Enhancing the ecological value of oil palm agriculture through set-asides

Abstract

Agricultural expansion is the primary driver of ecological degradation across the tropics. Set-asides—uncultivated parts of agricultural landscapes, often on steep slopes and alongside rivers—may alleviate environmental impacts but can reduce the area cultivated. Here we model an approach to configuring set-asides aimed at optimizing ecological outcomes (biodiversity, above-ground carbon storage and nutrient cycling) without reducing net cultivation area. We compare set-asides in an oil palm landscape where all plantations adopt the same configuration (‘uniform’ approach) with a scenario where there can be variation in configuration among plantations (‘variable’ approach). We find that all set-aside configurations support substantial ecological values but that the best strategies involve set-asides, particularly alongside rivers, that are spatially targeted and variable among plantations. This ‘variable’ approach can increase ecological outcomes twofold over the ‘uniform’ approach without reducing net cultivation area. Our findings underscore the potential importance of well-planned set-asides for enhancing agricultural sustainability.

Logging alters tropical forest structure, while conversion to agriculture reduces biodiversity and functioning

“…Therefore, while conserving remaining old growth forests is important, protecting degraded logged forest may also contribute to maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. This validates an increasing focus within tropical agricultural systems of maintaining forest in sensitive areas within plantations, such as steep slopes and river margins (e.g., as highlighted by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) ( 36 )), where it can support biodiversity ( 37 ) and ecosystem processes ( 38 ). The reduction in some taxa, such as birds and ectomycorrhizal fungi, and some ecosystem functions, such as mycelial production, within oil palm also has implications for crop management, and could affect nutrient cycling and predator control.…”

Purchasing sustainable palm oil products: narrowing the intention-behavior gap

“…The authors postulated that the bid to increase knowledge and awareness of SPO might have highlighted the issue’s complexity, as well as the lack of an ideal solution, leading consumers to perceive increased difficulty in identifying and locating SPO products ( 20 ). There are many reasons why SPO products might be perceived as less available, including the use of tiny fonts in ingredient lists on product labels, an ecolabel that is not well-recognized ( 25 ), and the reluctance by manufacturers to use an ecolabel (or any other means to indicate the presence of SPO) due to negative public perceptions around palm oil in general ( 14 , 38 ), even though research indicates that consumers may not actively seek to avoid ecolabels ( 50 ). Instead, palm oil (sustainable or otherwise) tends to be a hidden ingredient, referred to simply as “vegetable oil,” or under other technical terms, of which there are more than 200 ( 59 ) – all of which make it challenging for consumers to accurately identify palm oil products.…”

“…With respect to palm oil, campaigns have proposed two primary courses of action for consumers – either boycott palm oil altogether, or ensure that one’s purchases contain sustainable palm oil (SPO), although the latter is favored for several reasons. Boycotting palm oil would not only have an adverse effect on rural farmers and the economies of developing producer countries, but would also likely just shift crop-related deforestation to another oil with lower yields ( 1 , 4 , 14 , 15 ). Most experts agree that promoting SPO is the way forward ( 16 , 17 ), specifically by consumers placing pressure on manufacturers to source SPO for their products, among other suggestions like investing in companies that exclusively source SPO and purchasing only SPO products ( 16 ).…”

Social and Biological Impact of Oil Palm (Elaeis Guineensis Jacq.) Plantations in the Eastern Brazilian Amazon

“…The impact of oil palm monocultures on local biodiversity may vary depending on the taxonomic group targeted (Danielsen et al 2009). For birds, butter ies, reptiles, small mammals, bats, ants, and aquatic invertebrates, species richness was usually lower in oil palm plantations compared to forests ( Bicknell et al 2023). However, the increase of non-forest species abundance in plantations leads to a low compositional similarity with forests, even though they present the same number of species (Fitzherbert et al 2008; Danielsen et al 2009).…”