Nebila Ahmed October 21, 2016 Outline
Thesis statement: Although the production of palm oil is economically beneficial for Indonesia, palm oil production has led to the deforestation of rainforests and habitat loss for rare and endangered species such as the Sumatran tigers, Komodo dragons, Sumatran rhinoceros, Javan elephants, Bornean Orangutans, and Sumatran Orangutans. Alternative sources of income are sustainable ecotourism and sustainable palm oil as it is another source of income that is beneficial to the government and local communities. Ecotourism and sustainable palm oil are also ways of bringing awareness and educating the public about the negative impacts of palm oil harvesting which may lead to the protection of forests,
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The production of palm oil holds great importance or significance in Indonesia o Palm oil is a versatile crop that is used in as much as 50% of consumer goods such as beauty, food, hair, cleaning products etc. making it a highly desirable item leading to higher global demand for palm oil. o Palm oil is abundantly grown in tropical countries like Indonesia which is how they make great profits from the production of palm oil.
II. The development of palm oil has led to environmental and social issues o Deforestation of Indonesian Rainforests has led to the release of carbon emissions into the atmosphere contributing to climate change and making Indonesia the world’s third largest emitter of greenhouse gases. o Loss of biodiversity caused by forest conversion has led to a decline in the population of endangered species such as the orangutans mainly due to habitat loss. o Conflicts of landownership and lack of access to forest resources; mainly for the locals who depend solely on the rainforests for their livelihoods.
III. A Possible solution to reducing the negative impacts is Ecotourism o Case study: Successful development of ecotourism in Costa Rica
ecotourism is used as a conservation strategy to protect natural ecosystems while generating money for local