Slowing deforestation in Indonesia follows declining oil palm expansion and lower oil prices

Much concern about tropical deforestation focuses on oil palm plantations, but their impacts remain poorly quantified. Using satellites, we estimated annual expansion of large-scale (industrial) and smallholder oil palm plantations and their overlap with forest loss from 2001 to 2019 in Indonesia, t...

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Autores principales: Gaveau, D.L.A., Locatelli, Bruno, Salim, M.A., Husnayaen, H., Manurung, T., Descals, A., Angelsen, A., Meijaard, E., Sheil, D.
Formato: Preprint
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Research Square Platform LLC 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/113660
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author Gaveau, D.L.A.
Locatelli, Bruno
Salim, M.A.
Husnayaen, H.
Manurung, T.
Descals, A.
Angelsen, A.
Meijaard, E.
Sheil, D.
author_browse Angelsen, A.
Descals, A.
Gaveau, D.L.A.
Husnayaen, H.
Locatelli, Bruno
Manurung, T.
Meijaard, E.
Salim, M.A.
Sheil, D.
author_facet Gaveau, D.L.A.
Locatelli, Bruno
Salim, M.A.
Husnayaen, H.
Manurung, T.
Descals, A.
Angelsen, A.
Meijaard, E.
Sheil, D.
author_sort Gaveau, D.L.A.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Much concern about tropical deforestation focuses on oil palm plantations, but their impacts remain poorly quantified. Using satellites, we estimated annual expansion of large-scale (industrial) and smallholder oil palm plantations and their overlap with forest loss from 2001 to 2019 in Indonesia, the world’s largest palm oil producer. Over nineteen years, the area under oil palm doubled, reaching 16.24 million hectares (Mha) in 2019 (64% industrial; 36% smallholder), more than official estimates of 14.72 Mha. This expansion was responsible for nearly one-third (2.85 Mha) of Indonesia’s loss of old-growth forests (9.79 Mha). Industrial plantations were associated with three times as much forest conversion as smallholder plantings (2.13 Mha vs 0.72 Mha). New plantations peaked in 2009 and 2012 and declined thereafter. Deforestation peaked in 2016 and fell below pre-2004 levels in 2017-2019. Expansion of industrial plantations and forest loss were correlated with palm oil prices. A price decline of 1% was associated with a 1.08% decrease in new industrial plantations and with a 0.68% decrease of forest loss. This slow-down provides an opportunity for the Indonesian government to focus on details of sustainable oil palm management. If prices rise, effective regulations will remain key to minimising deforestation.
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spelling CGSpace1136602025-01-27T15:00:52Z Slowing deforestation in Indonesia follows declining oil palm expansion and lower oil prices Gaveau, D.L.A. Locatelli, Bruno Salim, M.A. Husnayaen, H. Manurung, T. Descals, A. Angelsen, A. Meijaard, E. Sheil, D. oil palms deforestation plantations Much concern about tropical deforestation focuses on oil palm plantations, but their impacts remain poorly quantified. Using satellites, we estimated annual expansion of large-scale (industrial) and smallholder oil palm plantations and their overlap with forest loss from 2001 to 2019 in Indonesia, the world’s largest palm oil producer. Over nineteen years, the area under oil palm doubled, reaching 16.24 million hectares (Mha) in 2019 (64% industrial; 36% smallholder), more than official estimates of 14.72 Mha. This expansion was responsible for nearly one-third (2.85 Mha) of Indonesia’s loss of old-growth forests (9.79 Mha). Industrial plantations were associated with three times as much forest conversion as smallholder plantings (2.13 Mha vs 0.72 Mha). New plantations peaked in 2009 and 2012 and declined thereafter. Deforestation peaked in 2016 and fell below pre-2004 levels in 2017-2019. Expansion of industrial plantations and forest loss were correlated with palm oil prices. A price decline of 1% was associated with a 1.08% decrease in new industrial plantations and with a 0.68% decrease of forest loss. This slow-down provides an opportunity for the Indonesian government to focus on details of sustainable oil palm management. If prices rise, effective regulations will remain key to minimising deforestation. 2021-01-15 2021-05-07T05:43:28Z 2021-05-07T05:43:28Z Preprint https://hdl.handle.net/10568/113660 en Open Access Research Square Platform LLC Gaveau, D., Locatelli, B., Salim, M., Husnayaen, H., Manurung, T., Descals, A., Angelsen, A., Meijaard, E. and Sheil, D., 2021. Slowing deforestation in Indonesia follows declining oil palm expansion and lower oil prices. Research Square. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-143515/v1
spellingShingle oil palms
deforestation
plantations
Gaveau, D.L.A.
Locatelli, Bruno
Salim, M.A.
Husnayaen, H.
Manurung, T.
Descals, A.
Angelsen, A.
Meijaard, E.
Sheil, D.
Slowing deforestation in Indonesia follows declining oil palm expansion and lower oil prices
title Slowing deforestation in Indonesia follows declining oil palm expansion and lower oil prices
title_full Slowing deforestation in Indonesia follows declining oil palm expansion and lower oil prices
title_fullStr Slowing deforestation in Indonesia follows declining oil palm expansion and lower oil prices
title_full_unstemmed Slowing deforestation in Indonesia follows declining oil palm expansion and lower oil prices
title_short Slowing deforestation in Indonesia follows declining oil palm expansion and lower oil prices
title_sort slowing deforestation in indonesia follows declining oil palm expansion and lower oil prices
topic oil palms
deforestation
plantations
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/113660
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