Malaysia denies rain forests being destroyed for palm oil cultivation

Recently, Malaysia announced that it has almost run out of suitable land for new oil palm based 'energy plantations'. It is now forced to invest in increasing yields and making harvesting and processing more efficient - or so the official message goes. Fears have always existed though, that the world's largest palm oil producer may begin to prey on its last tracts of rainforest. Malaysia's Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry today denied this. It also said that oil palm cultivation activities for biofuels have not destroyed tropical rainforests.

Here at the Biopact we are suspicious about the Malaysian government's recent announcements. We think that government is gradually launching a campaign that looks as follows:

• public opinion both in the West and in Asia knows that new palm oil plantations are based on destroying rainforest
• shift attention away from the actual topic of rainforest destruction by stressing that Malaysia has no more land to expand - push this message continuously (it seems like the Malaysian government is beginning to do this)
  
• instead let us tell the world that we will be investing in intensification, biotechnology with which to increase yields, and in better processing technologies
• meanwhile, continue business as usual in a 'stealth' way

This might be far fetched but we think that, at times, it may be wise to assume the worst and to not trust the government. After all, the country's most powerful men are either in the logging business or in the oil palm industry, or in both. There is no reason to assume that they will suddenly think about long-term sustainability. As businessmen they need to cash in quickly. Rainforests are up for grabs, oil palm prices are reaching record highs, the palm biodiesel opportunity is out there... In any case, satellite monitoring will reveal the truth about what is going on in Malaysia's remaining rainforests. And if these hotspots of biodiversity are being destroyed for palm biofuels, then indeed, they are worse than fossil fuel. Another cruel crude oil.

But let us give the word back to the ministry's parliamentary secretary, Datuk Dr S. Vijayaratnam. He says the accusation by non-governmental organisations and certain quarters in the West was wrong because the cultivation activities were carried out in existing plantations and farms. "We're only striving to enhance yields and also the oil extraction ratio. Presently, annual production by smallholders is 12 tonnes per hectare while the plantations between 16 and 18 tonnes.Through research and development, we will raise production to between 20 and 22 tonnes per hectare annually and the extraction ratio to 25 or 30 per cent," he said.

He was replying to Alexander Nanta Linggi in Malay newspaper Dewan Rakyat today on the prospect of palm oil being used as biodiesel. Linggi had said that the United States and European Union would not accept biodiesel made from palm oil on the grounds that the producing countries including Malaysia had destroyed thousands of hectares of tropical rainforests.

Vijayaratnam admitted that an article had been published in newspapers saying European countries would not readily accept biodiesel because it would probably cause the formation of sludge in engine cylinders and valves. However, he said this was mere speculation and had not been proven.

The Malaysian Palm Oil Council had replied to the article in which it stated that biodiesel using palm oil had advantages compared to using soy beans or rape seeds, he added. He said the ministry was also conducting research on other crops which could produce biodiesel because all vegetable oils could be used as alternatives to fossil fuel. "Biodiesel is environmentally-friendly as it is produced using renewable resources and contains less sulphur and hydrocarbon compared to fossil fuel," he said.

Resources:

• Friends of the Earth: Palm oil - rainforest in your shopping bag - campaign
• Info about rainforest destruction by the palm oil industry- Rainforest Web.
• Global Forest Watch.
• Orang Utans and the Rainforest - Orang Utan Conservancy.
• Website of the Roundatble on Sustainable Palm Oil.
• Official website of the government-owned Malaysian Palm Oil Council.
• Website of the government-owned Malaysian Palm Oil Board.

:: biodiesel :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: sustainability :: palm oil :: rainforest :: logging :: Malaysia