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The Factual Lines Between Palm Plantations And Deforestation

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Many people have suspected that the oil palm plantations are the main cause of deforestation in Indonesia. But it turns out that their suspicions are not based on the reality of oil palm plantations in the country.

Based on data from the field, the oil palm plantations in Indonesia are not the main cause of deforestation. As a matter of fact, most of palm plantation areas are previously degraded land areas,  such bushes left abandoned after logging activities and former agricultural/plantation areas of other commodities.

RI’s Deforestation from time to time

  • • 1950: Indonesia’s forest area reached 162.3 million hectares.
  • • 1985: 119.7 million hectares.
  • • 2000: 103.3 million hectares.
  • • 2022: 82.5 million hectares.
  • The data shows that the largest deforestation actually occurred before the massive development of oil palm plantations, during the period of 1950–2000. During the 2000–2022 period ​​oil palm plantations increased by around 16 million hectares, but its contribution to deforestation was only 15 percent. The remaining 85 percent of the forest areas were converted for other purposes, such as other agricultural/plantation areas, mining, settlements, and infrastructure.

Origins of Palm Plantations?

Based on 1990–2018 data:

  • 62% of oil palm plantations were previously degraded land areas
  • 37% from agricultural and plantation areas with other commodities
  • The rest (<1%) were converted from virgin forest areas

Types of degraded land areas include:

  • Shrubs
  • Degraded peatlands
  • Disturbed swamp forests
  • Empty or abandoned land

Government’s Moratorium Policy

The government has imposed a moratorium policy on the opening of new oil palm plantations through Presidential Instruction (Inpres) No. 8/2018, which has been implemented since 2018. This shows Indonesia’s strong commitment to reducing the rate of deforestation without sacrificing oil palm productivity.

What Experts Say?

According to Dr. Jean  Marc Roda (CIRAD, 2019):

“Indonesia’s deforestation rate has decreased along with the increase of ​​oil palm plantation areas. It means oil palm is not the main cause of deforestation in Indonesia.”

Oil palm plantations are often used as scapegoats in the issue of deforestation. In fact, data on the field proves that oil palm is not the main cause. The majority of oil palm plantations grow on land areas, which were no longer forested, and even unproductive. (*)

 

Ditjen Planologi Kehutanan & Tata Lingkungan KLHK (2023). Kementerian Pertanian (2019). Dr. Jean Marc Roda – CIRAD (2019)

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