Community-based biofuels offer ‘sensible’ alternative to palm oil for Indonesia, analysis shows

In Indonesia, Reccessary reported that Indonesia’s push to meet its ambitious biofuel targets by expanding oil palm plantations could cost the country billions in environmental damage and social conflict, according to a new analysis by environmental NGO Madani Berkelanjutan.

However, if Indonesia diversifies its biofuel feedstock sources at community level, it could cut the ecological and social costs to zero while still meeting its energy goals, the analysis found.

Indonesia, the world’s top palm oil producer, has aggressively pursued biofuel development in recent years, especially palm-based biodiesel, to boost energy sovereignty and reduce fossil fuel reliance, the report stated.

As of January this year, Indonesia requires all diesel sold at the pump to contain 40% palm-based biodiesel, a blend known as B40. The government plans to increase this to B50 next year.

In its analysis, Madani compared the business-as-usual (BAU) scenario, where Indonesia continues to develop palm oil to meet its biodiesel mandate, with an alternative scenario where communities are given the opportunity to develop their own biodiesel crops other than oil palm.

Under the BAU scenario, establishing vast swaths of new oil palm plantations is the only way to produce enough palm oil to meet the government’s biofuel targets, the analysis found. It calculated a figure of 4.72 million hectares of additional plantations.

Madani proposed an alternative scenario: one centered on a community-based model that would directly benefit the rural economy without incurring the massive ecological and social costs of plantation expansion, while still meeting the biofuel targets.

Under this scenario, there would be no need to expand existing oil palm plantations as long as yields could be increased to 6 metric tons per hectare from the current 3.41 metric tons per hectare via replanting and improved agricultural practices.

More on the story.