widespread habitat degradation. Here, we conduct the first range-wide assessment of Sumatran tiger genetics using scat surveys and show that the wild population retains levels of genetic heterozygosity comparable to mainland tigers. However, the population also exhibits signs of subdivision due to the unprecedented rates of deforestation and land conversion in the last 30–40 years. The fact that this subspecies retains such levels of heterozygosity despite high rates of habitat loss and increasing isolation suggests a form of genetic extinction debt with an elevated risk of extinction if no action is taken within the next 30–100 years (see Kenney et al., 2014). However, the inherent time delay in extinction debt provides opportunities for conservation if habitat quality can be improved and connections between existing population fragments can be made. Our study highlights the importance of genetic studies for providing baseline information to improve the population management of highly threatened carnivore species. Mitigating further habitat degradation and expansion of oil palm and other cash crops in this region would improve the viability not only of Sumatran tiger populations, but of other threatened large mammal species as well.

Canopy soil of oil palm plantations emits methane and nitrous oxide

Due to an increasing global demand in cheap oils and biofuels, forest conversion to oil palm plantations is rapidly increasing in Indonesia. Oil palm canopy soil, or the soil lodged between the stems and leaf axils of oil palms, is one ecosystem compartment that has yet to be investigated as to its importance on the soil greenhouse gas budget. Our objectives were 1) to quantify nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) fluxes from oil palm canopy soil, and 2) to determine the factors controlling these fluxes. Our study was conducted in Jambi Province, Indonesia, an area of rapid oil palm expansion. Trace gas fluxes were measured in eight smallholder oil palm plantations (9–16 years old). In each plantation, oil palms were delineated into three 1-m height sections (low, middle, and top) to represent possible gradients of canopy soil conditions that influence N2O and CH4 fluxes. Trace gas fluxes were measured by collecting canopy soil from each stem section and immediately incubating in the field in an air-tight glass jar. Canopy soils from all oil palm stem sections emitted N2O and CH4. The top stem section had higher N2O and CH4 emissions than the lower sections, and this pattern was paralleled by nitrogen availability and water content, which strongly influenced these fluxes. Greenhouse gas emissions per unit dry mass of canopy soil were considerable, but on a hectare basis these emissions were small due to the low amount of canopy soil per hectare (170 kg ha−1). Annual canopy soil N2O and CH4 emissions were 10.7 ± 3.3 g N2O-N ha−1 yr−1 and 1.9 ± 0.5 g CH4-C ha−1 yr−1, respectively, which contributed only 1% of the total soil (canopy soil + ground soil) N2O fluxes and 0.2% of the ground soil net CH4 consumption. Our estimate of oil palm canopy soil emissions in Jambi Province were 7.7 Mg N2O-N yr−1 and 1.3 Mg CH4-C yr−1. Considering the increasing areal coverage of oil palm plantations in Southeast Asia, these fluxes may substantially contribute to soil greenhouse gas budgets.

Dampak Keberadaan Infrastruktur Terhadap Peningkatan Produksi Dan Luas Lahan Sawit

The purpose of this research was analyzing the impact of the existence of infrastructures such as construction, electrical, highway (state, province and regency city road ), Transport and Telecommunication sectors on the production and areal expansion of oil palm plantations in both South Sumatera and Bengkulu. This research was expected to be useful as a scientific empirical guidance for policymakers in determining the infrastructure priority scale which is built based on their contribution to increasing oil palm production and its area. The research empirically identified how the impact of the existence of infrastructure (construction, electricity, highways (state, province, and city districts road), transport and telecommunication on the oil palm’s production and erea, in both its magnitude and sign. In the regression equation which used in this study, production and land area are positioned as dependent variable whereas development variables of construction, electricity, highway (state road, province and regency/city road), transport and telecommunications are positioned as the independent variable. This research used time-series data from BPS publications with quarterly periods from 1996 to 2012. Referring to the parameter of the elasticity value of infrastructure to oil palm production which showed greater than 1, then it can be concluded that the priority infrastructure which built in Bengkulu is the construction and for South Sumatra should be built electricity infrastructure to boost the oil palm production increasing. Meanwhile, electricity infrastructure that should be built for boosting the expansion of oil palm in Bengkulu is Electricity. There was relatively no priority infrastructure in terms of spurring the expansion of palm oil.

