Palm oil - Economic value has a negative impact

Welcome back to my blog Hi everyone, this time I will share a little information about the negative effects that we experience now due to a plant that is very economically valuable but will have a negative impact in the future. Let us read in full on my blog.

---

Palm oil is a plant that farmers take from their fruit to be sold and processed into oil or other ingredients. This plant is widely planted in tropical countries such as Indonesia. Not only because of its relatively high value, but the maintenance of this plant is also relatively easy compared to other fruit-producing plants. This plant has become the main economic commodity for the community in most provinces in Indonesia. What might be, as we said earlier, besides the price which is quite high, the maintenance is also classified as not difficult so that many people have taken the initiative to plant these plants.

---

Indeed, from an economic point of view this plant is very beneficial for the community and from this plant also creates a lot of job yopportunities. Either the person who works to harvest the oil palm lifting the palm onto the truck or even the truck driver also gets paid for every harvest that this crop produces. That is a dilemma for our society, maybe some of them know what the long-term effects this oil palm plant will have, but they have no other reason except the economy.

---

Well this time we will change sides. We will look at the negative side of the plant. Palm oil is the plant that consumes the most water for its photosynthetic needs. Palm oil is able to absorb 20-50 liters per day or even if he is in his productive age he can absorb 50-80 liters of water per day. In another literature, it is stated that if oil palm produces 1 kg of fruit it must need 400 liters of water for photosynthesis needs. This is not an ordinary thing compared to other crops. Oil palms are very water-absorbing plants. Not only that, oil palms are usually planted in peat areas which were originally used as water absorption areas. Even the large area of ​​oil palm plantations was also the result of large-scale forest clearing, which changed its function from forest to oil palm plantations. From here alone we can conclude how damaged ecosystems and the environment are due to these plants. Not to mention if we have visited the oil palm plantation area, we will definitely feel that the area is arid and dry because the water potential there is very minimal. Moreover, if the oil palm plantation area is adjacent to a river, it is certain that over time the water discharge in the river will shrink along with the development of productive palm stems which will require more water reserves.

---

So this is not a problem of environmental damage that will arise in the near future. But this effect will be on our children and grandchildren. Later, how will they feel the effects of global warming in which forests have been cut down to become oil palm land which will absorb very large amounts of water. Not to mention that oil palm plants are not the type of plant that is able to hold water because their roots are classified as different fibers from other forest plants which on average have a taproot group that is able to withstand large-scale water discharge. There is no need to wait for the long term, some of the people around the oil palm plantations have felt how difficult it is to get water supply for their daily needs. Even if they dig a well, they need a borehole that is hundreds of meters deep, then they find water and they are not guaranteed that the water they find is clean water or not. These are the phonomenes that are caused by the negative effects of these plants and I am sure that other negative factors will arise in the future that will be faced by our children and grandchildren. And that's why we and society should think more about the environment than the economy because if one day our environment is damaged we won't be able to buy it back. And from now on we must start to be careful and aware of the importance of protecting the environment and ecosystem around us.

---

Always take care of your nature because it provides many benefits for you.

Greetings
@youngwild