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JAKARTA
POST, 16 Juli 2013
The palm oil industry has been blamed for the recent
Sumatra land and forest fires that caused transborder haze pollution in
Singapore and Malaysia. The governments of Singapore and Malaysia urged
Indonesia to take measures to address the fires, while President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono apologized for the haze saga.
Under uncertain circumstances, the public rushed to point their fingers at the perpetrators of the fires and haze. In no time, most stakeholders, including government agencies and civil society, alleged oil palm plantation firms were the environmental villain.
Indeed, the slash-and-burn practice is the sole cause of the high intensity, smoky haze that blanketed the neighboring countries. However, few are interested in understanding the true nature of the causes of such a catastrophic incident.
There are at least three lessons from this disaster: problems with governance caused a simple problem to develop into a complicated predicament; smear campaigns against oil palm plantations; and the need to look at down-to-earth fundamentals of environmentalism rather than going after high-flying targets.
First, our governance is marred with red tape. The haze saga is easy to assess due to the availability of real-time data in the form of detailed satellite maps. Several days after the haze blanketed Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, the World Resources Institute (WRI), reported that more than half of the hot spots occurred on land with active permits for large-scale operations.
There were several sources of fires, 48 percent of which originated outside forest areas or oil palm plantations. The data showed that 27 percent of the fires emanated from timber plantations, 4 percent in protected areas, 1 percent in logging areas and only 20 percent from oil palm concession areas.
There are three government institutions responsible for maps and concessions: the Agriculture Ministry for oil palm plantations, the Forestry Ministry for industrial forest concessions and local governments for land-use concession permits.
Therefore, theoretically and technically it is very easy to pinpoint and track down who should be held accountable for the fires and haze. The government only needs to overlay the satellite images and compare them with the three concession maps.
We observed that about a week after Jakarta mobilized resources to tackle the fires, the haze almost disappeared. At the same time, dozens of individuals, mostly farmers and contract workers, were arrested by the police for alleged arson.
Red tape, however, also prevented immediate action to mitigate the disaster. Only after the President apologized to Singapore and Malaysia were the resources deployed. On the other hand, tracking down the culprits proved to be far more difficult than the relatively simple task of locating the fire sources.
Second, there is the legacy of NGO-led smear campaigns against palm plantations. The bitter taste of this negative campaign still lingers, despite the fact that only one-fifth of the fires were actually located within oil palm plantations. However, many parties, without looking at the data, bluntly accused palm plantations of burning the forests.
Several parties continue to practice slash-and-burn methods for land clearing. On peat land, slash-and-burn practices are the cheapest and most beneficial short-term way to farm, as they neutralize the acid in the soil and add nutrients. It is far cheaper than clearing land using heavy equipment and buying fertilizers.
Therefore, the majority of farmers and smallholders, and even irresponsible plantation owners and their contractors, choose this option. Peat land is also prone to fire from natural causes, which are exacerbated during the dry season.
Blaming palm oil as “the mother of all evils” among environmental issues is commonplace. The failure to curb deforestation and mitigate climate change needs a scapegoat that the majority will approve. Nonetheless, to do so disregards the fact that there are many oil palm plantations that are fully committed to standards of sustainability.
Under uncertain circumstances, the public rushed to point their fingers at the perpetrators of the fires and haze. In no time, most stakeholders, including government agencies and civil society, alleged oil palm plantation firms were the environmental villain.
Indeed, the slash-and-burn practice is the sole cause of the high intensity, smoky haze that blanketed the neighboring countries. However, few are interested in understanding the true nature of the causes of such a catastrophic incident.
There are at least three lessons from this disaster: problems with governance caused a simple problem to develop into a complicated predicament; smear campaigns against oil palm plantations; and the need to look at down-to-earth fundamentals of environmentalism rather than going after high-flying targets.
First, our governance is marred with red tape. The haze saga is easy to assess due to the availability of real-time data in the form of detailed satellite maps. Several days after the haze blanketed Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, the World Resources Institute (WRI), reported that more than half of the hot spots occurred on land with active permits for large-scale operations.
There were several sources of fires, 48 percent of which originated outside forest areas or oil palm plantations. The data showed that 27 percent of the fires emanated from timber plantations, 4 percent in protected areas, 1 percent in logging areas and only 20 percent from oil palm concession areas.
There are three government institutions responsible for maps and concessions: the Agriculture Ministry for oil palm plantations, the Forestry Ministry for industrial forest concessions and local governments for land-use concession permits.
Therefore, theoretically and technically it is very easy to pinpoint and track down who should be held accountable for the fires and haze. The government only needs to overlay the satellite images and compare them with the three concession maps.
We observed that about a week after Jakarta mobilized resources to tackle the fires, the haze almost disappeared. At the same time, dozens of individuals, mostly farmers and contract workers, were arrested by the police for alleged arson.
