Deforestation in Indonesia: Is Sustainable Palm Oil Possible?

Thèmes abordés

Palm Oil, Environment, Indonesia, REED, Deforestation

Résumé du document

Indonesia is an archipelago in Southeast Asia; its geography is defined by over 17,000 islands, the surface area is about 1,920,000 square kilometers, and its capital is Jakarta. Indonesia has an estimated population of 230 million people and a GDP worth $ 540,274 million . The secular and democratic republic is now the most predominant Muslim country in Asia. Since the 1970s, the country has enjoyed relative political stability under the dictatorial regime of General Suharto and expanded economic development; attributed part to a policy of liberalization and growth in production. Thus, Indonesia has been the leading producer of palm oil worldwide since 2006 . The revenue created by the industry allows Indonesia to be part of the World Trade Organization and the only country in Southeast Asia to be a member of the G20.

Despite such expansion, the economic development of Indonesia has its dark side. Since the 1990s, Indonesia has been the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases worldwide with 2,786 million metric tons of CO2 in 2000, coming in right behind behemoths such as the United States (4,808) and China (3,375). Deforestation for the purpose of palm oil production is the main cause for this massive level of carbon emission. According to the World Bank, forest area in Indonesia diminished from 978,500 sq. km in 2000 to 885,000 sq. km in 2005. In more recent years, deforestation has continued during the 2000-2005 periods where Indonesia recorded the second biggest net loss of forest cover, with 1.5 million hectares lost annually, as recorded by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Extraits

[...] It is increasing domestic health problems and hostilities with neighbors over air pollution, and the country is now generally acknowledged to be the world's third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, behind China and the United States[22]. Part Addressing the Problem: Indonesia after Suharto, National and International Actions a. National Actions When we think about the palm plantations of Indonesia, their government can be the most important stakeholder. The Indonesian government has considered agriculture as the most important part of its internal economy, thereby encouraging their people to work more in agriculture, specifically the palm oil industry. Indonesia had been suffering from dictatorship, ruled by President Soeharto for 32 years. [...]

[...] Deforestation, mostly in hot temperatures, is causing damage equal to 33% of total anthropogenic carbon emission gas. Furthermore, it ruins habitats of the Sumatran Tiger and the Sumatran Orangutan, endangering and putting their future existence in peril [17]. Figure 5. Deforestation in the Island of Borneo only, 1950-2005 and projections towards 2020 (source: WWF) The reason palm oil producers are accused of damaging the environment is because Indonesian palm oil factories are cutting down massive amounts of palm oil trees. [...]

[...] When these rainforests are burned, these high level of carbon emissions are released. These types of emissions caused by deforestation in Indonesia represent four percent of yearly global emissions. b. Rapid Expansion of Deforestation Furthermore, the speed of deforestation in Indonesia is picking up[18]. An average removal process was approximately one million ha per year in the 1980s, and it has increased to approximately 1.7 million ha per year in the beginning of the 1990s. It has sped up to an average of two million ha per year since 1996[19]. [...]

[...] In Indonesia, its large intact forests could enable it to sell 10 million tons of carbon per year on international markets, or annual incomes close to 150 million euro on the European market. So instead of earning money by selling forest lands, the Indonesian government would be paid to protect its valuable stocks of carbon[29]. REDD is thus an opportunity to fight against deforestation and climate change with financial benefits, showing that economic development of a country should not be at the expense of its natural forests. Figure 7. [...]

[...] Indonesia was not the original cultivators of the palm tree. Palm trees were brought to Bogor, West Java as ornamental plants in 1948.[23] Until early 1970's, only large companies made a business in palm oil plantation, after mid-1970's many small companies had started their business in the palm oil plantation market. Since soil and climate conditions were suitable to cultivate palm oil trees in Indonesia, the business had more demands as time went by. In 1974, with the introduction of the Nucleus Estate Scheme the Indonesian government forced large companies to teach small farmers how to farm palm oil, how to finance and to provide seedlings. [...]