Emerging trends of tropical dry forests loss in North & Central America during 2001–2013: The role of contextual and underlying drivers

Historical anthropogenic pressures on tropical dry forests (TDF) have led to the loss of more than 50% of its potential coverage worldwide. However, information on the temporal and spatial dynamics of TDF deforestation or disturbance is scarce. In this study, we present a national and sub-national level assessment of TDF loss patterns in Mexico and Central America at high spatial and temporal resolution using remote sensing and GIS technologies. We used the Global Forest Change (GFC) dataset published by Hansen et al. (2013) which shows detected forest loss at 30-m pixel resolution at interannual rates from 2000 through 2013. We analyzed TDF loss within a peer reviewed moderate resolution map of TDF extent based on 2004 satellite imagery, eliminated potential sources of errors and enforced all polygons to correspond to forest loss only within TDF dominated cover. We analyzed trends in the magnitude of deforestation (total forest loss area) and TDF loss patch size as well as density of forest loss across the region. We also investigated the spatial pattern of increasing or decreasing temporal trends of forest loss by applying a space-time hotspot analysis. For the 2001–2013 period, we identified five areas where TDF loss was high and had the tendency to increase; while widespread low TDF loss with the tendency to decrease was found across most Central America countries and most of the Pacific coast of Mexico. Contextual and underlying causative factors vary, conforming to cultural and socioeconomic differences across the region, with rural migration, small-scale agricultural expansion, agricultural intensification, oil palm expansion and cattle ranching amongst the main causes of TDF conversion.

Land-use change and livelihoods of non-farm households: The role of income from employment in oil palm and rubber in rural Indonesia

Many tropical regions are experiencing massive land-use change that is often characterized by an expansion of oil palm at the expense of forests and more traditional forms of agricultural cropping. While implications of such land-use change for the environment and for local farm households were examined in previous research, possible effects on the livelihoods of non-farm households are not yet well understood. This study analyzes the role of different types of agricultural and non-agricultural employment income for non-farm households in rural Jambi, one of the hotspot regions of Indonesia’s recent oil palm boom. Data from a survey show that employment in rubber and oil palm are important livelihood components for non-farm households. Employment in oil palm is more lucrative than employment in rubber, so involvement in the oil palm sector as a laborer is positively associated with total household income. Regression models show that whether or not a household works in oil palm is largely determined by factors related to migration background, ethnicity, and the size of the village area grown with this crop. These results suggest that further expansion of the oil palm area will likely benefit non-farm households through gains in employment income. As non-farm households belong to the poorest segments of the rural population, these benefits should not be ignored when designing policies towards sustainable land use. Possible negative environmental and social externalities of further oil palm expansion are also discussed.

Oil palm land conversion in Pará, Brazil, from 2006–2014: evaluating the 2010 Brazilian Sustainable Palm Oil Production Program

