Why Not? How Has Biodiversity in The Tropical Rainforests of Indonesia Affected With Palm Oil Plantations?

1. Is Palm Oil Environmentally and Socially Responsible?
Why or
Why not? How has biodiversity in the Tropical Rainforests of
Indonesia affected with Palm Oil plantations?
Palm oil is used in many of the products that are available in market, from chocolate,
soaps, instant noodles, cosmetics ,fuels and power plant .Palm oil has many properties
which make it popular like- cooking properties( it maintains its properties even under high
temperature),absence of smell, smooth and creamy texture with make it a perfect
ingredient in baked goods (biscuit) also it extends the shelf life of food product
But the major problem in the palm oil industry is its counterproductive production which
leads to chopping down the tropical forest. The reason of this deforestation is as the tree
grows higher it becomes difficult to gather its fruit and seeds which is used to make palm
oil. therefore many producers clean down old trees and rainforest to plant new one. This
activity results in decreasing earth capacity to capture Co2 thus leaving the planet more
vulnerable to climate change and to global warming, this also means environment pollution
since forest and land fire is a common method to prepare land for palm trees plantation.
These fires causes smoke and release toxic elements(Sulfur) in atmosphere which are very
harmful to health of local people.
The deforestation of rainforest has a threatening effect on the survival of animal species
such as orangutan, the Sumatran tiger , the rhinoceros and many others.
The oil palm industry has also effected the local community, it has turned peasants into
landless labor(with very minimum wages) forcing them into plantation. This seizure of
land by corporations and palm oil plantation are also affecting women’s ownership of land
and ability to produce food. It is transforming peasant from food producer into food buyers
and cheap labor for plantation companies.
The government needs to organize the labor system placing the workers as living subjects.
The government as regulator of the industry needs to develop appropriate working
principles and evaluation to ensure that the palm oil industry fulfills the labor rights. Palm
oil plantation companies have to understand the human rights implications they impose on
workers and must obey the national and international labor laws.
2. What is RSPO? How can you be an informed Consumer?
RSPO is a not-for-profit that unites stakeholders from the 7 sectors of the palm oil industry: oil
palm producers, processors or traders, consumer goods manufacturers, retailers,
banks/investors, and environmental and social non-governmental organisations (NGOs), to
develop and implement global standards for sustainable palm oil.
The RSPO has developed a set of environmental and social criteria which companies must
comply with in order to produce Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO). When they are properly
applied, these criteria can help to minimize the negative impact of palm oil cultivation on the
environment and communities in palm oil-producing regions.
The RSPO has more than 4,000 members worldwide who represent all links along the palm oil
supply chain. They have committed to produce, source and use sustainable palm oil certified by
the RSPO.
As a consumer, always look at the ingredient list in label. Many products that use palm oil
aren't clearly labeled. Palm oil and its derivatives can appear under many names,
Including: Vegetable Oil, Vegetable Fat, Palm Kernel, Palm Kernel Oil, Palm Fruit Oil, Palmate,
Palmitate, Palmolein, Glyceryl, Stearate, Stearic Acid, Elaeis Guineensis, Palmitic Acid, Palm
Stearine, Palmitoyl Oxostearamide, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-3, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium
Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Kernelate, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Sodium Lauryl Lactylate /Sulphate,
Hyrated Palm Glycerides, Etyl Palmitate, Octyl Palmitate, Palmityl Alcohol
CONTAINS: Palm oil
Also look for the RSPO label to ensure you purchase products made with certified sustainable
palm oil. This label gives you the confidence that the palm oil was produced in a socially and
environmentally responsible way.
3. Read the Article: Palm Oil in India and Comment.
India imports nearly 15 million tons annually (or nearly 68 per cent) of edible oils to meet the
country’s annual consumption demand of about 22 million tons. The bulk of these imports are palm
oil. Of the total imports of edible oil, palm oil accounts for 60 per cent or about 9 million tons.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed on 23 July 2020 to the farmers in the North-East States to
take up oil palm cultivation in a big way. It is a step to support the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative
and will reduce the imports of Palm oil and make India self-sufficient in edible oils too.
As mentioned in the article women are facing lot of problem from shifting of farming practice from
jhum to oil palm plantation like right of ownership of land and facing health issue doing labor
intensive work on land or in a closed room filled with smoke. However the major advantage is now
they are able to earn more compared to traditional farming.
The major problem is that the Indian government is making an aggressive move aiming to domestic
palm oil production. The efforts of the government involve massive investments to expand oil palm
production in 12 of the 29 Indian states via huge subsidies to farmers, including up to 85 per cent of
seedling costs, and 50 per cent of outlay on irrigation, chemical inputs and processing units. Such
measures have already led to the loss of 17,500 hectares of community-managed forest in the state
of Mizoram, in northeast India. Much of this expansion has come at the cost of traditional shifting
cultivation practices and the forests that are integral to the practice of shifting cultivation.
It appears that India has failed to learn lessons from Indonesia with oil palm and ecological security.
Indonesia and Malaysia have already burned their fingers, and a large proportion of their
incomparable forests, with oil palm plantation.
A first step that needs to be taken is to identify areas that are climatically and logistically (for
instance, with access to irrigation) conducive to oil palm cultivation. Creating a profile of land use in
these areas will be helpful to assess the existing land uses that can be profitably replaced with oil
palm plantations, both economically and ecologically. In its push for increasing edible oil
production, India must look for sustainable practices in oil palm cultivation at this very early stage,
and not wait until its forests are irrevocably lost.

Why Not? How Has Biodiversity in The Tropical Rainforests of Indonesia Affected With Palm Oil Plantations?

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1. Is Palm Oil Environmentally and Socially Responsible?

CONTAINS: Palm oil

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