How to Identify Degraded Land for Sustainable Palm Oil in Indonesia

This WRI/Sekala working paper presents a cost-effective method for identifying degraded land suitable for sustainable palm oil production in Indonesia, combining desktop analysis with field assessments to support sustainable planning and management.

• The proposed method for identifying suitable degraded land for palm oil consists of a two-step process: an initial desktop analysis using available data followed by rapid field assessments. This approach incorporates indicators based on legal, social, economic, and environmental factors and aligns with Indonesian laws, national REDD+ strategies, and Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) standards.
• The desktop analysis phase of the method identified approximately seven million hectares of potentially suitable land across the provinces of Central Kalimantan and West Kalimantan, based on publicly available data.
• The method is intended as a preliminary screening tool to identify high-priority areas for further investigation rather than a final determinant for expansion. Using it as a first step can lower the costs of subsequent mandatory due diligence, such as social impact assessments, high conservation value (HCV) assessments, community mapping, and the free prior and informed consent (FPIC) process.
• As a pilot application of the method under Project POTICO, WRI and Sekala identified nine potentially suitable areas in West Kalimantan through targeted field assessments of high-priority sites identified via desktop analysis.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). How to Identify Degraded Land for Sustainable Palm Oil in Indonesia. https://www.wri.org/research/how-identify-degraded-land-sustainable-palm-oil-indonesia

Chicago

World Resources Institute. How to Identify Degraded Land for Sustainable Palm Oil in Indonesia. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/how-identify-degraded-land-sustainable-palm-oil-indonesia.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=How to Identify Degraded Land for Sustainable Palm Oil in Indonesia |url=https://www.wri.org/research/how-identify-degraded-land-sustainable-palm-oil-indonesia |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendhow, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{How to Identify Degraded Land for Sustainable Palm Oil in Indonesia}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/how-identify-degraded-land-sustainable-palm-oil-indonesia}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }