Sustainable Palm Oil Production Research Articles

Tropical forest fragments contribute to species richness in adjacent oil palm plantations

In Southeast Asia, large-scale conversion of rainforest to oil palm plantations is one of the major causes of biodiversity declines. Recommendations for reducing species losses and increasing the sustainability of palm oil production advocate the retention of natural forest patches within plantations, but there is little evidence for the effectiveness of this strategy. Here, we examine to what extent rainforest remnants with different characteristics contribute to biodiversity within surrounding plantations. We sampled ground-dwelling ants in Sabah (Malaysian Borneo) using unbaited pit-fall traps along 1km transects spanning forest-plantation ecotones of 10 forest fragments (area 5ha–500ha) and two continuous forest sites which bordered plantations. Ant species richness in plantations varied according to richness in adjacent forest fragments, which increased with fragment size. A trend of declining species richness in plantations with distance from the forest ecotone was consistent with spillover of forest species into plantations adjacent to forest remnants. Ant assemblages in plantations also contained more carnivorous species adjacent to large forest fragments, suggesting large fragments may have benefits for pest control in plantations, as well as benefits for local biodiversity. Our results indicate that large forest fragments support distinctive ant assemblages and increase diversity within the planted area, but small fragments (<∼200ha) contribute little to plantation diversity. Thus retaining large fragments of forest may help mitigate the loss of species within oil palm plantations.

“People, Planet &amp; Profit”: Consumer-Oriented Hegemony and Power Relations in Palm Oil and Agrofuel Certification

Palm oil comprises the fastest growing monoculture in the world and is used for food, cosmetics, and agrofuels. This article analyzes the attempts to guarantee the sustainable production of palm oil and agrofuels through voluntary certification schemes such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) from a critical state and hegemony theory perspective. Rather than seeing the RSPO as a voluntary and nongovernmental instrument that represents the interests of all concerned stakeholders equally, I analyze the roundtable as part of a transnational network state that is characterized by strategic selectivities, that is, some interests and strategies are privileged over others. Based on expert interviews in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore and the analysis of primary documents I conclude that the RSPO privileges business interests in general and export-oriented palm oil companies and downstream industries along the value chain in particular, whereas smallholders, plantation workers, and indigenous peoples are marginalized through different structures and processes, contributing to an actual depoliticization of socioecological conflicts.

Decisão Coletiva e Desenvolvimento Local: O Programa Nacional de Produção Sustentável de Óleo de Palma em Concórdia do Pará

This study analyzes how collective decision making, specifically in the management of the National Program for Sustainable Production of Palm Oil in the municipality of Concordia do Para, Brazil, contributes to the power division among the social actors and to the positive results attainment in the local development programs. This research also aims to understand the scenario of power and thecontradictions between collective and individual interests of this management. The method utilized was qualitative, through documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews conducted with the secretaries and technicians of municipal bodies and with representatives of small farmers participating in the program. It’s observed that greater approximation of the actors with each other can express the overcoming of a history of conflicts. This progress can come about through collective decisions, which in the case of Concordia do Para, demonstrate that the social actors seek power balance in the program. However, power asymmetries among them are still significant. Keywords: Collective and Individual Interests,Power, Social Actors

Exploring Opportunities for Enhancing Innovation in Agriculture: The Case of Oil Palm Production in Ghana

We carried out a study using key informant interviews, focus group discussions and individual interviews to explore opportunities to enhance innovation in the oil palm sector in Ghana. Current technical innovations at the farm level are insufficient to promote sustainable oil palm production and to alleviate poverty because of overriding institutional constraints at the larger-than-farm level. Oil palm was selected for the study for three main reasons: (1) It is considered a national priority crop because of its potential for reducing poverty, (2) It has a wide geographical coverage and (3) It is considered as both food and cash crop. Oil palm has evolved in the past 40 years from a public-sector to a private-sector crop. The study identified the following main actors in oil palm production: small private farms that produce about 80% of the crop; large-scale industrial estates with their network of smallholder and out-grower farmers who produce to supply their large-scale mechanized processing mills; small-scale semi-mechanized processing mills, medium-scale mechanized mills and secondary processors. Opportunities that will make it rational for farmers to invest in increased production and improved sustainability include: (1) creating institutional conditions that will enable small-scale processors to be integrated into the value chain; (2) organising farmers to be able to negotiate for better deals for themselves; (3) improve system of distribution of improved planting material in regions where accessibility to seedlings of the high-yielding tenera hybrid variety is difficult; and (4) developing new tenancy rules and arrangements that improve the income of tenant farmers and encourage them to invest in increased productivity.

