Balancing oil palm cultivation with forest and biodiversity conservation

Description

With the formation of the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil, environmentalists and consumers anticipated a decrease in the indiscriminate destruction of tropical rainforests. Ten years later, thousands of hectares of tropical rainforests continue to be cleared for oil palm plantations in the tropical world and endangered species are being lost in the process. This chapter, based on six years of collaboration between Copenhagen Zoo, Malaysia, and United Plantations Bhd in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, describes how measuring, monitoring and managing the environmental impact of plantation operations are key components in sustainable palm oil production. The chapter examines operational impacts of oil palm cultivation on both biodiversity and abiotic factors, as well as outlining methods of biological pest management. The chapter recommends that dedicated companies develop environmental divisions at estate level in order to ensure that biodiversity concerns are integrated into standard operational procedures.

Table of contents

1 Introduction 2 Research methods 3 Measuring operational impacts on biodiversity 4 Measuring operational impacts on abiotic factors 5 Biological pest management 6 Results and discussion 7 Conclusion and future trends 8 Where to look for further information 9 References