ABSTRACT The oil palm industry has significantly shaped global agricultural landscapes, particularly in Southeast Asia, where it is a cornerstone of economic development. However, its rapid expansion has led to widespread deforestation, habitat fragmentation and biodiversity loss, challenging sustainability goals. This review reevaluates the ecological impacts of oil palm cultivation, exploring its dual role as a threat and opportunity for wildlife conservation. Conservation efforts in oil palm ecosystems disproportionately focus on charismatic megafauna, such as orangutans and tigers, while neglecting lesser‐studied taxa like amphibians and invertebrates that play critical ecological roles. Although oil palm expansion in the long term threatens both charismatic megafauna and lesser‐studied taxa, these landscapes also present potential for biodiversity preservation through innovative land management practices. By analyzing over 800 studies, the paper highlights the underrepresentation of aquatic ecosystems and invertebrates in conservation efforts and stresses the importance of adopting multi‐taxa conservation strategies. These approaches, such as integrating agroforestry systems, restoring riparian buffers and engaging smallholders, are crucial for balancing economic productivity with ecological sustainability. The findings underscore the urgent need for targeted interventions and global cooperation to transform oil palm landscapes into biodiversity‐supporting ecosystems.
Narrshen et al. (Fri,) studied this question.