Zero Waste Discharge from Palm Oil Mills

Good agricultural practices, as outlined in MS 1784:2006; Good Agricultural Practice-Part 2: Oil Palm, are being adopted by the Malaysian palm oil industry. The sustainable development of both the palm oil industry and the environment can be enhanced by the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) composting projects. The CDM composting plant in Lahad Datu is registered with the national CDM Board and it utilises the co-products from the palm oil mill, namely empty fruit bunches (EFB), palm oil mill effluent (POME), boiler ash and decanter solids, to produce bio-organic fertiliser for use in its own plantation or for sale. At the same time the composting plant is earning revenue by selling the carbon credits to a European Union (EU) country to mitigate its commitment under the Kyoto Protocol. By using the new two phase (solid/water phase and oil phase) decanter system, the palm oil mill that is located in Sandakan will reduce the amount of slurry produced to less than 0.2 tonne per tonne FFB. This enables the entire palm oil mill wastes to be used for the composting process. Owners of palm oil mills in Malaysia may want to consider doing something positive about conserving the environment and reducing global warming. They could invest in the new two-phase decanter system to upgrade the performance of the mill as well as to embark on a similar CDM composting project. The ultimate goal for every mill should be to work towards sustainable palm oil production in which the entire wastes produced by the mill are being utilised in the composting plant and zero waste is being discharged. Keywords: Zero waste discharge, composting plant, palm oil mill

A Management System for Sustainable Palm Oil Production

In November, 2005, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) adopted the Principles and Criteria (RSPO P&amp;C) for Sustainable Palm Oil Production to provide the foundation for the sustainable production of palm oil that takes into consideration long-term economic viability, environmental protection and conservation and recognition of the rights of workers and local communities. While the RSPO P&amp;C are designed to guide individual plantations towards sustainable production of palm oil and provide the basis for product certification, they could also be used to develop a system for driving the entire enterprise towards achieving corporate excellence in sustainable production of palm oil. This paper describes a management model to achieve this objective. Keywords: Sustainable palm oil, management system, RSPO Principles and Criteria

La troisième table ronde de RSPO-RT3, à Singapour en novembre 2005

The RSPO third roundtable meeting on sustainable palm oil (RT3) was the occasion for the official launch of principles and criteria adopted by the initiative to promote sustainable palm oil production and consumption. The problems raised by implementing those principles and criteria were widely debated in the main assembly or in break–out groups. The deliberations emphasized that all RSPO stakeholders needed to take an active role in the initiative, which should also be open to other categories of stakeholders: governments, research, certification organizations, etc. Over a two-year transition phase, 14 voluntary members are to test the feasibility of such implementation on a true scale. A task force has been set up to adapt the principles and criteria to the particular case of smallholders.

Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil – RSPO. The second RSPO meeting in Jakarta in October 2004

In a context of discord between producers and environmental conservationists, RSPO is an initiative by stakeholders in the “Oil Palm” commodity chain to promote sustainable palm oil production. RSPO, using a multiple-stakeholder process, based its approach on drawing up a set of credible criteria that define the sustainability of palm oil production and which are acceptable to the different categories of stakeholders. The purpose of the second meeting (RT2) was to: i) propose a platform for exchanging views and experience between stakeholders from industrialized and emergent countries, to seek a clear definition of the “sustainable palm oil” concept; ii) identify practical projects for facilitating the implementation of good practices and for proceeding with their introduction; and: iii) strengthen cooperation and mutual assistance between stakeholders and international agencies to promote the production and use of “sustainable palm oil”.

Agronomy, sustainability and good agricultural practices

Sustainable palm oil production needs to be based on the application of a code of good practices, respecting a certain number of criteria related to economic, environmental and social aspects. We focus here on economic and environmental aspects, attempting to take stock of the current situation regarding the management of inputs (fertilizers, pesticides), and of oil mill waste (empty fruit bunches, effluent). We also take a look at the main agricultural research required if we are to be able to assess the situation on different scales and see how it is evolving, and also provide assistance for rational management that is compatible with farmers’ production targets.

Stem rots of oil palm caused by Ganoderma boninense: Pathogen biology and epidemiology

Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) has been grown in Papua New Guinea since the early 1960s. The most important disease of oil palm in PNG is a stem rot of the palm base. This is the same disease that constitutes a major threat to sustainable oil palm production in SE Asia. Investigations into the causal pathogen have revealed that the stem rots in PNG are caused predominantly by the basidiomycete Ganoderma boninense, with a minor pathogen identified as G. tornatum G. tornatum was found to have a broad host range whereas G. boninense appears to be restricted to palms. The population structure of G. boninense was investigated using inter-fertility studies between isolates collected from basal stem rots on oil palm. Although the G. boninense field populations are predominantly comprised of distinct individuals, a number of isolates were found that share single mating alleles. This indicates that out-crossing had occurred over several generations in the resident or wild population of G. boninense prior to colonization of oil palm. No direct hereditary relationship between isolates on neighbouring diseased palms was found, although an indirect link between isolates causing upper stem rot and basal stem rot was detected.