Palm oil-driven deforestation in Indonesia, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea hit a four-year low in 2021, said a new report by Chain Reaction Research. The drop is potentially attributable to a range of factors, including Covid-19 restrictions and “no deforestation, no peat” policies adopted by leading private players in the palm oil sector.
Carbon Brief
A new study by thinktank Chain Reaction Research shows that deforestation from palm oil in Indonesia, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea has hit its lowest levels since 2017. From 90,000 hectares (ha) of forest and peatlands cleared in 2019 for oil palm cultivation in 2018, only 19,000ha was cleared in 2021, according to Chain Reaction’s estimates. Indonesia and Malaysia are the world’s top two palm oil producers, accounting for over 85% of the world’s exports, with Papua New Guinea coming in sixth, according to the Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC).
