136
conversion into biodiesel (Obidzinski et al. 2012). TE (2016) estimates that 45% of
the palm oil used in the EU is used for biodiesel and 16% for electricity/heating (up
from 8% and 14% in 2010). An immediate result of the above is that the palm oil
industry became closely linked to energy markets, at least conceptually.
This perceived interest in palm oil-based biofuels in the late 2000s seems to have
led to a sharp increase in the overall volume of imported palm oil in the EU (FEDIOL
2016). At the same time it contributed to the immense pressure from the environmental community for the adoption of more sustainable practices for palm oil production. This was part of the series of criticisms that the palm oil sector started
facing since the late 1990s regarding its environmental and social performance
(Schouten and Glasbergen 2011). Common practices in palm oil cultivation such as
extensive monocultures, land clearing through fire, and pollution due to high fertilizer/pesticide use and palm oil mill effluent (POME) were identified as particularly
damaging to the environment and biodiversity (Sect. 10.3).
Such concerns catalyzed the establishment of the Roundtable on Sustainable
Palm Oil (RSPO) in 2004, a multi-stakeholder alliance promoting the sustainable
production and consumption of palm oil. RSPO brings together important actors
across the palm oil chain, such as large producers, smallholders, processors, traders,
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and certifiers among others. Despite the
initially slow take-up of the RSPO standard, the RSPO-certified growers accounted
for approximately 28% of global palm oil production in 2012, with 42% of their
product being already certified (RSPO 2012). However, the broader legitimacy of
the RSPO has been questioned (Schouten and Glasbergen 2011; Partzsch 2009;
Silva-Castaneda 2012; von Geibler 2013; Nikoloyuk et al. 2010). This is possibly
because RSPO stakeholders have joined (and operate within) the alliance having
radically different agendas and motivations (Schouten and Glasbergen 2011). Such
divergent approaches within, and beyond RSPO, throw into doubt its ability to
effectively promote the sustainable production and consumption of palm oil
(Partzsch 2009).
In any case this growing connection between palm oil and biofuels in the late
2000s sparked some visible changes in the palm oil production chain as even companies that were not involved in biofuels (having produced palm oil for more than
100 years) were under increasing pressure to adapt their business practices to satisfy
the environmental concerns of their clients.
Considering the above, this chapter elicits some of the concerns that key stakeholders involved in the RSPO process articulated during the early 2010s about the
possible impacts of biofuel-driven palm oil expansion on the environment and
human well- being. We use an ecosystem services perspective as a means of synthesizing the literature and highlighting the interlinkages between biofuel-driven
ecosystem change and human well-being (MA 2005a, b). Section 10.2 provides a
brief literature review of the key impact of oil palm cultivation and palm oil biofuel production and use on ecosystem services and human well-being. Section
10.3 outlines the methodological approach used to elicit stakeholder perceptions.
R. Moreno-Peñaranda et al.
conversion into biodiesel (Obidzinski et al. 2012). TE (2016) estimates that 45% of
the palm oil used in the EU is used for biodiesel and 16% for electricity/heating (up
from 8% and 14% in 2010). An immediate result of the above is that the palm oil
industry became closely linked to energy markets, at least conceptually.
This perceived interest in palm oil-based biofuels in the late 2000s seems to have
led to a sharp increase in the overall volume of imported palm oil in the EU (FEDIOL
2016). At the same time it contributed to the immense pressure from the environmental community for the adoption of more sustainable practices for palm oil production. This was part of the series of criticisms that the palm oil sector started
facing since the late 1990s regarding its environmental and social performance
(Schouten and Glasbergen 2011). Common practices in palm oil cultivation such as
extensive monocultures, land clearing through fire, and pollution due to high fertilizer/pesticide use and palm oil mill effluent (POME) were identified as particularly
damaging to the environment and biodiversity (Sect. 10.3).
Such concerns catalyzed the establishment of the Roundtable on Sustainable
Palm Oil (RSPO) in 2004, a multi-stakeholder alliance promoting the sustainable
production and consumption of palm oil. RSPO brings together important actors
across the palm oil chain, such as large producers, smallholders, processors, traders,
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and certifiers among others. Despite the
initially slow take-up of the RSPO standard, the RSPO-certified growers accounted
for approximately 28% of global palm oil production in 2012, with 42% of their
product being already certified (RSPO 2012). However, the broader legitimacy of
the RSPO has been questioned (Schouten and Glasbergen 2011; Partzsch 2009;
Silva-Castaneda 2012; von Geibler 2013; Nikoloyuk et al. 2010). This is possibly
because RSPO stakeholders have joined (and operate within) the alliance having
radically different agendas and motivations (Schouten and Glasbergen 2011). Such
divergent approaches within, and beyond RSPO, throw into doubt its ability to
effectively promote the sustainable production and consumption of palm oil
(Partzsch 2009).
In any case this growing connection between palm oil and biofuels in the late
2000s sparked some visible changes in the palm oil production chain as even companies that were not involved in biofuels (having produced palm oil for more than
100 years) were under increasing pressure to adapt their business practices to satisfy
the environmental concerns of their clients.
Considering the above, this chapter elicits some of the concerns that key stakeholders involved in the RSPO process articulated during the early 2010s about the
possible impacts of biofuel-driven palm oil expansion on the environment and
human well- being. We use an ecosystem services perspective as a means of synthesizing the literature and highlighting the interlinkages between biofuel-driven
ecosystem change and human well-being (MA 2005a, b). Section 10.2 provides a
brief literature review of the key impact of oil palm cultivation and palm oil biofuel production and use on ecosystem services and human well-being. Section
10.3 outlines the methodological approach used to elicit stakeholder perceptions.
R. Moreno-Peñaranda et al.