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Conservation Letter

Is oil palm the next emerging threat to the Amazon [ pages 1-10 ]

Rhett A. Butler1 & William F. Laurance2
    1 Mongabay.com, P.O. Box 0291, Menlo Park, CA 94026, USA
    2 Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Panama

Abstract
The Amazon Basin appears poised to experience rapid expansion of oil palm agriculture. Nearly half of Amazonia is suitable for oil palm cultivation, and Malaysian corporations are now moving into the region to establish new plantations while the Brazilian government is considering a law that would count oil palm as "forest" towards a landowner’s forest reserve requirement. Strong economic incentives for a major Amazonian oil palm industry are likely, given growing global demands for edible oils, oil-based products, and biofuel feedstocks. We have two main concerns. First, oil palm plantations are ecologically depauperate, supporting little forest-dependent wildlife. Second, we disbelieve political and corporate statements suggesting that oil palm plantations will be concentrated on previously deforested lands in Amazonia. In reality, oil palm producers strongly favor clearing primary forest for plantations because they can reap immediate profits from timber production. These profits subsidize the costs of plantation establishment and maintenance for the initial 3-5 years until the oil palm plantations become profitable. Hence, oil palm agriculture could soon emerge as a major new threat to the Amazonian environment.


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General interest summaries (when available)
    English: The Amazon Basin appears poised to experience rapid expansion of oil palm agriculture, a development that could increase deforestation and biodiversity loss in the region, report Rhett A. Butler and William Laurance in the March issue of the open access journal Tropical Conservation Science. With nearly half the Amazon suitable for oil palm cultivation, the Brazilian government is weighing a law that would count oil palm as "forest" towards a landowner's forest reserve requirement. This—coupled with the crop's favorable economic returns relative to soy and cattle ranching, new infrastructure projects to facilitate access to forests, and emerging interest among major palm oil operators—could spur large-scale forest conversion for oil palm plantations in Amazonia. While Laurance and Butler express concern over the potential impacts on climate and biodiversity, they highlight ways to temper the most serious environmental consequences of expansion. These include requiring palm oil producers to adopt environmentally-responsible cultivation methods, establishing wildlife corridors and riparian buffer zones, and encouraging plantations on degraded, rather than forest, lands.

    Portuguese: O óleo de palmeira é a próxima ameaça emergente à Amazônia? A Bacia Amazônica parece balançada e experimentar uma rápida expansão da agricultura para óleo de palmeira, um desenvolvimento que pode aumentar o desmatamento e perda da biodiversidade na região, relata Rhett A. Butler e William Laurance no volume de Março da revista de livre acesso Tropical Conservation Science. Com quase metade da Amazônia adequada para o cultivo de óleo de palmeira, o Governo Brasileiro está estudando uma lei que pode considerar óleo de palmeira como "floresta" para a reserva florestal exigida dos proprietários de terra. Isto—aliado ao retorno econômico favorável da colheita relativo à soja e criação de gado, novos projetos de infra-estrutura para facilitar o acesso às florestas, e interesses emergentes entre os principais operadores de óleo de palmeira—poderia estimular a conversão da floresta em larga escala para plantações de palmeiras produtoras de óleo na Amazônia. Enquanto Laurance e Butler expressam interesse sobre o impacto potencial no clima e biodiversidade, eles destacam maneiras de moderar a mais séria consequência ambiental da expansão. Isto inclui exigir que os produtores de palmeiras adotem métodos de cultivo ambientalmente-responsáveis, estabelecer corredores de vida silvestre e zonas ripárias tampões, e incentivar plantações em áreas degradadas, e não nas áreas de florestas. [translated by Marina Lapenta]

    Spanish: La palma de aceite como una amenaza emergente para la selva Amazónica. La cuenca Amazónica se enfrenta a una posible expansión de la actividad agrícola dirigida a la producción de la palma de aceite, un factor que puede incrementar las tasas de deforestación y perdida de la biodiversidad en la región, según un reporte de Rhett Butler y William Laurance publicado en la edición de Marzo de la revista de acceso abierto (Open Access Journal) Tropical Conservation Science. Se estima que casi la mitad de la cuenca Amazónica podría ser adecuada para el cultivo de palma de aceite, algo que ha llevado al gobierno de Brasil a ponderar una ley que podría considerar a la palma de aceite como un tipo de bosque, justificando su presencia en las reservas que deben tener los campesinos y rancheros. Esto, aunado al mayor beneficio económico de la palma de aceite comparado con el cultivo de soya y la ganadería, la instalación de nueva infraestructura para facilitar acceso a las áreas forestadas y otros intereses generados por la expansión de la industria de palma de aceite, puede resultar en una conversión a gran escala de las selvas amazónicas a plantaciones de palma de aceite. Mientras que Butler and Laurance manifiestan esta preocupación, junto con el posible impacto sobre el clima y la biodiversidad, ellos también señalan algunas maneras de atenuar las consecuencias mas serias de la expansión en el cultivo de la palma de aceite. Una de estas requeriría que los productores de palma de aceite adopten medidas ambientales responsables en el desarrollo de los cultivos, estableciendo corredores biológicos y áreas de amortiguamiento a lo largo de bosques riparios, así como promover el establecimiento de las plantaciones en tierras degradadas, en vez de hacerlo en áreas cubiertas de selva.

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   Tropical Conservation Science is an open-access e-journal that publishes research relating to conservation of tropical forests and other tropical ecosystems.

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