Sustainability Analysis of Monoculture to Polyculture Transitions: A Palm Oil Case Study

By: Katie Phillips

Director: Dr. Susan Clark Second Reader: Dr. Milan Shrestha

Arizona State University School of Sustainability Barrett Honors College

Fall 2016

Inthesummerof2013,Itrekkedhalfwayacrosstheworldtovolunteerat

Wildlife1SanctuaryinChiangDao,Thailand.ItwasonthistripthatIwasfirstexposedtothechallengeof"sustainability"relatedtoagriculture,landusechange,andwildlifemanagement.Specifically,palmoil,animportantcommodityforSoutheastAsia,isknownforitsforestdegradationandsociallandconflicts(Teoh,2010).Whilethisindustryprovideslivelihoodsforthousandsofpeople,ithasbeenhotlycontestedasasustainabilitycrisisforseveraldecades(Teoh,2010).Forexample,onahiketocollectfieldcameratrapdata,theteamwitnessedacresofrainforestbeingcutdownandburnedtomakeroomforagriculture.Myfirst-handexperienceinThailandinspiredmetoinvestigatethepalmoilindustryfurther,withthegoalofidentifyingstrategiestoreducenegativeimpacts.

Upuntilthe1960’s,AfricanOilPalm(Elaeisguineensis)hadremainedalocalcommodityamongsmallholderfarmersinSoutheastAsia,CentralandWestAfrica,andLatinAmerica(Teoh,2010).Today,palmoilaccountsfor34.0%ofglobaloilproductionandcanbefoundin50%ofpackagedfoodandhealthproductsatmostsupermarkets(Teoh,2010).ThepalmoilagricultureindustryinSoutheastAsiahasseenunprecedentedexpansioninthepastfourdecades,accountingfor5MhaofagriculturallandexpansioninIndonesiafrom1975–2005(Wickeet.al,2011).Duringthe1990s,mostoftheland-usechangeinSoutheastAsiawasattributedtochangingexistingandnewforestareasintopermanentagriculturaldevelopment(Lambinet.al,2003).Throughthisexpansion,palmoilhasaidedthesedevelopingregionstocreateglobaleconomies.Forexample,the1997-1998financialcrisisinMalaysiawasmitigatedbyincreasingexportsofcheappalmoil(Teoh,2010).

Despitetheeconomicgains,currentpracticeswithinthepalmoilindustryareassociatedwithenvironmentaldegradation,humanrightsviolations,increasedcarbonemissions,andbiodiversityloss.Indonesiahasbeencitedamongthetoptennationalemittersofcarbon,wheremostofthecarbonissourcedfromdeforestationandpeatlanddrainageforagriculturalusessuchastheproductionofpalmoil(Carlsonet.al,2012).Inaddition,SoutheastAsiainthe1990’sexperiencedthehighestamountofrapidtropicalforestdegradationanddeforestation,from2%to5%offorestsclearedannually,inordertoestablishmorepermanentagriculturalschemes(Lambinet.al,2003).InRiau,anIndonesianprovince,85%ofpalmoilplantationsplantedbetween1982and2007arelocatedonformernaturalforestland,indicatinghighamountsofdeforestation,biodiversityloss,andhighercarbonemissions.(Wickeet.al,2011).Inaddition,thedisplacementofnativetribes,liketheIbanofMalaysia,andtherabidacquisitionoftriballandforpalmoiljoint-ventureschemesarejustafewofthesocialandeconomicissuesrelatedtothepalmoilindustry(Crambet.al,2011).

Myhypothesisisthatswitchingfrommonoculturefarmingpracticestoapolyculturegrowingmethodwillimprovethesustainabilityoftheindustry.Thecommonagriculturalpracticeofpalmoiltodayismonoculture(Wickeet.al,2011).Monocultureistheagriculturalpracticewhereoneplantspeciesiscultivatedinthecompleteornearabsenceofallotherplantspecies(Freedman,2004).Whenstressanddemandforacropincreases,itisclearthatthecultivatorwouldrespondbyintensifyingcropproductionthroughmonoculture(Turneret.al,1978).Anolder

practice,thisagriculturalmethodisusedtoreducecompetitionbetweenthedesiredcropsandanyotherplantspecies,andthuslycreatemoreyield(Freedman,2004).However,thispracticeyieldsgreatervulnerabilitytoepidemicsandenvironmentalchangeswithalargermagnitudeofloss(Turneret.al,1992).Pesticidesweredevelopedtocombatthesenegativeeffects,butthesepesticidescreatedotherhealthandenvironmentalproblems,suchaseutrophication(Turneret.al,1992).Alternatively,polyculture,amethodofcultivatingmutuallybeneficialplantsandbioticmaterialtogether,providesapossiblesustainabilitysolutiontomitigatethenegativeside-effectsofmonoculture(Phorsiet.al,2010).

