Last week, University Putra Malaysia’s Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products (INTROP) collaborated with the French Agriculture Development Centre (CIRAD) and the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) to host a webinar on the geopolitical issues surrounding the palm oil industry and deforestation.
The speakers and panellists approached the subject matter from different perspectives: (1) Jean-Marc Roda spoke about a range of topics, including the regulation of imported deforestation, the ever-evolving issue of food security and consumption, and Europe’s biofuels conundrum; (2) Alain Rival explained palm oil’s vulnerability to climate change and the growing need for more sustainable agricultural systems within Southeast Asia region to address that vulnerability; and (3) Khor Yu Leng discussed social media attention on key commodities as well as recent developments relating to trade and climate governance.
Source: Roda, CIRAD/UPM (2021)
Source: Rival, CIRAD (2021). Experimental palm oil plots of TRAILS, a forest landscape conservation programme tackling the adverse impact of large-scale agricultural expansions on land cover change and biodiversity.
Source: Khor, Segi Enam (2021)