Of pastures and oil palm
Using pasture lands to develop oil palm cultivation can create a competitive advantage to producers in South America while sparing natural ecosystems, but it will require improvements in the ranching sector to avoid negative indirect effects.
Oil palm production is becoming an important economic activity in Africa, Central- and South-America. Many individuals and international organizations have voiced their concerns that the increasing interest in oil palm cultivation may pose a threat to biodiversity and ecosystems. The large-scale deforestation that has occurred in South East Asia to accommodate this crop serves as a sad example that such concerns are not unfounded. In a previous entry in this blog [1] I argued that oil palm expansion in the African context could take advantage of the relatively large, but underproductive, areas already planted with this crop. Improving yields in these areas can increase overall production, and reduce pressures for forest conversion to accommodate plantations in the region. In this entry I would like to shift my focus to the South American case and explore a development pathway that could give the region competitive advantages when expanding its oil palm sector sustainably.
Reducing environmental impacts
In South America the historical drivers of large-scale deforestation have been the expansion of pastures and soy. For instance, in Colombia, up to 26.5 million hectares of natural forests have been cleared and transformed into pastures. These areas are used for extensive grazing for meat and milk production and are considered rather underproductive. Interestingly, in Colombia, the oil palm sector has been expanding in the past mostly at the expense of this pasture land. Research conducted in our group has suggested that a continuous expansion of oil palm on these lands can indeed meet the long-term production targets while reducing environmental impacts, such as carbon emissions and deforestation [2].
However, to effectively implement this more-sustainable development pathway, possible indirect effects need to be considered. When land owners increasingly convert their pastures to oil palm cultivation, ranching activities might just be displaced to new areas, resulting in further deforestation. Scientists call this process an indirect land-use change. Thus, a sustainable oil palm expansion in Colombia must be implemented in parallel with improved and more efficient ranching practices that reduce the area required for meat and milk production. This could be achieved for example through the adoption of better cattle breeds, the use of complementary nutrition sources such as natural fodder or better management during drought periods. A big question that arises from these findings, however, is what are the financial costs of such improvements in the ranching sector? And how can these costs be met?
With the demand for sustainably produced palm oil on the rise in European and North American markets, South American producers could have a competitive advantage to access these markets. Environmentally suitable land for conversion, such as pasture land, may not be available or readily identifiable in other regions such as Africa or South-East Asia. Furthermore, one could think that a sustainable expansion of oil palm in South America could indirectly push producers elsewhere towards a more sustainable oil palm production, who may change their practices to stay competitive and keep access to the more environmental minded markets.
Further information
[1] Blog entry: Oil palm in Africa: an opportunity too good to miss?
[2] Garcia-Ulloa, J., et al. "Lowering environmental costs of oil-palm expansion in Colombia." Conservation Letters, 2012, DOI: externe Seite 10.1111/j.1755-263X.2012.00254.x
Kommentare
The worldwide expansion of the palm oil industry is astonishing: The main producer Indonesia now produces 33 million tons (1/2 of world production) up from 157'000 tons in 1964. Despite this production expansion there seems no market saturation. Perhaps because there are so many uses for palm oil: chocolates, chewing gum, lipstick, washing powder, doughnuts, soap, and biodiesel. 1/3 of the production goes to China and India and these are growing economies. But what will happen if South America soon produces the same amount as Indonesia and Malaysia? Probably most will go into biodiesel. This raises the question how much land would be needed to generate the 90 Million Barrel of crude oil now consumed every day. Here is the calculation: - 1 hectare (0.01 km2) gives 6000 litre Crude palm oil - 90 million Barrel oil per day would require 8.6 million square kilometers - just the area of Brasil. This calculation shows that biodiesel from crude palm oil never can completely replace crude oil. But if we assume electrification of most vehicles except ships, airships and heavy transport, then 18 million barrel crude oil per day should be sufficient and biodiesel from palm oil could replace crude oil. This would require 2 million square kilometer of palm oil, roughly 3/4 of the area of Argentina. Still too much area, but not out of sight if 1/3 comes from Indonesia/Malaysia 1/3 from South America and 1/3 from Africa.
Maybe I misunderstand what you are writing but if it is true that: "These areas are used for extensive grazing for meat and milk production and are considered rather underproductive." One starts to wonder about the past wisdom of FAO, Worldbank etc advisors. Also, when considering the domestic problems of Columbia or Brazil, for example, with their large export markets, maybe they would be better adviced to stop exportation of the national richness and rather help to feed the poor people of Columbia and Brazil; according to the CIA world fact book: "Forced displacement remains prevalent because of violence among guerrillas, paramilitary groups, and Colombian security forces. Afro-Colombian and indigenous populations are disproportionately affected. A leading NGO estimates that 5.2 million people have been displaced since 1985, while the Colombian Government estimates 3.6 million since 2000. These estimates may undercount actual numbers because not all internally displaced persons are registered. Historically, Colombia also has one of the world's highest levels of forced disappearances. About 30,000 cases have been recorded over the last four decades - although the number is likely to be much higher - including human rights activists, trade unionists, Afro-Colombians, indigenous people, and farmers in rural conflict zones." and more here: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/co.htmlcall_made
Hi Michael, thanks for your comment. Just to clarify, It is true that the larger part of the areas under ranching in Colombia's lowland can be considered underproductive when compared to other countries. These low yields are due to the quality of the grass, lack of complimentary diet, the type of cattle breeds, the prevalence of parasites and diseases in tropical lowlands (which in turn make their adequate management costly), and high mortality during extreme dry, and to a lesser extent raining, seasons. Two other important factors to take into account are that i) Colombia meat exports are significantly smaller than those of Brazil and Argentina, and only represent a small fraction of the total national production, and ii) that some studies suggest that, historically, cattle ranching has been a form to control the land and maintain tenure rights. In regards to your second comment, I think you touch on a very important topic. The political and social situation in Colombia will be a critical factor for the sustainability of the agricultural sector, as well as extractive sectors. The current peace talks that are being held in Cuba, may change completely the outlook of rural areas in Colombia.