Happy National Palm Oil Day, Indonesia
As strange as it may sound to netizens outside of Indonesia, there is actually a national day to celebrate palm oil. According to Detik News,
-November 18th commemorates National Palm Oil Day. This day is celebrated every year on November 18 to commemorate the first commercial planting of oil palm in Indonesia in 1911.
As reported by the official website of the Subulussalam City Agriculture, Plantation and Fisheries Service, the history of celebrating National Palm Oil Day is based on the moment when oil palm was first planted commercially in Indonesia on November 18, 1911.
Old publications from the PPKS (Palm Palm Research Center) collection such as De Oliepalm (Hunger, 1917; Hunger, 1924) and Investigations on Oil Palms (Rutgers et al., 1922) were the earliest publications to disseminate information about the history of oil palm in Indonesia.
Reported by the official website of the Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU), four palm oil seeds which were first introduced to Indonesia were planted in the Botanical Gardens in 1884 from Mauritius (Africa). At that time, Johannes Elyas Teysmann served as Director of the Botanical Gardens.
The first commercial planting of palm oil in Indonesia has since led to the country’s development as a powerhouse in palm oil production.
According to IndexMundi, Indonesia produced a staggering forty seven million tons of palm oil based on most recent data from the USDA.
The latest data from Statista reported that:
Indonesia was by far the world’s leading producer and exporter of palm oil. Together with Malaysia, they made up almost all the world’s production and exports of palm oil. Unlike Malaysia, however, which exported the majority of the palm oil it produced, Indonesia was also one of the world’s biggest consumers of palm oil, using it as both an edible oil and in biofuels.
The road to achieving this lofty status is however, paved by endless accusations of human rights abuses, threats to wildlife from the hornbill to orangutans and a cause of global warming.
Mind you, the relation between Indonesia’s palm oil expansion and climate change, will remain a controversial topic as long as fossil fuels, the largest contributor to climate change is not addressed.
Human Needs vs Biodiversity Protection
Scientific reports like this latest one published in Nature, made a good point on natural carbon storage and cutting fossil fuels. As quoted by the University of Minnesota:
“Restoration is not about mass tree plantations to offset carbon emissions. Restoration means directing the flow of wealth toward millions of local communities, Indigenous populations and farmers that promote biodiversity across the globe. Only when healthy biodiversity is the preferred choice for local communities will we get long-term carbon capture as a by-product.”
It is indeed, the flow of wealth towards local communities, indigenous populations and farmers, that will address the concerns of the global communities. Take Colombia for example. Groups like Global Forest Watch see Colombia merely in terms of its forests and emissions.
“In 2010, Colombia had 81.4 Mha of natural forest, extending over 72% of its land area. In 2022, it lost 258 kha of natural forest, equivalent to 160 Mt of CO₂ emissions.”
Martina Igini’s thoughts, as published by Earth.org show a deeper bias for global concerns for biodiversity over local needs.
Deforestation in Colombia harms the country’s environment, biodiversity and Indigenous communities. To make up for the increase in net emissions deriving from the destruction of Brazil’s and Colombia’s forests, both countries would have to retire 80% of their vehicles, according to a study by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and Climate Focus. Furthermore, what is considered the most biodiverse country in the world is now losing many of its unique animal and plant species. Of the 3,429 known species of amphibians, birds, mammals, and reptiles that live in Colombia – one-fifth of which are endemic, meaning they cannot be found anywhere else in the world – more than 10% are threatened.
Indonesia’s palm oil lessons for producing countries
The opinion of a small farmer and civil engineer in Colombia, Jose Luis Gonzalez Chacon, provides better insights into a pre-requisite to the sustainable protection of Colombia’s forests and biodiversity.
“Everywhere we look in our war-torn world, we see farmers suffering from violence. It happens in the wheat fields of Ukraine, the kibbutzim of Israel, and the rice fields of Nigeria.
It’s also happening here in Colombia, where political and economic disputes in recent decades have erupted into every kind of conflict, from cartel kidnappings to full-fledged civil war.
