The Palm-Oil Dilemma: Balancing Bio-fuel Demand with Forest Conservation
In the emerging dilemma on the prospects and conflicts surrounding the palm-oil, it is pertinent and relevant to ensure a better understanding of its multiple utilities in today’s world. Paradoxically, the agricultural product, so vital to the increasing global consumerism is an essential ingredient in the manufacturing of edible oil, cosmetics, soap products and snacks, as well as a viable alternative to the fast depleting, carbon generating fossil fuels, has been facing the challenge of catalysing the destruction of the tropical forests cover in the Southeast Asian region, thus endangering its plethora of flora and fauna. This has been the part of an ongoing debate among scholars, environmentalists, corporate bodies and government organizations alike for quite some time now and an early consensus on the future course of action is immensely desirable at this critical juncture.
The agricultural produce like palm oil (or oil-palm), corn, soya beans, sugar beet, rape-seed, cassava and others, commonly used for bio fuel, help in mitigating carbon-dioxide (CO2) emission as an alternative to petroleum which causes global warming. This, along with the rising prices as well as the demand for petroleum products have facilitated bio-energy investments with commendable results. Attention has thus shifted to the areas in Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia and Indonesia, a place ideally suitable for the growth of the Oil-palm trees (Elaeis) and large tracts of unexploited forests and cultivable land have been on a rapid conversion spree into oil-palm plantations.
The new trend has given rise to massive destruction of forests in the countries of Indonesia and Malaysia. Indonesia, which is home to 4% of the rainforest in the world, has been producing around 85% of the total palm oil in the world covering about 6.78 million hectares of oil-palm plantations. There has been an estimated increase of 5 to 15 million tonnes of palm oil between 1995 and 2005 in Indonesia. In fact, just between 2007 and 2008 there has been a rise of 1.5 million tonnes of the oil production in the country with a prediction that it would be doubled in the next decade. Malaysia, the not so distant neighbour, followed similar pace of production and has a capacity of 25 million tonnes of oil production which accounts for major earnings in foreign trade. This significant rise has also been recent in Malaysia with an increase of 8 to 15 million tonnes between 1995 and 2005. There is almost no more area left in Peninsular Malaysia for new tracts of cultivation.
The oil-palm plantations and tropical rainforests support different ecological patterns, thus substitution with oil-palm and bio-fuel crops might not appear to be an acceptable proposition. The tropical rain forest around the world acts like the lungs to earth with its rich biodiversity, which cannot be substituted by palm oil cultivation. With the present vulnerability of increasing global warming, it is not only an urgent necessity to stem the carbon emissions immediately, but also to preserve the existing forest cover to the maximum extent. The raging forest fires, a conventional method of clearing the forest land, further add to the carbondioxide content in the atmosphere, and contribute to the extinction of many endangered species of plants and animals.
As far as the food-crop cultivation is concerned, farmers in the region are increasingly switching over to the commercially more beneficial palm-oil cultivation creating a shortage and price escalation of food crops in the region, a phenomenon detrimental to the growth of any healthy economy.
With these perspectives in view, the environmentalists’ hue and cry at increasing investments in the crop by respective governments and corporations alike, may be justified and is well supported by all those concerned with the future. However, from another point of view, the increasing expediency of the crop and its commercial viability in our everyday life instantly strikes a note of discord between the two opposing analysis. The rapid pace of its expansion and development, which started with a commercial vigour only in the nineties, bears a testimony to its ever-increasing role in our lives.
Apart from the increasing demand of the biofuels, palm-oil has also become a source of essential ingredient of diversified cosmetic products and the source of organic food from palm-oil derivatives. Thus the use and efficiency of the oil-palm cannot be underestimated in the present global economy. Industrialized nations do not have the land-base necessary for their oil-palm demands and are increasingly looking towards the Southeast Asian countries of Malaysia and Indonesia, and Brazil to cater to the world demand. At the same time, the Southeast Asian countries are burdened with the responsibility of replenishing the green house gases. At present, the main countries in bio-fuel development and use are United States, France, Germany, China, Brazil, Sweden, etc. Undoubtedly, there is a necessity to draw a balance between the environmental concerns and the developmental needs.
The palm-oil trade has been contributing immensely to the developing economies of Malaysia and Indonesia, a fact which must be borne in mind before carrying out the balancing act. It is, however, evident that the developing countries have little choice except to bear the brunt of the industrial advancement of the West and take up the responsibility of the ECPT (Ecosystem Carbon Payback Time) if we want to preserve the planetary life support system for a longer duration for the future generations. It is indeed challenging to make the industrialized West realise and compensate for the losses that they have incurred for decades.
The present situation necessitates a greater role for international bodies like the International Energy Forum (IEA) and the U.N. International Biofuels Forum. The constant harping of the green organizations like the Greenpeace, FOE, Wetlands, Treehugger on such issues and an increasing awareness have induced many entrepreneurs like Sime Darby, PT Muslim Mas, Wilmar Group, Kulim Bhd. to consent to strive at an eco-friendly oil-palm production in the Southeast Asian region. There has also emerged a Palm-oil moratorium led by Unilever which was faced with disagreements by some companies like the Ferrero, who, however, succumbed to pressure.
Interestingly, it has been suggested that the investments for the palm-oil cultivation be directed towards Africa, where the climate is equally suitable for the crop’s growth. In such case , palm-oil’s global travelogue would come full circle as West Africa was its place of origin from where it was brought to the Indonesian island of Bogor by the Dutch as an ornamental plant in 1848. If the concerned governments and the corporations agree, it might give some relief to the worried environmentalists on the deforestation issue in the region. However, in the absence of pragmatic set of carbon sensitive rules and their proper implementation, it might present another picture of ensuing complexities in the African milieu.
To work towards a solution of this grave global problem, it is necessary to make the industrialized nation and their organizations equally responsible in action along with the developing countries for restoring the natural planetary equilibrium rather than simply reiterating repeatedly the necessity of the same. Use of products could also be avoided containing palm-oil that has not been derived from sustainable sources. A much tougher but equally necessary measure could be to stabilize the demand at a sustainable level which would require substantial reduction in demand.