Global models of biophysical suitability for oil palm consistently rank Brazil as having the greatest potential for expansion, with estimates as high as 238 Mha of suitable lands. In 2010, Brazil launched the Sustainable Palm Oil Production Program (SPOPP) to incentivize oil palm development without deforestation on as much as 30 Mha. Here we examine oil palm expansion before and after the SPOPP’s launch. In Pará, the major oil palm producing state in Brazil, we analyze the extent and change in oil palm cultivation from 2006−2014 using satellite imagery, ground-truthed verification, site-based interviews, and rural environmental (land) registration data. Between 2006−2014, oil palm area (≥9 ha) expanded >200% to ~219 000 ha. Of the ~148 000 ha of oil palm developed, ~91% converted pasturelands while ~8% replaced natural vegetation, including intact and secondary forests. Although >80% of all oil palm parcels rest <0.5 km from intact forests, direct conversion of intact forests declined from ~4% pre-SPOPP (2006−2010) to <1% post-SPOPP (2010−2014).Despite low and declining deforestation rates associated with oil palm expansion in Pará, our results also show a low area of oil palm development overall compared with reported land suitability. To explore potential contributing factors, we conducted semi-structured interviews with researchers, company representatives, and government officials involved in the sector to characterize the perceived factors influencing oil palm development and the role of agro-ecological suitability mapping among them. Interviews indicated that: (1) individual effects of suitability mapping efforts to encourage oil palm expansion on cleared areas, i.e. without deforestation, cannot be disentangled from pre-existing public and private deforestation reduction initiatives; and, (2) socio-economic constraints, e.g. high relative production costs and limited familiarity with this crop, appear to partially explain the major discrepancy between estimated potential suitable areas with realized oil palm development.

Public perceptions towards oil palm cultivation in Tabasco, Mexico

National policies and international market demand have spurred a rapid increase in oil palm cultivation for biodiesel feedstock production, which then causes important social impacts. However, little work has investigated local perceptions of oil palm expansion, particularly in areas expected to become key supply regions, like Latin America. This limits our understanding of the social dimension of oil palm-based biodiesel sustainability. To address this oversight, we present findings from a survey of Tabasco, Mexico, that focuses on community perceptions of local oil palm plantations, their impacts, and expansion potential in a major oil palm cultivation region. We found that oil palm expansion-related perceptions were associated with attitudes toward existing oil palm plantations, whether the palm oil was being cultivated for biodiesel export, and oil palm's ecosystem service provision. Our findings highlight the need for policy makers to consider social acceptability when crafting strategies to expand sustainable bioenergy feedstock production.

Impact of forest conversion to oil palm and rubber plantations on microclimate and the role of the 2015 ENSO event

Oil palm and rubber expansion is a main driver of the widespread deforestation of tropical rainforests taking place in South-East Asia, particularly in Indonesia. The replacement of forests with monoculture plantations of rubber and oil palm reduces biodiversity and carbon pools but also modifies canopy structure, which is an important determinant of microclimate. There is, however, a lack of quantitative information characterizing the effect of such land transformation on microclimate. We report the first medium-term observations of below-canopy microclimatic conditions (air temperature, relative humidity, vapour pressure deficit and soil temperature) across forest, jungle rubber agroforest, oil palm and rubber monoculture plantations in Sumatra/Indonesia. The data set covers a period of approximately three years (2013–2016) and includes one of the strongest El Niño-Southern Oscillations (ENSO) of the last decades. Forests were up to 2.3 and 2.2 °C cooler than oil palm and rubber monocultures respectively. The monocultures were also drier (11.9% and 12.8% less in oil palm and rubber respectively) and had higher vapour pressure deficit (632 Pa and 665 Pa higher in oil palm and rubber respectively) than the forest, while differences in soil temperature were less pronounced. Conversion from forest to other land uses, especially to monocultures, also amplified the diurnal range of all microclimatic variables studied. Jungle rubber stands out as the transformed land-use system that maintains more stable microclimatic conditions. Our results indicate that canopy openness is a key driver of below-canopy microclimate, and hence could be used in climate models to better evaluate climatic feedbacks of land-use change to rubber and oil palm. The ENSO event of 2015 led to warmer and drier conditions than in the previous two years in all four land-use systems, especially in the forest (up to 2.3 °C warmer, 8.9% drier and up to 351 Pa more during ENSO). The relative effect of ENSO was lower in the monoculture plantations, where below-canopy microclimate is generally more similar to open areas. Forests exhibited the largest differences with the pre-ENSO years, but still maintained more stable microclimatic conditions (lower temperatures and vapour pressure deficit and higher relative humidity) due to their higher climate regulation capacity. During ENSO, microclimatic conditions in jungle rubber were comparable to those in the monocultures, suggesting that while forests buffered the increase of temperature, jungle rubber might have surpassed its buffering capacity to extreme events. This capacity of buffering extreme climatic events should be considered when assessing the effects of land-use change.