We’re vulnerable to the violence but we refuse to be victims—and on our farm, we’re trying to advance a new idea.
We believe in peace through agriculture.”
Indonesia went through a similar situation, with dissension in the province of Aceh, which led to a protracted conflict. Much like Colombia, the conflict delayed Aceh province’s development, which explains why its forest canopy remained intact compared to other provinces. Post-conflict, as Aceh province sought to catch up in development, it caught the eye of foreign groups who reported ad nauseam on the effects of its development.
The only thing that should matter in terms of Aceh province, is that it has managed to achieve peace with agriculture as a means of lasting peace through the sharing of wealth.
The “experts” moved on and shifted their attention to the provinces of Papua and West Papua where the same sensationalized reports on Indonesia palm oil continued.
If Children Are the Future
These “experts” on conservation, display a wanton disregard for human welfare that cannot be acceptable in a sustainable society.
If children are to be our future, then the needs of children in Indonesia’s Papuan provinces, must be taken care of before tree kangaroos as they will be, the future guardians of tree kangaroos, not us.
UNICEF’s report on children in Papua show extreme malnutrition, stunting and lack of access to means of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
These were reflected in a report published in the National Library of Medicine which said:
The significantly higher burden of child undernutrition in rural areas and Indonesia’s least developed region is also because those areas are relatively poorer and least educated at the district level.
For policy, our findings support the idea that governments in Indonesia and other countries with similar settings should put more effort into reducing child undernutrition in rural districts, districts in the least developed regions, and those in the poorest areas.
The palm oil industry in Indonesia must address the needs of children in Papua as identified by UNICEF. It may be an unfair demand of the Indonesian palm oil industry as other extractive industries in timber and mining in Indonesia’s Papuan provinces have not been asked to do the same.
Yet that would provide extra reason to cheer on National Palm Oil Day going forward. Meantime, here’s a belated Selamat Hari Sawit Nasional to the Indonesian palm oil industry. May it be sustainable for both Indonesians and your foreign consumers.
Published November 2023, CSPO Watch
-November 18th commemorates National Palm Oil Day. This day is celebrated every year on November 18 to commemorate the first commercial planting of oil palm in Indonesia in 1911.
As reported by the official website of the Subulussalam City Agriculture, Plantation and Fisheries Service, the history of celebrating National Palm Oil Day is based on the moment when oil palm was first planted commercially in Indonesia on November 18, 1911.
Old publications from the PPKS (Palm Palm Research Center) collection such as De Oliepalm (Hunger, 1917; Hunger, 1924) and Investigations on Oil Palms (Rutgers et al., 1922) were the earliest publications to disseminate information about the history of oil palm in Indonesia.
Reported by the official website of the Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU), four palm oil seeds which were first introduced to Indonesia were planted in the Botanical Gardens in 1884 from Mauritius (Africa). At that time, Johannes Elyas Teysmann served as Director of the Botanical Gardens.
The first commercial planting of palm oil in Indonesia has since led to the country’s development as a powerhouse in palm oil production.
According to IndexMundi, Indonesia produced a staggering forty seven million tons of palm oil based on most recent data from the USDA.
The latest data from Statista reported that:
Indonesia was by far the world’s leading producer and exporter of palm oil. Together with Malaysia, they made up almost all the world’s production and exports of palm oil. Unlike Malaysia, however, which exported the majority of the palm oil it produced, Indonesia was also one of the world’s biggest consumers of palm oil, using it as both an edible oil and in biofuels.
The road to achieving this lofty status is however, paved by endless accusations of human rights abuses, threats to wildlife from the hornbill to orangutans and a cause of global warming.
Mind you, the relation between Indonesia’s palm oil expansion and climate change, will remain a controversial topic as long as fossil fuels, the largest contributor to climate change is not addressed.
Human Needs vs Biodiversity Protection
Scientific reports like this latest one published in Nature, made a good point on natural carbon storage and cutting fossil fuels. As quoted by the University of Minnesota:
“Restoration is not about mass tree plantations to offset carbon emissions. Restoration means directing the flow of wealth toward millions of local communities, Indigenous populations and farmers that promote biodiversity across the globe. Only when healthy biodiversity is the preferred choice for local communities will we get long-term carbon capture as a by-product.”