Otherresearchinmonoculturetopolyculturetransitionscitesmycorrhizalfungalpolyculture,theuseofmycorrhizalfungusduringcultivation,asawaytoincreaseplantnutrientuptake,waterconsumption,soilrichness,andoverallfarmlongevityintropicalplantssuchasbamboo,clover,coffee,andcorn(Phorsiet.al,2010).Inthissamestudy,palmoilwascitedasanotherplantcommoditythatwouldbenefitfromthisfungalpolycultureprocess(Phorsiet.al,2010).Thisresearchwillinvestigateaportfolioofpossiblepolyculturesolutionstoimprovethethreepillarsofsustainabilitywithinthepalmoilindustry.

Toinvestigatethishypothesis,myresearchwillexploretheenvironmental,social,andeconomicchallengestocurrentmonoculturepracticesofthepalmoilindustryusingalife-cycleperspective,whichincludesthecradletogatestagesofgrowth,harvesting,processing,transport,andretail.Forthesestages,Iwillselectenvironmental,social,andeconomicindicators,asoutlinedinthetablebelow.Then,Iwillcomparetheseindicatorsassociatedwithmonoculturepracticestoindicatorsofpolyculturepracticesfrompublishedliterature.Theobjectiveistoidentifypossiblepositiveornegativeimpactsofanpalmoiltransitionfrommonoculturetopolyculture.

Environment- Deforestationrate- GreenhouseGasEmissions- Biodiversity- Eutrophication

Social- CommunityDisplacement-DiversityofTribalFarming- Employment

Economic- OilPalmPrice- PriceStability- Livelihood

Figure1:Illustratingthetransitionindicatorstobeinvestigatedwithinthethreepillarsofsustainability(environment,economic,social).

ThroughoutmyresearchIwillmeetwithDr.Clark,myDirector,twiceamonthwiththepossibilityofmoremeetingsasneededclosertodeadlines.MeetingswiththeSecondReader,Dr.Shrestha,willoccuronceamonthormoreifnecessary.Thefollowingtimelineincludesdeadlineandatentativeschedulefortheproject:

Citations:

Carlson,K.M.,Curran,L.M.,Ratnasari,D.,Pittman,a.M.,Soares-Filho,B.S.,Asner,G.P.,…Rodrigues,H.O.(2012).Committedcarbonemissions,deforestation,andcommunitylandconversionfromoilpalmplantationexpansioninWestKalimantan,Indonesia.ProceedingsoftheNationalAcademyofSciences,109(19),7559–7564.doi:10.1073/pnas.1200452109

Cramb,R.,&Sujang,P.S.(2011).“Shiftingground”:RenegotiatinglandrightsandrurallivelihoodsinSarawak,

Malaysia.AsiaPacificViewpoint,52(2),136–147.doi:10.1111/j.1467-8373.2011.01446.x(Freedman,2004)TheGaleEncyclopediaofScience.(Magarey,1999).3rded.Vol.4.Detroit:Gale,2004.2627-

2628.GaleVirtualReferenceLibrary.Web.2Apr.2015.Lambin,E.F.,Geist,H.J.,&Lepers,E.(2003).DYNAMICSOFLAND-USEANDLAND-COVERCHANGEIN

TROPICALREGIONS.AnnualReviewofEnvironment&Resources,28(1),205–241.Retrievedfrom10.1146/annurev.energy.28.050302.105459

Phosri,C.,A.Rodriguez,I.Sanders,andP.Jeffries."TheRoleofMycorrhizasinMoreSustainableOilPalm

Production."Agriculture,EcosystemsandEnvironment.135(2010):187-93.ScienceDirect.Web.Teoh,H.(2010).KeySustainabilityIssuesinthePalmOilSector.WorldBankGroup.

Turner,B.L.,&Butzer,K.W.(1992).TheColumbianEncounterandLand-UseChange.Environment:ScienceandPolicyforSustainableDevelopment.doi:10.1080/00139157.1992.9931469

Turner,B.L.,&Doolittle,W.E.(1978).ConceptandMeasureofAgriculturalIntensity.ProfessionalGeographer,

30(3),297–301.Retrievedfrom<GotoISI>://A1978FR67200010

Wicke,B.,Sikkema,R.,Dornburg,V.,&Faaij,A.(2011).ExploringlandusechangesandtheroleofpalmoilproductioninIndonesiaandMalaysia.LandUsePolicy,28(1),193–206.doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2010.06.001

Date Submission

Summer2015 Completepreliminaryresearch,literaturereview,andprospectus.

Sep.18,2015 ProspectusDue

Fall2015 Completeresearchofmonoculturepalmoillife-cycleandcomparewithpolyculturemethods;Beginwritingthesisdraft.

WinterBreak2015 Finishthesisdraftandseekeditsfromcommittee.

Spring2016 Completepreliminaryrevisionsofthesis.

March11,2016 DefenseReportingFormDue

April1,2016 DefensecompletedBEFOREthisdate

April2-14,2016 Finalrevisionspost-defense

April15,2016 FinalSubmissionDue