Many environmental organisations and conservationists have been
warning us that eating foods and using biodiesel made from palm oil is
having a direct effect upon and threatening the survival of that much
loved primate the Orangutan.
So what's all the fuss about?
Environmentalists
have generally been largely supportive of the adoption of biodiesel
because, apart from being biodegradable, it gives off fewer emissions
when used in our vehicles. Not all biodiesel fuel is the same however,
some are better than others in the way they are produced and
environmental organisations have begun to question oil palm cultivation
especially, in recent years, how large areas of natural rainforest have
been cleared to make way for oil palm plantations. It is argued that
apart from the loss of forest ecosystems, oil palm cultivation has
become a major polluter on a local level due to indiscriminate use of
petroleum based pesticides and fertilizers. This has lead to soils
becoming so polluted over time that many previously fertile areas have
become wastelands.
What has given rise to this deforestation?
Western
governments have largely embraced the need to cut emissions and have
set aggressive targets encompassing the use of so called first
generation Biofuels made from food crops. The transportation sector has
been singled out due to the fact it is a major volume source of carbon
emissions. It could be argued that this has contributed directly to the
rapid development of the Biofuels industry and marketplace. Also the
rise in the cost of crude oil to record levels by mid 2008 meant palm
oil has become an increasingly important agricultural crop in tropical
countries with Malaysia and Indonesia seeing the opportunity for
increased exploitation. These two countries account now for around 85%
of palm oil production across the world. This area of the world is also
the natural habitat of Orangutans and the increased deforestation is now
a threat to their very existence.
But why is Palm Oil so important?
Quite
simply oil palm is the most productive oil seed there is and it can
produce over 10 times more crude oil per hectare than soybeans and over
20 times more than corn. Another factor making palm oil in increasing
demand is apart from being used in Biodiesel production, it is also used
as an ingredient in many other day to day household foodstuffs as well
as cosmetics. Ironically, oil palm may be more ecologically friendly due
its higher yield factor in theory requiring less land by a significant
factor than traditional crops. Many environmental organisations, oil
companies and western governments recognise this and are beginning to
try to put the case to the local governments concerned.
But oil prices are going down now so will demand for palm oil drop?
Palm
oil prices tend to move in step with the price of crude oil and during
the second half of 2008 prices have fallen rapidly also as a result of
the global recession demand for palm oil should slow down. Critically,
does this mean we will see a slow down in the expansion of oil palm
plantations? Supply and demand economics for palm oil suggest it should
do, but the sceptics amongst us have maintained that oil palm
development may in fact be a cover for something that is far more
profitable - logging. In Indonesia millions of hectares of forest have
been cleared for plantation development and plans are in place to double
oil palm production over the next 15 to 20 years spilling over into
Borneo. Logging is a much more profitable to both the logging companies
and the local governments.
