Oil Palm Expansion in the Philippines Analysis of Land Rights, Environment and Food Security Issues5
Oil Palm Expansion in South East Asia: trends and implications for local communities and indigenous peoples 4. Oil palm expansion in the Philippines Analysis of land rights, environment and food security issues5 Jo Villanueva Introduction In recent years, the unprecedented and rapid expansion of oil palm plantations in Southeast Asia, particularly in Malaysia and Indonesia, has spurred considerable concern in the light of its adverse impact on the environment, biodiversity, global warming, 5 This study has also been published as a chapter in “Oil Palm Expansion in South East Asia: Trends and Implications for Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples. (FPP & SawitWatch 2011). Oil Palm Expansion in South East Asia: trends and implications for local communities and indigenous peoples the displacement of local (and indigenous) communities, the erosion of traditional livelihoods, and the undermining of indigenous peoples and workers‟ rights. In Indonesia, oil palm expansion has contributed to deforestation, peat degradation, loss of biodiversity, ravaging forest fires and a wide range of unresolved social conflicts. In Sarawak, Malaysia, the impact of oil palm includes loss and destruction of forest resources, unequal profit-sharing, water pollution and soil nutrient depletion. In the midst of the increasing profitability of palm oil in the world market, the versatility of its by- products and its potential as a source of biomass in the food and manufacturing industry, a raging debate has ensued between and amongst civil society and industry members over whether palm oil is a necessary evil or whether the costs of this industry on lives, land and environment far outweigh its worth. Although considered a fledgling industry in the Philippine agribusiness sector and while its size is certainly small compared to the millions of hectares of oil palm plantations in Malaysia and Indonesia, the Philippines has been cultivating and processing palm oil for the past three decades.
[Show full text]