Palm Oil Production and The Existence of Orangutans

We have been warned by the Environmental organizations and various conservationists about eating foods made from palm oil or using bio diesel which has a direct effect and threatens the existence of Orangutans, much loved by all.

Why are you so confused? If bio diesel is used in our vehicles, it emits only little carbon dioxide apart from its nature of bio degradability. The environmentalists are supporting this in large scale. But this is not the case with all bio diesels. It depends on the way they are being produced. Some are better and the others are not. Now the environmental organizations are questioning the palm oil cultivation. May be for this purpose rainforests have to be cut off. Palm plantations need a large land for cultivation. This palm plantation needs large scale of petroleum based pesticides and fertilizers, and it loses rainforest ecosystems. Moreover, it pollutes the atmosphere also due to haphazard usage of fertilizers. This pollution will cause the fertile land to become a wasteland over a period of time.

Why this deforestation? The government in the western area has accepted to cut down the emissions and tight targets were encompassed to use the first generation bio fuels which are made from the food crops. But considering the volume of carbon emitted by vehicles, the transport sector has been ruled out. But you can argue that this sector have contributed a lot for the development of bio fuels in the market and industry as a whole. Moreover, the increase in the cost of crude oil to its maximum by mid 2008 has proved that palm oil is an increasing agricultural crop in countries like Malaysia and Indonesia. They have the increased opportunity for exploitation. Both the countries put together is now producing around 85% of the total world production. Another factor is that this area is the natural habitat of the famous Orangutans and deforesting these areas is a threat to their survival.

Importance of Palm Oil: The palm seed is considered as the most productive oil seed than soybeans or corn, because of their capacity to produce more crude oil than other oil seeds. The calculation is made as it produces 20 times more than corn and 10 times more than soybeans. More than its use for the production a bio diesel, since it becomes a part of may other daily necessities like use in food stuff or cosmetics, has made its production more important. It requires only very less land compared to other traditional crops. Thus the production of this has become more eco-friendly also. Since many environmental organizations and other oil companies and government have recognized this, they are trying to put this case to the concerned local bodies.

Status of palm oil when the reduction of oil prices: The prices of palm oil may also move in accordance with the price changes of crude oil. By the second half of 2008, even though the prices have gone down drastically, with the global recession the demand for palm oil also should go down. But this does not mean that the production of palm oil will go down. It will not slow down the palm plantation's expansion. Even though the supply / demand theorem of economics works, we have maintained palm development as a cover to other far more profitable classifications. In Indonesia a large area of forest has been cleared to double the production of palm oil in the next 15 - 20 years. Logging is more profitable for both local governments and logging companies.

What happens to Orangutans? Orangutans don't understand our economics or politics played in their region. If they could it is more natural they would pressurize both the local and world government in reconsidering their plan in the tropical rainforests of Asia. But the local ministers of agriculture should pay more attention in mounting pressure from west and re-evaluate the given information with more conscience. Then they would realize that the existence of long term regions biodiversity affect our dear orangutans in addition to becoming crucial for the local people. They have to exist in our planet for long.