Biodiversity in oil palm plantations : Potential mesures for the maintenance, conservation and appropriate enhancement

Oil palm is one of the world's most rapidly expanding crops, planted mainly in the equatorial belt. The two largest oil palm-producing countries - Indonesia and Malaysia are located in Southeast Asia, a region with numerous endemic and forest-dwelling species. As such, the potential impacts of oil palm expansion on tropical forests andbiodiversity in the region are a major conservation concern. Sustainable production of oil palm through good agricultural practices is an ideal solution to mitigate adverse effectson the environment such as land use change, soil deterioration and erosion, water pollution, and the loss of ecosystem biodiversity, and to avoid global warming. This is in line with MPOB's Code of Good Agricultural Practices (COP- GAP) and also Principle5 of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), which requires environmental responsibility in the conservation of natural resources and biodiversity.In the cultivation of oil palm, the Malaysian palm oil industry is committed to sustainable development through the protection of the environment and conservation of biodiversity. As biodiversity plays an important role in ensuring ecosystem resilience,which equates with the sustainability of the industry, prime consideration is given to all aspects of plantation operations commencing from land use change onwards. Potential management practices and salient strategies that contribute to the maintenance, conservation and enhancement of biological diversity in oil palm ecosystems are adopted and have become a policy of plantation companies. Following land use change and regulatory requirements, every effort is made to avoid or eliminate any potential adverse impact on the environment and biodiversity by following the practice of zero burning atreplanting, maintaining vegetation and ground cover, planting leguminous cover crops and maintaining natural covers. These soil conservation practices can increase soil microflora biodiversity and in turn contribute to nutrient recycling. Integrated pestmanagement practices, maintenance of forest reserves and riparian borders, and protection of natural waterways, catchment's areas and water bodies in or near oil palm plantations are other f[leans or important components which can increase biodiversity inoil palm ecosystems.Much more work is being carried out continuously by industry members to quantifY the impact from habitat conversion to oil palm plantation on biodiversity in their localized sites. Results from such studies are crucial for enhancing the stakeholders'involvement, educating them, keeping them informed about updated conservation strategies and ensuring sustainable management of the plantations.