malaysian palm oil - green gold or green wash?

This executive summary by Friends of the Earth challenges the Malaysian Palm Oil Council's (MPOC) claims that Malaysian palm oil is sustainable. It argues that expansion, particularly in Sarawak, is driving tropical deforestation, the destruction of peat lands, and human rights violations against indigenous peoples like the Penan. The report highlights the role of European and American bio-energy targets in driving this demand and calls for the EU to abandon its 10% biofuel target and for the Malaysian government to recognize Native Customary Rights and enforce a zero-burning policy.

• The claim that zero-burning is strictly enforced in Malaysia is false because Sarawak's own environmental laws allow plantation companies to use open burning to clear land, including on peat soils, which contributes to regional haze and greenhouse gas emissions.
• Contrary to claims that forests are not converted for oil palm, evidence shows significant expansion at the expense of tropical forests; in Sarawak, at least 400,000 hectares of Permanent Forest Estates were allocated for conversion to agriculture plantations, primarily oil palm.
• The Penan and other indigenous communities in Sarawak face increased impoverishment and denial of traditional land rights, contradicting claims that they were provided with virgin forests to sustain their nomadic lifestyle via 'Biosphere Reserves' which have no legal basis.
• Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) for plantations in Sarawak are described as biased and lacking in objectivity, as the public is denied the right to participate in the process and reports typically prioritize government policy interests.
• The claim that oil palm absorbs as much carbon dioxide as tropical forests is based on outdated research that ignores the 'carbon debt' created by the drainage of peat lands and deforestation, which are the primary sites for most new Malaysian plantations.
• Sarawak's oil palm expansion is accelerating, with licenses granted to more than double the state's oil palm acreage from 2007 levels to 1.3 million hectares by 2010, and nearly a quarter of the state's land mass (2.8 million hectares) licensed to logging groups for conversion.

APA

Friends of the Earth International (2008). malaysian palm oil - green gold or green wash? https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/04-foei-sarawak-8p-lr.pdf

Chicago

Friends of the Earth International. malaysian palm oil - green gold or green wash? 2008. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/04-foei-sarawak-8p-lr.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Friends of the Earth International |title=malaysian palm oil - green gold or green wash? |date=October 2008 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/04-foei-sarawak-8p-lr.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{friendsoftheearthinternational2008malaysian, author = {{Friends of the Earth International}}, title = {{malaysian palm oil - green gold or green wash?}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2008}, month = oct, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/04-foei-sarawak-8p-lr.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }