Download 2017_49 LS_Knight

2017_49: Changing Palms: Designing Strategies for
Positive Institutional Behaviour Change to Address
Land-Use Change and Mitigate Climate Change in
the Palm Oil Industry
Supervisors: Dr Andrew Knight ([email protected])
Department: Life Sciences
Deforestation is the second largest source of anthropogenic CO2 emissions after fossil
fuel combustion (van der Werf et al. 2009). Reducing deforestation and promoting
forest regeneration are among the most cost-efficient ways of mitigating CO2
emissions (IPCC 2014) and regenerating secondary forests hold massive carbon
sequestration potential (Poorter et al. 2016). As such, reducing deforestation will play
a key role in addressing climate change.
In recent years, efforts to reduce deforestation have often focussed on the palm oil
industry. Palm oil is a vegetable oil used in food and oleochemicals manufacturing
(Mba et al. 2015). Over 90% of global production is accounted for by Indonesia and
Malaysia (FAO 2016). Palm oil is economically important for both of these countries
(World Growth 2011). However, expansion of oil palm plantations has been linked with
deforestation. Plantations replaced 3.0 million hectares of forest in Indonesia between
1990 and 2005 (Fitzherbert et al. 2008) and deforestation is ongoing (FAO 2015).
In recent years, many palm oil companies adopted policies committing them to
eliminating deforestation from their supply chains (Pirard et al. 2015). Unfortunately,
ongoing deforestation suggests that implementation of these commitments is failing
(Greenpeace 2016). The complex systems involved in the production and
consumption of palm oil mean that collaboration between the public, private and civil
society sectors must be coordinated if deforestation is to be addressed (Rautner et al.
2013). Voluntary certification schemes provide a platform for collaboration between
private sector and civil society stakeholders, but recent research has found that
certification schemes are insufficient to address deforestation; increased public sector
support is also required (Castka et al. 2016).
Recent research has investigated barriers to the implementation of corporate nodeforestation commitments in the palm oil supply chain. It was found that supply chain
complexity prevented companies from guaranteeing the implementation of
commitments, while inadequate government support and low demand for sustainable
palm oil in major Asian markets were also barriers. The proposed research will build
For more information on how to apply visit us at www.imperial.ac.uk/changingplanet
Science and Solutions for a Changing Planet
upon these findings by using a systems approach to identify key leverage points to
promote institutional behaviour change, thereby shifting the palm oil industry to a state
better disposed to the implementation of no-deforestation commitments (Meadows
2008). This will require developing an understanding of the interrelationships and
perspectives that characterise the industry as a system (Cook et al. 2016). By
characterising the system in this way, it will become possible to define the problems
that give rise to deforestation, thereby allowing the identification of possible solutions
and leverage points that afford opportunities for behaviour change (Moon et al. 2014).
The proposed research is both necessary and timely. In order to effectively identify
leverage points to change behaviour in the palm oil industry, an understanding of the
complexity, diversity and dynamism of the system is required in the broader ecological,
economic and social context. The proposed research represents a novel,
multidisciplinary, systems-led approach focussing on industry-wide transformation.
Ultimately, this will improve policy effectiveness to achieve deforestation reduction
goals, with important implications for emissions reductions.
For more information on how to apply visit us at www.imperial.ac.uk/changingplanet