Palms of controversies: Oil palm and development challenges

Rival, Alain; Levang, Patrice

doi:10.17528/cifor/004860

Cited by 16 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…The negative impact of the crop on biodiversity is undeniable; the high yielding varieties are available to spare the land. It is the socio-economical drivers, governmental decision and environmental activists views that make oil palms the “Palms of Controversies” (Rival and Levang, 2014). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Oil palm natural diversity and the potential for yield improvement

et al. 2015

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African oil palm has the highest productivity amongst cultivated oleaginous crops. Species can constitute a single crop capable to fulfill the growing global demand for vegetable oils, which is estimated to reach 240 million tons by 2050. Two types of vegetable oil are extracted from the palm fruit on commercial scale. The crude palm oil and kernel palm oil have different fatty acid profiles, which increases versatility of the crop in industrial applications. Plantations of the current varieties have economic life-span around 25–30 years and produce fruits around the year. Thus, predictable annual palm oil supply enables marketing plans and adjustments in line with the economic forecasts. Oil palm cultivation is one of the most profitable land uses in the humid tropics. Oil palm fruits are the richest plant source of pro-vitamin A and vitamin E. Hence, crop both alleviates poverty, and could provide a simple practical solution to eliminate global pro-vitamin A deficiency. Oil palm is a perennial, evergreen tree adapted to cultivation in biodiversity rich equatorial land areas. The growing demand for the palm oil threatens the future of the rain forests and has a large negative impact on biodiversity. Plant science faces three major challenges to make oil palm the key element of building the future sustainable world. The global average yield of 3.5 tons of oil per hectare (t) should be raised to the full yield potential estimated at 11–18t. The tree architecture must be changed to lower labor intensity and improve mechanization of the harvest. Oil composition should be tailored to the evolving needs of the food, oleochemical and fuel industries. The release of the oil palm reference genome sequence in 2013 was the key step toward this goal. The molecular bases of agronomically important traits can be and are beginning to be understood at the single base pair resolution, enabling gene-centered breeding and engineering of this remarkable crop.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Oil palm natural diversity and the potential for yield improvement

et al. 2015

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“…Komoditas ini memainkan peran yang amat penting dalam mendukung pertumbuhan ekonomi dan pembangunan Indonesia. Minyak sawit adalah komoditas ekspor non-minyak dan gas Indonesia terbesar pada 2020 (WITS, 2022) dan menjadi sumber penghidupan bagi kurang lebih 16-25 juta orang di seluruh Nusantara (Anggraeni, 2018;Rival & Levang, 2014).…”

Section: Pendahuluanunclassified

Mencapai Keterlacakan Minyak Sawit Indonesia yang Menyeluruh melalui Harmonisasi ISPO-RSPO

Pareira

2023

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“…(Meijaard et al, 2020). Palm oil is the most consumed vegetable oil globally and demand has accelerated with the emergence of new outlets in the agrofuel sector, adding to traditional food and oleochemical uses (Rival & Levang, 2014). This strong growth has undeniably contributed to the economic development of the main producing countries, mainly Indonesia and Malaysia, which now supply 87% of world production (Qaim et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Innovative planting designs for oil palm-based agroforestry

RIVAL,

ANCRENAZ,

GUIZOL

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Southeast Asia is home to 20% of the remaining tropical forests, yet it suffers from the highest rates of deforestation globally due to the expansion of agroindustrial and smallholder tree crop plantations, particularly oil palm plantations. This development has led to the decline of emblematic species such as orangutans, but also of critical functional groups, including soil fauna and fungi. Through the loss of structurally complex habitats, biodiversity is drastically reduced in oil palm-dominated landscapes and deforestation impairs key ecosystem services. Despite its commercial success, intensive oil palm monoculture has now reached its social and environmental limits. The TRAILS Project has established an international consortium linking a research organization (CIRAD), a community-based environmental NGO (HUTAN), a Malaysian University (Universiti Putra Malaysia), and a commercial oil palm plantation (Melangking Oil Palm Plantations). The consortium has set up experimental oil palm-based agroforestry plots in a commercial plantation located in Sabah, Malaysia, a global hotspot of biodiversity. TRAILS has planted a series of field experiments aimed at: i) evaluating the feasibility of intercropping, associating oil palms and forest trees, ii) assessing the potential for agroforestry of 17 native forest species and, iii) characterizing biological interactions between oil palm plants and some of these tree species. Our overarching goal is to ascertain synergies and trade-offs between biodiversity, ecosystem services, and sustainable palm oil production. This article describes three original planting designs, paving the way for a new generation of climate-smart and resilient plantations.

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Palms of controversies: Oil palm and development challenges

Cited by 16 publications

References 19 publications

Oil palm natural diversity and the potential for yield improvement

Oil palm natural diversity and the potential for yield improvement

Mencapai Keterlacakan Minyak Sawit Indonesia yang Menyeluruh melalui Harmonisasi ISPO-RSPO

Innovative planting designs for oil palm-based agroforestry

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