Ecologically ‘disastrous’ palm oil here to stay, and better than alternatives, experts say

'To put a stop to the destruction we must work towards deforestation-free palm oil'

More than a quarter of Indonesia's forests have disappeared since 1990 – an area almost the size of Germany. (AFP/Getty)

Banning production of ecologically "disastrous" palm oil would only serve to displace biodiversity loss, a new report has warned.

The growth of massive commercial palm oil operations in Indonesia and Malaysia has seen the deforestation of vast tracts of rainforest and caused the decimation of populations of some of the world’s most endangered animals, including tigers and orangutans.

But replacing palm oil with other oil crops such as soy, rapeseed or corn would require up to nine times as much land to produce than palm, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

This would drive damaging biodiversity losses elsewhere, rather than end the ecological destruction associated with palm oil, the organisation said.

The report also suggests that palm oil certified as “sustainable”, is only slightly less damaging to rainforests than that from uncertified production.

The oil is the most widely consumed vegetable oil on the planet, used by billions of people each day and accounting for about half of all packaged products in the supermarket, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

It is found in food products such as chocolate, bread, ice cream and margarine, as well as cosmetics including lipstick, detergent and shampoo, while use of the oil is as a biodiesel is becoming increasingly popular.

“When you consider the disastrous impacts of palm oil on biodiversity from a global perspective, there are no simple solutions,” said IUCN Director General Inger Andersen. “Half of the world’s population uses palm oil in food, and if we ban or boycott it, other, more land-hungry oils will likely take its place.

“Palm oil is here to stay, and we urgently need concerted action to make palm oil production more sustainable, ensuring that all parties – governments, producers and the supply chain – honour their sustainability commitments.”

The report’s authors used satellite data to estimate the total planted area at 18.7 million hectares for industrial palm oil, and a total of 25 million hectares – roughly the area of the UK – when smallholder plantations are included.

Since 2002, more than 150,000 orangutans are thought to have been wiped out as a direct consequence of the palm oil industry.

“Palm oil is decimating South East Asia’s rich diversity of species as it eats into swathes of tropical forest,” said the report’s lead author and Chair of IUCN’s oil palm task force, Erik Meijaard. “But if it is replaced by much larger areas of rapeseed, soy or sunflower fields, different natural ecosystems and species may suffer. To put a stop to the destruction we must work towards deforestation-free palm oil, and make sure all attempts to limit palm oil use are informed by solid scientific understanding of the consequences.”

Oil palms produce 35 per cent of the world’s vegetable oil on under 10 per cent of the land allocated to oil crops, the report notes.

The huge demand for the oil has seen Malaysia and Indonesia come to dominate global production of the commodity which is worth in excess of $40bn (£32bn).

In January the European Parliament voted to end the use of palm oil in biodiesel which has grown in popularity among European drivers. The EU is Malaysia’s third biggest market for palm oil.

The move triggered alarm in Malaysia, and last month British diplomats warned the UK government that backing the EU ban could even put a lucrative arms deal with Malaysia at risk.