Red tape, however, also prevented immediate action to mitigate the disaster. Only after the President apologized to Singapore and Malaysia were the resources deployed. On the other hand, tracking down the culprits proved to be far more difficult than the relatively simple task of locating the fire sources.
Second, there is the legacy of NGO-led smear campaigns against palm plantations. The bitter taste of this negative campaign still lingers, despite the fact that only one-fifth of the fires were actually located within oil palm plantations. However, many parties, without looking at the data, bluntly accused palm plantations of burning the forests.
Several parties continue to practice slash-and-burn methods for land clearing. On peat land, slash-and-burn practices are the cheapest and most beneficial short-term way to farm, as they neutralize the acid in the soil and add nutrients. It is far cheaper than clearing land using heavy equipment and buying fertilizers.
Therefore, the majority of farmers and smallholders, and even irresponsible plantation owners and their contractors, choose this option. Peat land is also prone to fire from natural causes, which are exacerbated during the dry season.
Blaming palm oil as “the mother of all evils” among environmental issues is commonplace. The failure to curb deforestation and mitigate climate change needs a scapegoat that the majority will approve. Nonetheless, to do so disregards the fact that there are many oil palm plantations that are fully committed to standards of sustainability.
Third, we need to go back to basics in addressing
environmental issues rather than trying to achieve advanced targets. When we
look closely at environmental issues, there are huge gaps between perception
and the facts, and between environmental campaigns and the actual events on the
ground.
In general, global environmental campaign focuses on three areas: climate change associated with greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, loss of biodiversity, and declining environmental services. Unfortunately, the palm oil industry has become an environmental scapegoat for the global environmental campaigners.
Indeed, oil palm plantations contribute to GHG emissions and other environmental concerns, but their collective impact is no more severe than fossil fuel combustion.
With regard to the recent fires and haze it is clear that according to data, the harm caused by oil palm plantations was far less harmful than other contributory factors.
In the past, timber companies were blamed for environmental degradation and now palm oil plantations are bearing the brunt of criticism. Due to the low level of trust in and credibility of palm plantations, the industry is unable to defend itself against all the charges.
We need to address these problems through a number of strategies.
First, we need to increase the credibility of oil palm plantations and the palm oil industry as a whole through the segregation and categorization of certified sustainable and committed companies. We need to make palm oil a flagship commodity in creating a green market and enforce sustainability principles to ensure production is environmentally and socially responsible.
Second, we need to distinguish between different products and different players in the palm oil industry to determine the good, the bad and the ugly. We need to “name and shame” those firms that are setting fires and causing environmental disasters. To be fair, oil palm plantation companies should be differentiated between those that are responsible and those that are not, between sustainable green companies and rogue companies.
Third, the environmental movement needs to address the fundamentals. Rather than talking big on high-level issues like GHGs, carbon emissions and climate change, it would be better to focus on addressing the root causes of high-impact, disastrous environmental issues.
The government and environmentalists need to redefine their priorities in environmental management toward concrete and down-to-earth measures, such as eradicating forest and land fires once and for all through the strict implementation of a no-burn policy, renewable energy saving and other tangible programs.
The time is ripe for the government to revisit its policies on population growth and birth control, resource management and governance as an integral part of environmental conservation and sustainability. ●
In general, global environmental campaign focuses on three areas: climate change associated with greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, loss of biodiversity, and declining environmental services. Unfortunately, the palm oil industry has become an environmental scapegoat for the global environmental campaigners.
Indeed, oil palm plantations contribute to GHG emissions and other environmental concerns, but their collective impact is no more severe than fossil fuel combustion.
With regard to the recent fires and haze it is clear that according to data, the harm caused by oil palm plantations was far less harmful than other contributory factors.
In the past, timber companies were blamed for environmental degradation and now palm oil plantations are bearing the brunt of criticism. Due to the low level of trust in and credibility of palm plantations, the industry is unable to defend itself against all the charges.
We need to address these problems through a number of strategies.
First, we need to increase the credibility of oil palm plantations and the palm oil industry as a whole through the segregation and categorization of certified sustainable and committed companies. We need to make palm oil a flagship commodity in creating a green market and enforce sustainability principles to ensure production is environmentally and socially responsible.
Second, we need to distinguish between different products and different players in the palm oil industry to determine the good, the bad and the ugly. We need to “name and shame” those firms that are setting fires and causing environmental disasters. To be fair, oil palm plantation companies should be differentiated between those that are responsible and those that are not, between sustainable green companies and rogue companies.
Third, the environmental movement needs to address the fundamentals. Rather than talking big on high-level issues like GHGs, carbon emissions and climate change, it would be better to focus on addressing the root causes of high-impact, disastrous environmental issues.
The government and environmentalists need to redefine their priorities in environmental management toward concrete and down-to-earth measures, such as eradicating forest and land fires once and for all through the strict implementation of a no-burn policy, renewable energy saving and other tangible programs.
The time is ripe for the government to revisit its policies on population growth and birth control, resource management and governance as an integral part of environmental conservation and sustainability. ●