It is indeed, the flow of wealth towards local communities, indigenous populations and farmers, that will address the concerns of the global communities. Take Colombia for example. Groups like Global Forest Watch see Colombia merely in terms of its forests and emissions.
“In 2010, Colombia had 81.4 Mha of natural forest, extending over 72% of its land area. In 2022, it lost 258 kha of natural forest, equivalent to 160 Mt of CO₂ emissions.”
Martina Igini’s thoughts, as published by Earth.org show a deeper bias for global concerns for biodiversity over local needs.
Deforestation in Colombia harms the country’s environment, biodiversity and Indigenous communities. To make up for the increase in net emissions deriving from the destruction of Brazil’s and Colombia’s forests, both countries would have to retire 80% of their vehicles, according to a study by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and Climate Focus. Furthermore, what is considered the most biodiverse country in the world is now losing many of its unique animal and plant species. Of the 3,429 known species of amphibians, birds, mammals, and reptiles that live in Colombia – one-fifth of which are endemic, meaning they cannot be found anywhere else in the world – more than 10% are threatened.
Indonesia’s palm oil lessons for producing countries
The opinion of a small farmer and civil engineer in Colombia, Jose Luis Gonzalez Chacon, provides better insights into a pre-requisite to the sustainable protection of Colombia’s forests and biodiversity.
“Everywhere we look in our war-torn world, we see farmers suffering from violence. It happens in the wheat fields of Ukraine, the kibbutzim of Israel, and the rice fields of Nigeria.
It’s also happening here in Colombia, where political and economic disputes in recent decades have erupted into every kind of conflict, from cartel kidnappings to full-fledged civil war.
We’re vulnerable to the violence but we refuse to be victims—and on our farm, we’re trying to advance a new idea.
We believe in peace through agriculture.”
Indonesia went through a similar situation, with dissension in the province of Aceh, which led to a protracted conflict. Much like Colombia, the conflict delayed Aceh province’s development, which explains why its forest canopy remained intact compared to other provinces. Post-conflict, as Aceh province sought to catch up in development, it caught the eye of foreign groups who reported ad nauseam on the effects of its development.
The only thing that should matter in terms of Aceh province, is that it has managed to achieve peace with agriculture as a means of lasting peace through the sharing of wealth.
The “experts” moved on and shifted their attention to the provinces of Papua and West Papua where the same sensationalized reports on Indonesia palm oil continued.
- Companies and officials flout forest-clearing moratorium in Papua, report finds,
- The World’s Thirst for Palm Oil Is About To Destroy Asia’s Largest Remaining Rainforest,
- Burning Paradise: Palm Oil in the Land of the Tree Kangaroo.
If Children Are the Future
These “experts” on conservation, display a wanton disregard for human welfare that cannot be acceptable in a sustainable society.
If children are to be our future, then the needs of children in Indonesia’s Papuan provinces, must be taken care of before tree kangaroos as they will be, the future guardians of tree kangaroos, not us.
UNICEF’s report on children in Papua show extreme malnutrition, stunting and lack of access to means of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
These were reflected in a report published in the National Library of Medicine which said:
The significantly higher burden of child undernutrition in rural areas and Indonesia’s least developed region is also because those areas are relatively poorer and least educated at the district level.
For policy, our findings support the idea that governments in Indonesia and other countries with similar settings should put more effort into reducing child undernutrition in rural districts, districts in the least developed regions, and those in the poorest areas.
The palm oil industry in Indonesia must address the needs of children in Papua as identified by UNICEF. It may be an unfair demand of the Indonesian palm oil industry as other extractive industries in timber and mining in Indonesia’s Papuan provinces have not been asked to do the same.
Yet that would provide extra reason to cheer on National Palm Oil Day going forward. Meantime, here’s a belated Selamat Hari Sawit Nasional to the Indonesian palm oil industry. May it be sustainable for both Indonesians and your foreign consumers.
Published November 2023, CSPO Watch
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