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DEFORESTATION FOR PALM OIL

Deforestation for Palm Oil: Welcome

Palm oil is used for food products, detergents, cosmetics and bio fuel. Global production of palm oil has doubled over the last decade. By 2000, palm oil was the most produced and traded vegetable oil (FAO 2002), accounting for 40% of all vegetable oils traded internationally. By 2006, the percentage had risen to 65% (FAO). Worldwide demand for palm oil is expected to double again by 2050 to 240 million tons. New plantations are being developed and existing ones are being expanded in Indonesia, Malaysia and other Asian countries, as well as in Africa and Latin America.This expansion comes at the expense of tropical forest – which forms critical habitat for a large number of endangered species and speeding up climate change.

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Malaysia had the world’s highest rate of forest loss between 2000 and 2012, according to a new global forest map developed in partnership with Google. Malaysia’s total forest loss during the period amounted to 14.4 percent of its year 2000 forest cover. The loss translates to 47,278 square kilometers (18,244 square miles), an area larger than Denmark.

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Malaysia’s forest loss was partly offset by a 25,978 sq km gain in vegetation cover resulting from natural recovery, reforestation, and establishment of industrial timber and oil palm plantations. During the period, Malaysia’s oil palm estate grew by roughly 50 percent or 17,000 sq km.

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Malaysia’s rate of forest loss during the period was nearly 50 percent higher than the next runner up, Paraguay (9.6 percent). Its area of forest loss ranked ninth after Russia, Brazil, the United States, Canada, Indonesia, China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Australia. Malaysia’s net forest loss — 21,480 sq km — ranked 12th globally.

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After decades of unsustainable logging, which depleted timber stocks and undermined the viability of traditional forestry management, Malaysia’s forests are increasingly being converted for industrial oil palm plantations. The palm oil industry is a powerful political force in the country.

Deforestation for Palm Oil: Latest News
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