September 10, 2013

Palm Oil; what we can do

Written for SIEL by:
Emi Kondo, September 10, 2013






Harvesting palm oil in Southeast Asian has been a controversial issue for many reasons. The topic first drew media attention when the harvesting led to destruction of orangutan habitat in order to replace the natural forest with oil palm plantation. Many of these orangutan species, such as the Sumatran orangutan and the Borneo orangutan, are currently considered endangered. Habitat destruction makes these endangered species more vulnerable. Fragmentation of habitat not only reduces the natural habitat for these species but also allows easier access for hunters and traders. Many poaching occur in these areas because illegal pet trade is prevalent.


Recently, environmental groups have been highlighting another issue: effects of deforestation to the ecosystem. To convert the forest to a plantation, the palm oil industry sometimes sets forest fires to clear the forest. This practice clears the forest, but at the same time, burns many animals to death in the process. Also, scientists have warned about the effects of such practices because the forest fires increase the carbon dioxide emission, which contributes to the global climate change. Forests are large carbon dioxide sinks, and a plantation does not have the same capacity to sequester as much carbon dioxide as a natural forest. Lastly, the smoke from fire decreases the air quality in the area, affecting animal and human health.


In addition, switching from a forest to a plantation also reduces tree species diversity because the plantations use monoculture practices to maximize the profit from palm oil. For example, a state agency in Malaysia announced in July that oil palm plantation has driven a subpopulation of keruing paya in Peninsular Malaysia to extinction. The reduction of species diversity is problematic because a disease can spread far more quickly over a large area if only one species exist in the area; on the other hand, when many species occupy an area in a forest, different species can act as a buffer against spreading of a disease.


SIEL is starting a project this year to increase awareness of these issues on Lewis & Clark Law campus. Palm oil tends to be used in baked goods, lotion, and soap. We will initially target these products and ask the vendors to replace the item with a palm oil-free product. This project aims to eliminate any palm oil from the campus, as well as educate the students and the vendors on the current issues.

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