Oil Palm Trunk : High Value Technology for Tropical Forest Conservation

Palm oil extracted from palm fruits is the most consumed vegetable oil in the world and is used as a raw material for producing cooking oil, margarine, and shortening. It accounts for about 30% of total vegetable oil production of 200 million tons. In Indonesia and Malaysia, where 80% of the world's palm oil is produced, approximately 3.6 million ha of tropical rainforest have been converted to oil palm plantations over the past 20 years, and there are substantial concerns about their impacts on the natural environment and ecosystems. Oil palms are replanted when they reach an economic age (25-30 years after planting). In Indonesia and Malaysia, approximately 63 million oil palm trunks (OPTs) are felled annually, and reforestation is carried out in approximately 440,000 ha per year. The plantation is like a waste dump for biomass, leading to the failure of replantation due to the spread of pests. It also has a significant impact on the environment, causing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions due to the decomposition of OPTs. New plantations need to be established to compensate for the failure of replantation, even as tropical forests are being cut down and disappearing at an alarming rate. JIRCAS has developed a technological system that enables efficient production of renewable energy and chemical materials from OPTs through field surveys and research on OPT at a palm plantation in Malaysia. In 2019, we started the SATREPS project titled "Sustainable Replantation of Oil Palm by Adding Value to Oil Palm Trunk through Scientific and Technological Innovation." In this project, we are developing activities for dissemination and social implementation through the development of a technology for manufacturing high value-added products from OPT. Panasonic Housing Solutions Co., Ltd., a member of the project, has developed a technology to produce recycled OPT board for use in furniture and building materials with intermediate materials, and is moving toward manufacturing and marketing the product. In addition to reducing GHG emissions, this technology is expected to have several other positive effects, such as halting the destruction of forests, a source of CO2 absorption, as a "new material that can replace wood," and creating new jobs in oil palm-producing countries. The project members and JIRCAS will contribute to the protection of tropical forests through the sustainable management of palm plantations by adding value to OPT.