Task 4: On this and the following pages, you will find information on the impacts of palm cultivation. Take notes for the table on Task 7 on which you compile impacts of oil palm cultivation.

The oil palm belongs to one of the most dominant and productive crops in the world^[10]. Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) originates from West Africa. It thrives best in the zone of evergreen tropical rainforests on both sides of the equator. As its main product, the oil palm provides fruits on fresh fruit bunches that are harvested throughout the whole year.

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Figure 9: Fresh fruit bunches of oil palm

The orange fruits are pressed, and the oil is used in a variety of products, such as biofuel, cosmetics or processed food (for example in cereal, biscuits, peanut butter).

Palm oil can be described as superior compared to other vegetable oils, due to the plant’s high yields combined with lower production and management costs^[11][6]. Global demand has risen by 45% during the last two decades. The area of oil palm plantations has expanded accordingly^[12]. Currently, Indonesia is the world’s biggest producer of palm oil, as it provides 57% of the global production^[13]. Given the rising demand for cheap oil for biofuel and food production, this percentage is projected to further expand in the future^[14].

However, the oil palm boom leads to trade-offs between socioeconomic and ecological functions^[6], which we will encounter on the next pages.