UK: Mass planting of oil palms will accelerate the extinction of 25% of Africa's rare animals

Published 2022년 11월 28일

Tridge summary

Researchers from York University have found that the expansion of palm oil plantations, even in areas previously cleared for agriculture, could lead to the extinction of 25% of rare species and increase greenhouse gas emissions. The researchers, from the UK, South Africa, and Germany, identified around 167 million hectares of land that could be used for palm oil cultivation while adhering to a 'zero deforestation' policy, most of which is located in dry forests and grasslands in Africa and South America. However, they discovered that palm plantations would significantly reduce habitats for 34% of rare animals and birds, and decrease the population of about 25% of endangered bird and mammal species.

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Original content

This was announced on Monday by the press service of the British York University. “Despite the reduced productivity of palm plantations planted on the site of tropical dry forests and grasslands, such plantings will be profitable for oil producers. Our calculations showed that mass plantings of palms in these regions would formally meet the criteria for a “zero deforestation” policy, however, with In doing so, they will endanger the extinction of 25% of rare species,” said Suzanne Fleiss, a researcher at the University of York (UK), whose words are quoted by the press service of the university. The rapidly growing popularity of palm oil is due to its low cost and the relative ease of cultivation of oil palms, whose fruits are used to make this form of vegetable fat. In recent years, climatologists and environmentalists have become seriously concerned that ancient primary forests are cut down to organize new oil palm plantations in tropical and equatorial countries. These concerns ...

Source: Kvedomosti