WWF-Indonesia Tel: +62 21 576 1070 Kantor Taman A9 Ext: 306, 310 Unit A-1 Lot 8-9 Fax: +62 21 576 1080 Mega Kuningan
[email protected] Jakarta 12950 www.wwf.or.id Indonesia Realising Sustainable Oil Palm Development in Indonesia – Challenges and Opportunities* Fitrian Ardiansyahi WWF-Indonesia, Kantor Taman A9, Unit A-1, Jl. Mega Kuningan Lot 8-9/A9, Kawasan Mega Kuningan, Jakarta 12950 email:
[email protected] *presented at the International Oil Palm Conference 2006, General Lecture Session, 20 June 2006, Bali International Conference Centre, Westin Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia Abstract Palm oil is used in a vast range of everyday products, including soaps, chocolate bars, ice cream, ready-to- eat meals and margarine. Increasingly, it is being touted as a biofuel. Worldwide demand for palm oil has skyrocketed over the past 25 years, and oil palm plantations now cover an area of 11 million hectares. Global production of palm oil is expected to nearly double by 2020. In Indonesia, the area covered by oil palm plantations has reached almost 6 million hectares with the production is the second best to Malaysia. While oil palm production is a major source of income for Indonesia, a main producer country, bad practices in parts of the industry have also brought about high ecological and social costs. Industry growth is fuelling the rapid clearing of the most biodiverse tropical forests in the world, putting pressure on species that need these forests. Forest fires to clear land for plantations are a regular source of haze in Southeast Asia, posing serious health problems.