2
II. Many farmers have seized the opportunity to maximize the planting of oil palm trees. Between 1990 and 2012, the global land area devoted to growing oil palm trees grew from 6 to 17 million hectares, now accounting for around ten percent of total cropland in the entire world. From a mere two million tons of palm oil being produced annually globally 50 years ago, there are now around 60 million tons produced every single year, a figure looking likely to double or even triple by the middle of the century.
III. However, there are multiple reasons why conservationists cite the rapid spread of oil palm plantations as a major concem. There are countless news stories of deforestation, habitat destruction and dwindling species populations, all as a direct result of land clearing to establish oil palm tree monoculture on an industrial scale, particularly in Malaysia and Indonesia. Endangered species - most famously the Sumatran orangutan, but also rhinos, elephants, tigers, and numerous other fauna - have suffered from the unstoppable spread of oil palm plantations.
IV.Palm oil is surely one of the greatest threats to global biodiversity,' declares Dr. Famon
Next
FUO to fi
