In the Media
Conservation offers better rewards than plantations: UNEP
September 29, 2011
The Jakarta Post
A United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) report says conserving rainforests in Indonesia can generate three times more revenue than clearing them for palm oil plantations. The report estimates that the carbon value of peat-rich forests ranges from US$3,711 and $11,185 per hectare over a 25-year period, which is a higher value than the revenue from any other land uses such as — among others — agroforestry, sustainable logging and oil palm.
While the range of net present values for carbon credits from avoided deforestation of forests on peat lands is between $7,420 and $22,090 per hectare for a 25-year period. The report also says that rainforest conservation can also deliver multiple green economy benefits from battling climate change such as securing water supplies and improving livelihoods while at the same time protecting the remaining population of orangutans.
The report also estimates that many of the coastal, peat-rich forests of Sumatra, where the population of the last 6,600 endangered Sumatran orangutans live, may be worth up to today’s value of $22,000 a hectare at current carbon prices. Palm oil plantations on the same amount of cleared land would produce revenue of less than $7,400 a hectare.
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Keywords: Asia, Indonesia, oil palm, Orangutan, Palm, palm oil, RI