Sustainable Oil Palm Development on Degraded Land in Kalimantan

The paper argues that Indonesia can meet rising global vegetable oil demand without further deforestation by combining yield intensification with expansion onto degraded lands, specifically alang-alang grasslands and flat secondary forests. It finds that management practices are more critical to yield than previous land use and that alang-alang grasslands offer the lowest establishment costs and fastest carbon payback times.

• Yield improvements on existing oil palm plantations in Indonesia could potentially eliminate the need to expand the planted area by 1.6 million hectares.
• Agronomic management is a more significant determinant of oil palm yield than the previous land use or the degree of vegetation degradation. Evidence from the Harapan Sawit Lestari (HSL) estate showed that Best Management Practices (BMP) resulted in higher yields regardless of whether the land was previously grassland or secondary forest.
• Among the four land types assessed, alang-alang grasslands and flat secondary forests are economically viable for oil palm development at current prices. In contrast, development on hilly secondary forests (requiring terracing) and kerangas heathlands (Spodosols) is not economic due to higher establishment costs and lower projected yields.
• Establishing oil palm on alang-alang grasslands is the most cost-effective option, with an estimated cost of US$ 3,680 per hectare, compared to US$ 3,950 for secondary forest and US$ 4,640 for heathland.
• Developing oil palm on degraded grasslands and degraded forest land can provide a valuable carbon sink shortly after planting, offering a significantly shorter ecosystem carbon payback time (ECPT) than expansion into tropical peatlands or primary rainforests.
• Kerangas heathlands (Spodosols) present significant challenges including a hardpan approximately 1.2 meters below the surface, coarse texture (2-5% clay), and severe nutrient deficiencies, making them only feasible for plantations that can provide large quantities of crop residues.

APA

Fairhurst, T., & McLaughlin, D. (n.d.). Sustainable Oil Palm Development on Degraded Land in Kalimantan. WWF International. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/848/20ojeuncnj_Sustainable_Oil_Palm_Development_on_Degraded_Land_in_Kalimantan__Indonesia.pdf

Chicago

Fairhurst, T, and D McLaughlin. Sustainable Oil Palm Development on Degraded Land in Kalimantan. WWF International, n.d. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/848/20ojeuncnj_Sustainable_Oil_Palm_Development_on_Degraded_Land_in_Kalimantan__Indonesia.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Fairhurst |first1=T |last2=McLaughlin |first2=D |title=Sustainable Oil Palm Development on Degraded Land in Kalimantan |publisher=WWF International |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/848/20ojeuncnj_Sustainable_Oil_Palm_Development_on_Degraded_Land_in_Kalimantan__Indonesia.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{fairhurstndsustainable, author = {Fairhurst, T and McLaughlin, D}, title = {{Sustainable Oil Palm Development on Degraded Land in Kalimantan}}, institution = {WWF International}, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/848/20ojeuncnj_Sustainable_Oil_Palm_Development_on_Degraded_Land_in_Kalimantan__Indonesia.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }