Oil palm expansion transforms tropical landscapes and livelihoods

Oil palm is a highly profitable crop adapted to the humid tropics and the area devoted to this crop is likely to expand significantly in the future. It has many environmentally favourable attributes over its full life cycle. When well managed it has a positive carbon balance and when grown in a landscape mosaic it can play a role in biodiversity conservation. It has driven rapid economic growth in several tropical developing countries and contributed to the alleviation of rural poverty. Abuses during periods of rapid estate expansion into areas of natural forest and onto the lands of poor rural communities have led to criticism by environmental and social activists. With good governance oil palm can make valuable contributions to development and the resulting prosperity may free people to invest in better environmental practices. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.