Positive and Negative Impacts of Oil Palm Expansion in Indonesia and the Prospect to Achieve Sustainable Palm Oil

The aim of the study is to deepen understanding the role of palm oil on Indonesian economy, poverty elevation and to investigate the positive and negative impacts of oil palm expansion, due to the burden of GHG emissions; and prospect to be more sustainable palm oil industry. The statistics show that average rural poverty tends to be lower and Gross Regional Product tends to be higher in provinces which have greater levels of oil palm cultivation. Indonesian oil palm will grow from 10.6 in 2013 to 13.7 million ha by 2020. This will release 135.59 million tons of CO2 if nothing is done to mitigate BAU emissions. Unless there are sustained efforts to redirect development and expansion of oil palm, plantation growth will continue to encroach on intact forest and peat land.. In fact Indonesia has large areas of degraded land, an estimated total 19,144,000 ha is available for planting oil palm and other crops. A large-scale expansion program driven by estate companies needs to be accompanied by effective smallholder development program in order to achieve the best outcome for local farmers and avoid the conflicts.

The Economics Behind an Ecological Crisis: Livelihood Effects of Oil Palm Expansion in Sumatra, Indonesia

While the negative ecological effects of the rapid expansion of oil palm in Southeast Asia are far-reaching and relatively widely studied, the socioeconomic consequences have received much less attention in the literature. We examine whether local farmers in Indonesia benefit from cultivating oil palm. We also look at the impact dynamics and possible spillover effects on other farmers. Our analysis builds on panel data collected from 680 farm households in Jambi Province, Sumatra. We show that oil palm cultivation has significant positive effects on farmers’ livelihoods. The economic gains allow farm households to increase their consumption. Oil palm has lower labor requirements than alternative crops. Hence, oil palm farmers can cultivate larger areas and also reallocate saved labor time to non-farm economic activities, which contributes to additional secondary gains. Policies aimed at regulating further oil palm area expansion will have to account for the economic benefits of this crop for the local population.

Independent Smallholder Oil Palm Expansion and Its Impact On Deforestation: Case Study in Kampar District, Riau Province, Indonesia

Independent smallholders who manage their own oil palm plantations without receiving technical assistance and agricultural inputs from oil palm estates or government have been increasing rapidly in Indonesia in recent years. However the magnitude of their impacts on tropical forest deforestation remains largely unevaluated. The objective of this study was to explore the history of land use, and the changes in land cover and status since the onset of oil palm plantation activities. The study was conducted from March to April 2016. Surveys were carried out in 30 ha of independent smallholder oil palm in Kampar District, Riau Province. To identify the land status, the Agreed functional forest classification (TGHK) and Provincial land use planning (RTRWP) maps were overlaid on images of the area of independent smallholder oil palm. Landsat images three years before oil palm was established were used to assess forest cover changes. Furthermore, oil palm smallholders and elders of the local community in the research area were interviewed to identify land use prior to oil palm. Our results showed that, based on land status, 47% of the area of independent smallholders’ oil palm derived from logged forest; that is the land changed in status from forest to oil palm plantation. The other 53% of oil palm area derived from non-forested land. The land use history before the establishment of independent smallholder oil palm mostly comprised general-purpose field activities and former forest-felling (forest concessions). The land cover before conversion into oil palm comprised rubber plantation, secondary forest, and shrub cover. From the results of our survey, we conclude that most of the oil palm plantations planted between 1990 and 2002 have their origins not in primary forest, but rather in degraded secondary forest, former fields, and shrub-land. These results imply that conversion of forest area into oil palm plantations is not the direct cause of deforestation in the tropical forests of Kampar, Riau Province.