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| palm fruit |
Versatile is the best way to
describe the reddish brown fruit born from oil palm trees. Both the flesh and
seed of the fruit is used in many applications including cooking, cosmetics,
and biofuel. In addition, the fruit is composed of 50 percent oil, making it a
highly efficient product that requires less land than other oil producing
crops. Palm oil is cultivated in the tropical regions of Asia, Africa, and
South America. However, 85 percent of global production comes from Malaysia and
Indonesia. The rural regions of these countries strongly benefit from a
commodity that is in high demand as a raw material or as an edible ingredient.
Indonesia produced 9 million tons of palm oil in
2011, making it the greatest producer in the world. Indonesia is not slowing
down its production. In fact, the country is expected to double its production
into the future. Indonesia is currently expanding production from its tropical
forests to its peatlands, located closer to the coastline. Graduate researchers
Fatwa Ramdani and Masteru Hino of Tohoku University in Japan, investigated the
expansion of oil palm plantations in the Riau Province of Indonesia and their
effect on the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
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| tropical deforestation |
Unlike other scientists’ research
into GHG, Ramdani and Hino looked into emissions on a provincial scale as
opposed to a regional scale, (all of Indonesia). Ramdani offered his opinion on
the sustainability of Indonesia’s current model of oil palm expansion. “High
demand for oil palm and little government management is driving plantation
expansion at an unsustainable rate. Indonesia needs to explore sustainable
development of oil palm plantations to protect biodiversity, its local
economies and to reduce GHG.” The tropical forests and peatlands provide many
important ecosystem services such as the provision of clean air, water, and
carbon sequestration; the process of removing atmospheric carbon and converting
it to an alternative chemical form.
Peatlands in particular provide a
great deal of carbon sequestration. These
systems are wet, damp, and muddy, so any dead vegetation is slow to decompose. Thus,
carbon taken from the atmosphere by plants is stored indefinitely in the
tissues of living and dead materials for great periods of time. However, as
explained to me by Ramdani, when these systems are disturbed or altered, the
stored carbon is released. The researchers found that from the year’s 2000 to
2012, approximately 70 percent of GHG in the Riau Province resulted from the
conversion of peatlands into oil palm plantations. Additionally, Ramdani and Hino
tracked the growth of oil palm plantations from 1990’s to 2012 with satellite
imagery.
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| peatlands |
The researchers noted that oil palm
plantations’ growth mirrored its growing value in the global marketplace. Oil
palm plantations became more abundant from 2000-2012. During this period, 137
multinational and two public companies occupied the Riau Province. Ramdani
explained why, despite poorer nutrient levels compared to tropical forests,
conversion of peatlands is growing in the Riau Province. “Oil palm trees
require a lot of water, and peatlands are very flat, making them easier to
irrigate.” Ramdani further explained that the benefits to business is not based
purely on physical practicalities. “Unlike other systems, peatlands generally
receive little to no protection from government moratoriums.” Thus, peatlands are prime exploitable areas
for companies looking to occupy and convert large tracts of land into
plantations.
However, organizations such as the
Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, or RSPO, are taking measures to help make
the palm oil industry sustainable. They issue certificates to producers who
agree to meet their principles and criteria, offering an incentive to the
earth-conscious consumer. In the meantime, unsustainable production is still on
the rise, and it is ultimately up to consumers to support the sustainable
portion of the palm oil industry.
