WRI discusses the challenges and potential for oil palm development on degraded land.

1. Directing Palm Oil Expansion onto
Degraded Land
Presentation to ZSL Symposium, 4 May 2011
Moray McLeish
Manager, Project POTICO
World Resources Institute
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2. World Resources Institute
– committed to protecting the environment
and improving peoples lives
– established 1982, $40m pa turnover
– $10 m on ecosystems and land use
– Board Members: Al Gore, Fernando
Henrique Cardoso
How?
– research and facilitation
– analytical excellence
– working with partners to put
ideas into action
eg Sekala, Wal Mart
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3. Agenda
1. The past and the future
2. What is ‘degraded land’?
3. Degraded Land for sustainable palm oil
4. Community Mapping for FPIC
5. Land Swaps
6. Conclusions
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4. What we have seen in the past
Carbon rich land converted to oil palm plantation
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5. What Indonesia needs to see in the future
"We have a policy to use degraded land ... for the
continuation of the palm oil industry in Indonesia”
– Indonesian President SBY, Oslo, May 2010
Degraded land used for new plantations
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6. Complications hindering movement from
the past to the future
Technical - Lack of accurate land cover data
Social - Land claims and tenure issues
Legal - Status on paper vs reality on the ground
Financial - Permits already issued
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7. biophysical conditions
What is degraded land? predetermined and difficult to change
• native vegetation damaged
• low potential for recovery
• carbon stock
•functioning of ecosystem
services
• No HCV 1- 4
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8. Considerations in using degraded land
biophysical conditions technology and management
predetermined and difficult to change competencies of the planter influence viability
• native vegetation damaged • land/soil productivity
• potential for recovery
• slope
• carbon stock
•functioning of ecosystem • size (contiguous)
services • transport infrastructure
• High Conservation Values 1 - 4 Degraded • labor inputs
land
suitable for
sustainable
palm oil
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9. Criteria for identifying suitable degraded land
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10. 400 000 ha of suitable degraded land in West Kalimantan
POTICO Potential, KalBar
Degraded, high potential
Degraded, potential
Unsuitable
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11. Considerations in using degraded land
biophysical conditions technology and management
predetermined and difficult to change competencies of the planter influence viability
• native vegetation damaged • land/soil productivity
• potential for recovery
• slope
• carbon stock
•functioning of ecosystem • size (contiguous)
services • transport infrastructure
• High Conservation Values 1 - 4 Degraded • labor inputs
land
suitable for
sustainable
palm oil
• respect for customary rights
• potential to improve livelihood
of local people
• free & prior informed consent
(FPIC)
• HCV 5 - 6
 depend on current livelihood and the deal being
community preferences
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12. Negotiating Future – Community Mapping and FPIC
FPIC = Free, Prior, and
Informed Consent
• Community rights to get
information ( be informed),
• before (prior) a program or a
project is implemented in their
area,
• to allow them freely to agree
(consent) or disagree
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13. Community Mapping Objectives
• To organize the community
• To map what the community
think important to map
• To understand/document
cultures
• To advocate indigenous
geographical names
• To negotiate territory
• To negotiate land use plan
• To identify HCVs
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14. How community mapping will be useful for
FPIC, livelihood and land use negotiation?
• Community map shows
community values over resources
as basic information to discuss
any agricultural development
plan, livelihood options
• Community will have better
understanding of spatial context
using their own maps
• Community will be more
organized in decision making and
negotiation process
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15. Considerations in using degraded land
biophysical conditions technology and management
predetermined and difficult to change competencies of the planter influence viability
• native vegetation damaged • land/soil productivity
• potential for recovery
• slope
• carbon stock
•functioning of ecosystem • size (contiguous)
services • transport infrastructure
• High Conservation Values 1 - 4 Degraded • labor inputs
land
suitable for
sustainable
palm oil
• land status • respect for customary rights
• potential to improve livelihood
• local government plans
of local people
•local ownership & use • free & prior informed consent
rights (FPIC)
• HCV 5 - 6
 legal status can be changed  depend on current livelihood and the deal being
planning and zoning community preferences
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16. NON-FORESTED
FOREST LAND
FORESTED
NON-FOREST LAND
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17. Converting Land Status – Legal Analysis
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18. Using the land use plan revision process to
change land status
WORLD RESOURCES
INSTITUTE
POTICO
Tract 1
Borneo
Tract 2
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19. Indonesia –Norway Letter of Intent
Cooperation on reducing
greenhouse gas emissions from
deforestation and forest degradation
• To establish a bank of land, onto which future agricultural
expansion will be directed
• Land to with which to swap
• Drawing upon ideas and tools we are developing, to
achieve best practices.
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20. Summary and conclusions
More positive terminology needed
To reflect opportunity not threat
Methodology preferable to definition
More likely to gain consensus, adaptable to different situations
‘Degraded Land’ Database
Areas for sustainable agricultural expansion
Land Swaps
To undo mistakes of the past
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21. Thank you mmcleish@wri.org
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