scholarly journals Does the oil palm certification create trade-offs between environment and development in Indonesia?

Author(s):  
Janice Ser Huay Lee ◽  
Daniela A. Miteva ◽  
Kimberly M. Carlson ◽  
Robert Heilmayr ◽  
Omar Saif

***This article has been accepted in Environmental Research Letters. Please refer to the DOI for the accepted manuscript: https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abc279.*** Environmental and social problems triggered by rapid palm oil expansion in the tropics have spurred the proliferation of sustainability certification systems such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). While the RSPO aims to improve the impact of oil palm production on people and environments, its effect on local development, environmental quality, and, especially, potential trade-offs between these outcomes remain unclear. Here, we evaluate whether RSPO certification of large-scale industrial concessions has promoted village development and supported environmental quality in Indonesia, the top global palm oil producer. Using a panel dataset with observations from 11,000 villages in Kalimantan and Sumatra from 2003-2014, we apply rigorous quasi-experimental methods to quantify the RSPO's impacts on village development and environmental outcomes. In the short-run, RSPO contributed to environmental conservation, but had limited development outcomes. On average, relative to villages with non-certified concessions, RSPO certification reduced deforestation and protected primary forests in Sumatra and lowered the incidence of village-reported land pollution in Kalimantan. RSPO certification also increased the number of private educational facilities in Kalimantan, but had no statistically significant impacts on other development indicators. However, the trade-offs and complementarities between conservation and development vary by slope, a proxy for ecosystem fragility and oil palm profitability. On gentler slopes, we generally find complementarities between conservation and development outcomes. In Kalimantan, certification increased the number of private educational facilities and reduced deforestation and the incidence of land pollution on slopes <2°. In Sumatra, certification increased primary forests, decreased deforestation and the incidence of water pollution on slopes <1°, along with a decrease in population density. Higher slopes in both locations were associated with environment and development trade-offs. We highlight the need to better understand the mechanisms behind the impacts of RSPO and emphasized how the outcomes of certification depend on the communities' bargaining power and the profitability of the land for oil palm production. Thus, we provide insights into understanding these mechanisms behind the impacts of RSPO, which is a prerequisite for improving the design of certification systems and their impacts on the ground.

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. 124064 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janice Ser Huay Lee ◽  
Daniela A Miteva ◽  
Kimberly M Carlson ◽  
Robert Heilmayr ◽  
Omar Saif

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Shauna M Downs ◽  
Khristopher Nicholas ◽  
Kay Khine Linn ◽  
Jessica Fanzo

Abstract Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the trade-offs related to the production and consumption of palm oil in Myanmar from a sustainable diets perspective. Design: We used an enhanced value chain analysis approach that included semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders; market analyses to assess edible oils in markets and focus groups as well as surveys with consumers to ascertain their perceptions and practices related to edible oils. Setting: Four settings in Myanmar (upper income urban; lower income urban; middle-income urban; lower income rural). Participants: Key stakeholders (n 12) from government, trade bodies and civil society organisations were included in the interviews. Women from each of the regions participated in four focus groups (n 32), and a convenience sample of male and female consumers participated in the surveys (n 362). Results: We found mistrust of the oil sector overall. Poor production practices, leading to low yields, limit the economic viability of oil palm production in Myanmar and contribute to negative environmental (e.g. deforestation) and social outcomes (e.g. land conflicts). Consumers demonstrated low preferences for palm oil as compared with traditional oils from a taste, health and transparency perspective; however, they indicated that its relative low cost led to its purchase over other oils. Conclusions: The Burmese example suggests that there may be limited benefits, and significant costs, of investing in palm oil production in regions where there are coordinating disincentives from a sustainable diets perspective. However, if oil palm cultivation is to continue, there are opportunities to improve its economic viability and environmental sustainability.


2010 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce M. Campbell ◽  
Jeffrey A. Sayer ◽  
Brian Walker

Author(s):  
Dimas Satria ◽  
Poningsih Poningsih ◽  
Widodo Saputra

The purpose of this paper is to create an expert system to detect oil palm plant diseases in order to help farmers / companies in providing accurate information about the diseases of oil palm plants and how to overcome them and to help reduce the risk of decreasing palm oil production. This system is designed to mimic the expertise of an expert who is able to detect diseases that attack oil palm plants. The method used is forward chaining that is starting from a set of data and proving a fact by describing the level of confidence and uncertainty found in a hypothesis. The results of this study are to diagnose diseases of oil palm plants and their computerization using web programming languages.


