APE CONSERVATION Palm Progress

Can palm oil plantations and endangered rainforest really coexist? One conservationist says yes. Can palm oil plantations and endangered rainforest really coexist? One conservationist says yes.

- Nathan Sen

THE ISLAND OF BORNEO, divided among Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia, is home to one of the world's oldest rainforests - and the heart of a climate controversy.

The region produces much of the world's palm oil, a vegetable oil widely used in everything from chocolate to cosmetics. Palm oil detractors and wildlife groups have argued that palm oil production is to blame for Borneo's disappearing fauna, as precious sections of rainforest are cut down to make way for plantations. This results in the destruction of wildlife habitats, including those of the orangutan, which has become the face of the global anti-palm oil movement.

But this is a story about hope. Production of the golden crop, whose existence is a valuable source of income for local farmers, is slowly but successfully being improved to mitigate ecological concerns.

Production of the golden crop, whose existence is a valuable source of income for local farmers, is slowly but successfully being improved to mitigate ecological concerns

Return of the Apes

With palm oil as its major export, Malaysia has made significant efforts to reverse the negative environmental impact - and by extension, bad press - around palm oil production.