Changing landscapes, livelihoods and village welfare in the context of oil palm development

Abstract

The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals underscore the need for improved understanding of relationships between changes in landscapes, livelihoods, and social welfare, and how these relate to tackling poverty, inequality, and environmental degradation. Such assessments are especially relevant in the context of oil palm agricultural expansion, which has rapidly replaced traditional livelihoods and generates ongoing political debates around the world. Proponents of the oil palm industry have used economic objectives to justify expansion, while opponents have raised the negative socioecological impacts on communities. To assist the debate, we assessed the association between the change in landuses and climate, the change in village primary livelihoods towards monocultural oil palm cultivation, and the change in village welfare after adopting oil palm across Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo, between 2000 and 2014. We show that the change in village primary livelihoods towards monocultural oil palm cultivation during this period was associated with complex interrelations between the expansion of agricultural industries, and conducive climate and market conditions for supporting agricultural production. The shift to oil palm monoculture brought significant economic benefit to villages, but this was limited to those with past exposure to plantation management and the market economy, such as in polyculture plantation villages. For villages where the majority of communities practiced traditional subsistence-based livelihoods (farming, foraging and fishing), the economic benefit from a shift to oil palm lasted only a few years after transition, while the socioecological welfare deteriorated. Furthermore, the shift to oil palm monoculture jeopardized food security among these subsistence livelihood villages. Baseline economic and socioecological conditions of villages, therefore, critically determine the success of the oil palm sector in providing economic benefits over the long term. Our study urgently calls for considering oil palm development objectives not only in terms of regional economic gain, but also the future maintenance of socioecological welfare of village communities.

Commentary: Oil Palm Boom and Farm Household Diets in the Tropics

“…However, villages that were mostly subsistence-based only experienced short-term economic gains and reported a rise in malnutrition (Santika et al, 2019b). Compared to other regions of Indonesia, Sumatra has a stronger market economy presence (Baudoin et al, 2017;Giacomin, 2018;Santika et al, 2020).…”

“…In contrast, in areas that lack market access and infrastructure, oil palm development may only lead to short term economic gains, often at the expense of reduced economic stability, socioecological welfare and rising inequality. Findings from more heavily forested communities in Papua and Kalimantan, where traditional subsistence based livelihoods are still widely practiced, have shown mixed welfare outcomes (Austin et al, 2017;Santika et al, 2019b), and more mixed and nuanced effects upon dietary intake and nutrition (e.g., Purwestri et al, 2019).…”

The strategy of shifting cultivators in West Kalimantan in adapting to the market economy: empirical evidence behind gaps in interdisciplinary communication

“…The community's enthusiasm is in line with studies stating that the increasingly expansive and wide-spread development of company-owned oil palm plantations in various regions throughout Kalimantan has propelled the development of community oil palm fields. As I mentioned, the certainty that oil palm selling points are available is important (Santika et al 2019;Sirait 2009). Actually, the expansion of community plantations is now progressing faster than the expansion of large scale plantations (Wibowo et al 2019).…”

“…Labor inputs to agriculture are balanced with paid work at forestry and plantation companies. The transformation in land uses and toward a commercial model has been rapid, and has affected community members and households (Santika et al 2019).…”

“…Today, they respond to fluctuating commodity prices, with rubber being more established than oil palm as commercial crops. The transformation of subsistence farming is driven by the pressures imposed on it, and by new opportunities for cash income and paid labor, as occurs elsewhere in Indonesia (Santika et al 2019;Toumbourou and Dressler 2020;Wibowo et al 2019). Buying rice, corn, CGPRT, and vegetables at the market has started to develop in the study villages, using cash earned by labor and commercial sales.…”