Fermentation ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 81
Author(s):  
Hironaga Akita ◽  
Mohd Zulkhairi Mohd Yusoff ◽  
Shinji Fujimoto

Malaysia is the second largest palm oil producer and exporter globally. When crude palm oil is produced in both plantations and oil processing mills, a large amount of oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) is simultaneously produced as a waste product. Here, we describe the preparation of hydrolysate from OPEFB. After OPEFB was hydrothermally treated at 180–200 °C, the resultant liquid phase was subjected to high-performance liquid chromatography analysis, while the solid phase was used for acidic and enzymatic hydrolysis. Hemicellulose yield from the acid-treated solid phase decreased from 153 mg/g-OPEFB to 27.5 mg/g-OPEFB by increasing the hydrothermal treatment temperature from 180 to 200 °C. Glucose yield from the enzyme-treated solid phase obtained after hydrothermal treatment at 200 °C was the highest (234 ± 1.90 mg/g-OPEFB, 61.7% production efficiency). In contrast, xylose, mannose, galactose, and arabinose yields in the hydrolysate prepared from the solid phase hydrothermally treated at 200 °C were the lowest. Thus, we concluded that the optimum temperature for hydrothermal pretreatment was 200 °C, which was caused by the low hemicellulose yield. Based on these results, we have established an effective method for preparing OPEFB hydrolysates with high glucose content.


Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 500
Author(s):  
Stephany Iriana Pasaribu ◽  
Frank Vanclay

Although companies have many direct and indirect impacts on the lives of children, discussion of the responsibility of business to respect the rights of children has primarily focused on child labor. Using UNICEF’s Children’s Rights and Business Principles as a framework for our analysis, we considered the activities of oil palm plantation companies operating in Indonesia. Our data come from key informant interviews and reflection on two programs established to promote respect for children’s rights in the Indonesian palm oil industry: one by Pusat Kajian Perlindungan Anak (PKPA) (Center for Child Study and Protection); and one by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) in conjunction with UNICEF. We considered: how plantation company activities impacted children’s lives; how companies demonstrated respect for children’s rights; and how observance of children’s rights can be improved. We discuss four problematic issues: getting company commitments to children’s rights into policy and practice; having a strong business case for respecting human rights and children’s rights; contradictory objectives within companies; and complexities around children in the workplace. We argue that a children’s rights based approach should be applied to the activities of all organizations. This children’s rights lens is needed to overcome the invisibility of children in society and industry, and to address the root causes of human rights harms. We note that respecting children’s rights will likely contribute to getting a social license to operate and grow.


Processes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 878
Author(s):  
Apinya Singkhala ◽  
Chonticha Mamimin ◽  
Alissara Reungsang ◽  
Sompong O-Thong

A sudden pH drops always inhibits the anaerobic digestion (AD) reactor for biogas production from palm oil mill effluent (POME). The pH adjustment of POME by oil palm ash addition and the biogas effluent recycling effect on the preventing of pH drop and change of the archaea community was investigated. The pH adjustment of POME to 7.5 increased the methane yield two times more than raw POME (pH 4.3). The optimal dose for pH adjustment by oil palm ash addition was 5% w/v with a methane yield of 440 mL-CH4/gVS. The optimal dose for pH adjustment by biogas effluent recycling was 20% v/v with a methane yield of 351 mL-CH4/gVS. Methane production from POME in a continuous reactor with pH adjustment by 5% w/v oil palm ash and 20% v/v biogas effluent recycling was 19.1 ± 0.25 and 13.8 ± 0.3 m3 CH4/m3-POME, respectively. The pH adjustment by oil palm ash enhanced methane production for the long-term operation with the stability of pH, alkalinity, and archaea community. Oil palm ash increased the number of Methanosarcina mazei and Methanothermobacter defluvii. Oil palm ash is a cost-effective alkali material as a source of buffer and trace metals for preventing the pH drop and the increased methanogen population in the AD process.


2014 ◽  
Vol 911 ◽  
pp. 40-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Aqif Adam ◽  
Alawi Sulaiman ◽  
Che Mohd Som Said ◽  
Ayub M. Som ◽  
Azhari Samsu Bahruddin ◽  
...  

Palm oil industry produces huge amount of oil palm decanter cake (OPDC). Currently it is not yet commercialized however due to its characteristics, it can be used to produce oil palm decanter cake natural polymer composite (OPDC-NPC). NPC is a type of material made by combining natural fiber with polymer. Therefore the objective of this paper is to produce NPC from OPDC and then determine its mechanical and physical properties such as elasticity, stiffness, tensile strength and water absorption rate. The OPDC samples were collected from Felda Trolak Palm Oil Mill. Prior to NPC development, the oil was removed from OPDC using hexane soxhlet extraction method. OPDC-NPC was fabricated using molding method where the mixture of 95% polypropylene (PP) and 5% OPDC were mixed using twin-screw extruder. The results showed that OPDC-NPC has an elasticity of 2231 MPa, stiffness of 30 MPa, tensile strength of 32 MPa and water absorption rate of 0.16 % which was slightly better with the other types of fibers.


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