Center for International Forestry Research

Caption

A farmer holds oil palm berries in his hands. He lives near Gunung Lumut in Kalimantan, Indonesia, where native forest is being removed and replanted with oil palm. Oil palm has surpassed banana as the number one fruit crop in the world.

Palm oil: A path to prosperity for poor Indonesians?

By Debra Lodoen

The ever expanding palm oil industry in southeast Asia is frequently attacked by conservationists as a major driver of deforestation in the region. It is often portrayed as being of benefit only to big companies, but a new CIFOR study suggests that poor smallholders may also be cashing in on the oil palm boom. The study, published last week in the journal Small-scale Forestry, shows that a majority of rural Indonesians in Sumatra’s Bungo district welcome further expansion of the palm oil industry.

The study, ‘Why do farmers prefer oil palm? Lessons learnt from Bungo District, Indonesia’, asserts that owners of small-scale oil palm plantations and other local residents have enjoyed substantial gains funded by the palm oil industry – both socio-economic advantages and infrastructure improvements. more

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New publications

Le tournant: rapport annuel 2009 (2010)

CIFOR. details

PDF: French (0.9 MB - A4 layout)
PDF: French (0.9 MB - 93 x 30cm)
PDF: Spanish (0.9 MB - A4 layout)
PDF: Spanish (0.9 MB - 93 x 30cm)
PDF: English (0.9 MB - A4 layout)
PDF: English (0.9 MB - 93 x 30cm)
HTML: English

Beyond the biophysical: knowledge, culture, and power in agriculture and natural resource management (2010)

German, L.; Ramisch, J.J.; Verma, R.; (eds.). details

Conservation and biodiversity in and around cocoa farms. Learning about sustainable cocoa production: a guide for participatory farmer training (2009)

Asare, R.; David, S.; Sonwa, D.J. details

Préparation à la REDD: gouvernance financière et enseignements fournis par le Fonds de reboisement de l’Indonésie (FR) (2010)

Barr, C.; Dermawan, A.; Purnomo, H.; Komarudin, H. details

PDF: French (0.23 MB)
PDF: English (0.23 MB)
PDF: Indonesian (0.23 MB)
PDF: Spanish (0.23 MB)

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RESEARCH THEMES
	Climate change mitigation
	Climate change adaptation
	Smallholder and community forestry
	Conservation and development trade-offs
	Globalised trade and investment
	Production forests

Forests and climate change
This website contains an overview of the
linkages between climate change and forests.
It introduces ways to address climate change
in forestry programmes, provides a brief introduction to mitigation and adaptation and discusses climate change policies and carbon markets.

Latest REDD+ News

•	REDD-plus, forest people's rights and nested climate governance
•	Bonn picks up where Oslo, Copenhagen, and Nairobi left off
•	Letter of Intent between Indonesia and Norway
•	CIFOR's response to the Letter of Intent between Indonesia and Norway

Forests and climate change toolbox
This toolbox is an interactive learning packet.
It builds understanding and technical proficiency on issues of climate change and forests including mitigation, adaptation, carbon accounting and markets, and biofuels.

Forest Day 4 will take place 5 December 2010
Registration is now open. Click here to register.

The Asia Forest Partnership Dialogue 2010

4-6 August 2010, Bali, Indonesia

will examine links among forests, climate change and governance. This year we focus on 'Forest Governance Challenges Beyond Copenhagen.' Governance is crucial to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) to ensure long-term, real emissions reductions and equitable outcomes. Many hope that REDD+ will provide new opportunities to strengthen forest governance. The two-day event will provide an opportunity for the many stakeholders in tropical forests to share information, to establish partnerships and to propose recommendations to policy makers.

Registration is now closed. Click here to review the agenda.

Forests for the future: Sustaining society and the environment

23-28 August 2010, Seoul, Republic of Korea

23rd IUFRO World Congress

The 23d World Congress of the International Union of Forest Research Organisations

This Congress will bring together leading professionals and expert scientists in all fields of forestry from around the world. more

Workshop on forest governance, decentralisation and REDD+ in Latin America and the Caribbean

31 August – 3 September 2010, Oaxaca, Mexico

A country-led initiative in support of the UN Forum on Forests by the Governments of Mexico and Switzerland. more

International Year of Biodiversity

2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity. We celebrate life on earth and the value of biodiversity for our lives. The world is invited to take action this year to safeguard the variety of life on earth: biodiversity. more


Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) CIFOR advances human wellbeing, environmental conservation and equity by conducting research to inform policies and practices that affect forests in developing countries. CIFOR is one of 15 centres within the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).