The environmental impacts of palm oil in context

Delivering the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires balancing demands on land between agriculture (SDG 2) and biodiversity (SDG 15). The production of vegetable oils in general, and palm oil in particular, is perhaps the most controversial illustration of these trade-offs. Global annual demand for vegetable oil for food, animal feed and fuel is currently at 210 million tons1 (Mt), with 84 Mt of this comprising palm oil2. Oil palm covers ca. 21.5 - 23.4 million hectares (Mha)3 —all in the humid tropics, with other oil crops covering at least 425 Mha4. Most oil palm expansion has occurred in Borneo, Sumatra, and the Malay Peninsula, where >90% of global palm oil is produced5. Although direct conversion of forest to oil palm caused less than 0.5% of global deforestation between 2000 and 20136, this percentage is locally as high as 58%7. Negative environmental impacts include wildlife declines, greenhouse gas emissions, and atmospheric pollution from deforestation and the draining and burning of peatlands. However, oil palm generally produces more oil per area than other oil crops8, is economically viable in sites unsuitable for most other crops, and offers otherwise scarce economic opportunities to many rural people9. As global demand for vegetable oils increases to a projected 307 Mt by 205010, consideration of the relative yields, land requirements, and environmental impacts of different oil crops is crucial to guide decision-making. Meeting this demand either through continued expansion of palm oil production, or through increasing land allocation for producing other types of vegetable oil, will trade-off against biodiversity, food security, climate change, land degradation and rural livelihoods.