Charting a sustainable path in a land of peat, oil palm and pollution

Editor’s note: In Indonesia, the world’s top palm oil producer, the crop is critically important to the livelihoods of the smallholder farmers who grow about 40 percent of it. But too often, palm oil represents a trade-off between economic expansion and clearing forest and peatland areas that are important for conservation, raising the question of how to expand production of a commodity like palm oil without degrading the environment.

Conservation International (CI) is tackling this problem through its Sustainable Landscapes Partnership (SLP) program, which works to reconcile the conservation of natural capital — the sources of the benefits that nature provides to people — while supporting sustainable development. In a recent interview, the senior technical advisor of CI Indonesia’s terrestrial program, Simon Badcock, explains how the SLP is helping preserve species-rich areas, reduce deforestation and educate farmers about how they can maximize productivity.

Question: Can you give us a brief background on the state of the palm oil industry in Indonesia and why it has…