Oil palm plantation is part of economic development and income generating strategy for local and national government. It is also expected to create more employment opportunity and help to alleviate poverty in rural areas. Palm oil and other biofuel crops, therefore, are seen to play important roles in energy development strategy while at the same time the overall biofuel development will contribute to poverty alleviation and help to create more employment.
Second, the case study, however, shows that oil palm plantation development is not developed based on local needs and interests of local communities and indigenous peoples. In addition, local people’s subsistent livelihoods and other natural resources such as forests, rivers, fish, and other social and cultural values are under serious threat by these fast expansion and massive conversion of land, forest, rivers, and other resources to monoculture biofuel crops plantations.
Third, beside becoming major factor for land conversion, deforestation, and biodiversity lost, monoculture palm plantations still apply huge amount of non-biodegradable agrochemicals, fertilisers, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, high methane emissions from processing mill effluents (POME), threatening food security and subsistent livelihoods, and lost of ecosystem goods and services.
Fourth, there are recently conducted researches and published reports have obviously disclosed many significant negative and ongoing social impacts and the consequences of oil palm plantation developments in Indonesia. The ongoing impacts amongst others are loss of ecosystems and services, common pool resources, economic cost of conversion to monoculture, reduction of income diversity and resilience to shocks, unfair pricing of palm fruits (FFB), debt bondage, exploitative labour conditions and insecurity, low wages, women are exposed to hazardous working conditions, and unsafe agrochemical applications, and used of child labour.
No comments:
Post a Comment