About the Project
Oil palm plantations have caused approximately 135,000 km2 of forest loss across Southeast Asia, Africa, and South America. While Southeast Asia has the largest extent of plantations, oil palm is expanding across the tropics, with plantation area doubling in the Brazilian Amazon between 2004 and 2010. Although oil palm plantations have caused substantial deforestation, these areas may also increase terrestrial carbon storage when planted in deforested areas, and initial investments in fertilizer and high yield varieties can reduce deforestation pressure on the surrounding forest, improve economic livelihoods and reduce emissions from non-renewable energy sources.
Two models of oil palm cultivation characterize expansion in the Brazilian Amazon, associated with the size of the landholding and initial capital investments. Large areas of cultivation, in which initial capital investments are higher, typically benefit from higher productivity per unit area, resulting in less deforestation pressure on the surrounding forest. Smallholder production is typically less efficient, but may also be associated with less deforestation because these plantations are more likely to occupy areas that were deforested for another purpose such as cropland or pasture. The yield per unit area and the fraction of cultivation area converted directly from forest are two important indicators of the effects of oil palm cultivation on forest loss and economic livelihoods.
This study will map the expansion of oil palm in the Brazilian Amazon and compare these data with official statistics on oil palm cultivation area and yield to answer the following research questions:
1. What fraction of oil palm cultivation in the Amazon comes from deforested areas currently and historically? Has this fraction changed in response to the Program for Sustainable Production of Palm Oil in 2010 and changes in the Forest Code in 2012?
2. Is palm oil production lower per unit area in municipalities with a greater proportion of smallholder plantations? If so, is this due to variation in suitability for cultivation or differences in initial investments?
3. Has the proportion of large- and smallholder oil palm cultivation changed in response to greater incentives for smallholders and a reduction in available area suitable for industrial operations?
References
1. http://seedinternational.org.uk/about/
2. https://www.geospatial-insight.com/
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