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The environmental impacts of palm oil in context

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Title The environmental impacts of palm oil in context
 
Creator Meijaard, E.
Brooks, T.M.
Carlson, K.M.
Slade, E.M.
Garcia-Ulloa, J.
Gaveau, D.L.A.
Lee, J.S.H.
Santika, T.
Juffe-Bignoli, D.
Struebig, M.J.
Wich, S.A.
Ancrenaz, M.
Koh, L.P.
Zamira, N.
Abrams, J.F.
Prins, H.H.T.
Sendashoga, Cyrie N.
Murdiyarso, D.
Furumo, P.R.
Macfarlane, N.
Hoffmann, R.
Persio, M.
Descals, A.
Szantoi, Z.
Sheil, D.
 
Subject oil palms
sustainable development
agroecology
agriculture
environmental impact
 
Description Delivering the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires balancing demands on land between agriculture (SDG 2) and biodiversity (SDG 15). The production of vegetable oils and, in particular, palm oil, illustrates these competing demands and trade-offs. Palm oil accounts for ~40% of the current global annual demand for vegetable oil as food, animal feed and fuel (210 Mt), but planted oil palm covers less than 5–5.5% of the total global oil crop area (approximately 425 Mha) due to oil palm’s relatively high yields. Recent oil palm expansion in forested regions of Borneo, Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula, where >90% of global palm oil is produced, has led to substantial concern around oil palm’s role in deforestation. Oil palm expansion’s direct contribution to regional tropical deforestation varies widely, ranging from an estimated 3% in West Africa to 50% in Malaysian Borneo. Oil palm is also implicated in peatland draining and burning in Southeast Asia. Documented negative environmental impacts from such expansion include biodiversity declines, greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. However, oil palm generally produces more oil per area than other oil crops, is often economically viable in sites unsuitable for most other crops and generates considerable wealth for at least some actors. Global demand for vegetable oils is projected to increase by 46% by 2050. Meeting this demand through additional expansion of oil palm versus other vegetable oil crops will lead to substantial differential effects on biodiversity, food security, climate change, land degradation and livelihoods. Our Review highlights that although substantial gaps remain in our understanding of the relationship between the environmental, socio-cultural and economic impacts of oil palm, and the scope, stringency and effectiveness of initiatives to address these, there has been little research into the impacts and trade-offs of other vegetable oil crops. Greater research attention needs to be given to investigating the impacts of palm oil production compared to alternatives for the trade-offs to be assessed at a global scale.
 
Date 2020-12-07
2021-03-01T08:58:33Z
2021-03-01T08:58:33Z
 
Type Journal Article
 
Identifier Meijaard, E., Brooks, T.M., Carlson, K.M., Slade, E.M., Garcia-Ulloa, J., Gaveau, D.L.A., Lee, J.S.H., Santika, T., Juffe-Bignoli, D., Struebig, M.J., Wich, S.A., Ancrenaz, M., Koh, L.P., Zamira, N., Abrams, J.F., Prins, H.H.T., Sendashonga, C.N., Murdiyarso, D., Furumo, P.R., Macfarlane, N., Hoffmann, R., Persio, M., Descals, A., Szantoi, Z. and Sheil, D. 2020. The environmental impacts of palm oil in context. Nature Plants 6(12):1418-1426. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-020-00813-w.
2055-0278
https://hdl.handle.net/10568/111665
https://www.cifor.org/library/7898
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-020-00813-w
 
Language en
 
Rights Copyrighted; all rights reserved
Limited Access
 
Format 1418-1426
 
Publisher Springer Science and Business Media LLC
 
Source Nature Plants