Legality and land status origin in sustainable oil palm management: A case study of traceability in West Kalimantan supply chains amid EU Deforestation Regulations

• Published in: IOP conference series. Earth and environmental science Vol. 1407; no. 1; pp. 12003 - 12010
• Main Authors: Kwatrina, R T, Santosa, Y, Purnamasari, I
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bristol IOP Publishing 01.10.2024
• Subjects: Deforestation; Land cover; Land use; Landsat; Palm oil; Plantations; Remote sensing; Satellite imagery; Supply chains; Sustainability; Vegetable oils
• ISSN: 1755-1307; 1755-1315
• DOI: 10.1088/1755-1315/1407/1/012003

Abstract One of the requirements for sustainable palm oil management is the legality of the origin of the land status. This is also very strategic amid the enactment of the European Union Deforestation-Free Regulation, which prohibits products from deforestation from entering the European market. As part of a Palm Oil Mill (POM) supply chain, it is crucial to trace the origin/history of oil palm plantations that sourced Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFB), one of which is in West Kalimantan. Literature studies and interpretations of Landsat images per year were conducted to obtain information on the origin of land status, land use history, and land cover development of the plantations sourcing the FFB. We found that the land status of POM and all its FFB suppliers is 100% classified as Other Land Uses. The previous land uses of the plantations were 100% community plantations with land covers dominated by tall shrubs. This is consistent with the interpretation of the Landsat imagery. Traceability of the land use history of the large private holdings supplying FFB to POM indicated that 100% of the area was formerly community plantations and were no longer primary forests. These findings provide evidence for the sustainable certification of palm oil by showing that the land utilized for oil palm plants did not contribute to deforestation.