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Figure taken from R. Cazzolla Gatti´s paper in Science of The Total Environment
2020-08-05
‘Meaningless certification’: Study makes the case against ‘sustainable’ palm oil

"Mongabay", a non-profit conservation and environmental science news platform published a commendatory report on KLI Fellow Roberto Cazzolla Gatti´s new study on certified oil palm plantations and these plantations´ links to past deforestation:
https://news.mongabay.com/2020/08/palm-oil-certification-sustainable-rspo-deforestation-habitat-study/

Roberto Cazzolla Gatti´s new study on certified oil palm plantations and their links to past deforestation (published in the journal Science of the Total Environment) has sparked a debate over whether they can be considered sustainable if they’re established on once-forested land.

Bases on the analysis of highly detailed satellite images from 1984 to 2020 of 251 plantations that were certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), the study demonstrated that certified plantations had replaced the habitats of endangered mammals and biodiverse tropical forests over the last few decades. In addition, some certified oil palm plantations are located in endangered large mammals habitats affecting rhinos, tigers, orangutans and elephants.

Read the full study at
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969720342340?via%3Dihub