NEW DELHI, Aug 24: The Centre’s unilateral mega oil palm cultivation plan in the ecologically sensitive Northeast, particularly Meghalaya, could seriously endanger the hill state starting from its unique forest, wildlife to quality of its air, water, soil, and overall climate.
“Large-scale conversion of forests to oil palm plantations has a devastating impact on a huge number of plant and animal species, according to the brochure published by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Oil palm production also leads to an increase in human-wildlife conflict as populations of large animals are squeezed into increasingly isolated fragments of natural habitat.
The habitats destroyed frequently contain rare and endangered species or serve as wildlife corridors between areas of genetic diversity, it said. Even national parks which are highly protected have been severely impacted.
Large areas of tropical forests and other ecosystems with high conservation values have been cleared to make room for vast monoculture oil palm plantations, the pamphlet said. This clearing has destroyed critical habitat for many endangered species — including rhinos, elephants and tigers, it said from international experience.
It is ironic that these large-scale oil palm plantations will be officially treated as “forest cover” by the Forest Survey of India due the peculiar definition of trees. FSI defines forest cover as: “All lands, more than 1 hectare in area with a tree canopy density of 10% irrespective of ownership and legal status.” Such lands may not necessarily be a recorded forest area and include orchards, bamboo, and palm.
Many vast oil palm plantations have displaced tropical forests across Asia, Latin America and West Africa. In these places, there is a direct relationship between the growth of oil palm estates and deforestation, it went on to add.
Independent experts said fragile biodiversity-rich areas like the Northeastern states and Andaman & Nicobar Islands (both specifically named in the Cabinet note) will bear the brunt. And the fear is that much like in other parts of the world primary forests will be replaced with oil palm ones.
Burning forests to make room for the crop is also a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. Intensive cultivation methods result in soil pollution and erosion and water contamination, it added.
The burning of forests releases smoke and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, polluting the air and contributing to climate change.
Fires in peat areas are particularly difficult to put out and the smoke and haze from these blazes have health consequences throughout Southeast Asia, it warned.
The Government also gives examples of Jhum cultivation which will be replaced by oil palm.
But according to Nature Conservation Foundations, Jhum is a rotational system of organic farming involving the cutting and burning of forests for farming and oil palm cultivation cannot be favoured as a substitute.
A palm oil mill generates 2.5 metric tons of effluent for every metric ton of palm oil it produces. Direct release of this effluent can cause freshwater pollution, which affects downstream biodiversity and people.
The WWF report said that erosion occurs when forests are being cleared to establish plantations and can also be caused by planting trees in inappropriate arrangements. The main cause of erosion is the planting of oil palms on steep slopes.
Erosion causes increased flooding and silt deposits in rivers and ports. Eroded areas require more fertilizer and other inputs, including repair of roads and other infrastructure, it said.
A significant factor is that oil palm plantations are not being proposed on empty lands and they have to negotiate prevailing ownership or use rights, irrespective of the land being forest, revenue, hill council, private or any other form of ownership. In countries where oil palm has been pushed through there are many documented cases of serious injustices and land conflicts (both at individual and community levels).
Surprisingly, the example of Mizoram for successful oil palm cultivation seems erroneous. A study published in May 2016 in the journal Ornithological Applications, said that oil palm plantations in Mizoram had just 10 species of birds, followed by 38 in teak plantations, 50 in Jhum and 58 in rainforests. Forest bird abundance in the Jhum landscape was similar to that in a rainforest, on average 304% higher than in oil palm plantations, the study found.
