Palm Oil is Here to Stay

Palm oil is here to stay, and so it should be. These are hardly what you would expect to hear from an Environmental Scientist. But we need to accept the facts. Palm oil has the highest yield of all the vegetable oils and therefore has the potential to be highly sustainable. However, in order to achieve this, we need to make some drastic adjustments to the way it is produced and sourced.

By now, most of us know that palm oil is responsible for rainforest destruction in south east Asia which brings keystone species such as orang-utans, elephants, rhinos and tigers closer to extinction. A lesser known fact is that the palm oil industry also uses child labour in its production. However, this article will not be focusing on the environmental and social issues pertaining to palm oil production. Instead, I want to provide potential solutions to this complex problem.

The unsustainable palm oil industry is driving these iconic species closer to extinction © Paul Hilton

1. Zero Deforestation Policy

First and foremost, we need to introduce appropriate legislation to ensure that new oil palm plantations do not cause deforestation. This will be a massive opportunity for palm oil producing countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia, who have both ratified the Paris climate agreement to significantly reduce their carbon emissions and a huge step in creating a sustainable palm oil industry.

Some companies have taken it into their own hands to ensure that the palm oil used in their production has been obtained sustainably by adopting a ‘Zero Deforestation Policy.’ These companies should be recognised and rewarded for their environmental commitment. Such companies can also take advantage of this policy by naming their products rainforest-friendly, a move that will surely attract consumers with an environmental conscience. In order to keep up with the competition, it is likely that other players in the market will follow suit.

The Leuser Ecosystem (left) in Sumatra is being lost each day for oil palm plantations (right) ©Paul Hilton

2. Traceable Supply Chains

The second recommendation is that all palm oil should be traceable to its point of origin. The length of the production line of palm oil, from plantation to supplier to production company to consumer is extremely long and which makes tracing the source and supplier extremely difficult. In addition to this complexity companies obtain palm oil from multiple sources which makes tracing its origin even more difficult. However, it is vital that all palm oil is traceable to ensure it is sustainably sourced and does not contribute to environmental destruction or use child labour in its production.

Trucks loaded with palm kernel on the way to a processing factory ©Asha Mortel

3. Trusted Certification

My third recommendation is to have a trusted certification system for sustainable palm oil. Consumers seem to be wary of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and lack trust in Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO). What is required is a trusted scheme such as Fairtrade to oversee and monitor the sustainable palm oil industry in order for consumers to gain trust when purchasing palm oil that is labelled to be sustainable. Whether this requires a complete overhaul of the RSPO or the appointment of a new and completely independent governing certifying body is debatable.

Although extremely challenging, I believe that these steps will be vital in helping to create a sustainable palm oil industry. What is required now is for producers, suppliers, organisations and consumers to step up and create the change that is required to make these ideas a reality.

Asitha Samarawickrama is an environmental scientist and a member of the Jane Goodall Institute’s National Youth Leadership Council. He has interests in illegal wildlife trade, palm oil, climate change and marine pollution. You can follow his work here on Twitter and Instagram.

Asha Mortel is a member of the Jane Goodall Institute’s National Youth Leadership Council and has travelled to Borneo where she has taught at the local schools, helped out at an Orangutan rehabilitation centre and learned traditional ways of life.

Paul Hilton is a conservation photojournalist with a focus on the manta and shark fin trade, palm oil & wildlife crimes. He has won several awards including Wildlife Photographer of the Year. He is currently working on establishing elephant patrols in the Leuser Ecosystem to save the Sumatran Elephant. Donations can be made here.

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