Palm Oil Industry Threatens the Future of Borneo’s Wildlife

From the broadleaf rain forests of its lowlands to vast tracts of montane cloud forests in the highlands, Borneo harbors some of the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet. Orangutans, pygmy elephants, clouded leopards, and more than 15,000 plant species — 6,000 of which are native only to Borneo — rely on these forests as vital sources of shelter and nourishment.

But against the backdrop of this ecological trove looms an imminent threat, as palm oil companies clear land to expand their plantations, often without legal sanction to do so.

The island’s rapid deterioration from fragmentation and intentional forest fires could have long-lasting and irrevocable impacts on the entire region’s climate.

Borneo is the third largest island in the world, and one of two remaining islands in Southeast Asia with its forests intact. Together with neighboring Sumatra, it accounts for the overwhelming majority of palm oil production for Indonesia, a sovereign state that produces the most palm oil of any player in the global market.

In recent years, scientists have begun to better understand how the island’s trees directly contribute to rainfall and weather patterns that sustain the health of endemic flora and fauna. As such, the island’s rapid deterioration from fragmentation and intentional forest fires could have long-lasting and irrevocable impacts on the entire region’s climate.

Palm oil’s ubiquity in common consumer products — including hair conditioner, ice cream, and chewing gum — encourages producers to increase output to meet growing global demand. Controversy arose around Nutella’s use of palm oil in Jan. 2017, followed by concerns that palm oil might contain carcinogenic contaminants. With debate around production and health risks, it is hard to determine any true benefits from the product beyond its value to developers, industry moguls and undiscerning consumers.

Southwest of the Heart of Borneo, oil palm plantations have proliferated in Central Kalimantan and destroyed abundant native wildlife.

Territorially speaking, Borneo is split among three countries: Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia. The Indonesian territory is more prominently known as Kalimantan. Palm oil plantations have mostly proliferated in and around Central Kalimantan, just southwest of a vast area known as the Heart of Borneo — about 220,000 km (or 22,000,000 hectares) of land that was barred from development through an agreement presented by the WWF.

The Dayak represent the human element at stake in the struggle against industrial forces.

A 2016 report by the Center for International Forestry Research claims that the past four decades have been marked by an increase in the number of plantation industries encroaching upon Malaysian Borneo, but that only since 2005 has there been an increase of plantations in Indonesian Borneo.

Despite the efforts of the island’s indigenous peoples — called the Dayak — to combat industry expansion, tribes endure increasingly arduous living conditions and face difficult decisions. Originally headhunters, the Dayak are now known for sustainable planting and gathering customs that help preserve the region’s remarkable biodiversity.

As cohabitors with Borneo’s unique wildlife, they represent the human element at stake in the struggle against industrial forces. All Dayak tools and food come from the forest; all knowledge arises from deep generational connections to the land. The exploitation of resources therefore means that their natural methods of subsistence must change alongside their native environment.

Some tribes have attempted to push back on land-clearing agents, such as the Parigi Dayak of Pa’ Unga, who refuse to surrender land and continue their traditional practices in the village. Others have surrendered their land to palm oil companies in exchange for payoffs and guaranteed work opportunities. But this isn’t exactly a fair tradeoff.

The long-term detrimental impacts of palm oil plantations on the land itself will pose insurmountable hazards to the sustainability of the island’s natural resources.

Kent Wagner of the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting claims that while the immediate economic benefit of the industry to Dayak tribes may seem obvious, the long-term detrimental impacts of palm oil plantations on the land itself will pose insurmountable hazards to the sustainability of the island’s natural resources.

When developers clear land for plantations, they displace diverse endemic wildlife that has occupied the area for thousands of years. In a recent study, Washington-based nonprofit Forest Trends found that much of Indonesian Borneo’s land clearing has been conducted under illegal circumstances by private investors and international development banks. But a 2014 article in Tempo claims that Indonesia Agriculture Minister Ir. H. Suswono has denied any such activity.

The Borneo Pygmy Elephant faces critical threats to its survival as its habitat is destroyed to support encroaching oil palm plantations. Only 1,500 individuals remain on the island.