Project POTICO FACT SHEET

PROBLEM

Indonesia’s virgin forests are being cut down at an alarming rate for palm oil production, emitting greenhouse gases and causing a loss of biodiversity in the region.

SOLUTION

Project “POTICO” (Palm Oil, Timber, Carbon Offsets) is a revolutionary new approach to ecosystem management in Indonesia that is designed to improve sustainability in a region known for its high deforestation rate. POTICO's goal is to prevent deforestation by diverting planned oil palm plantations away from forests and onto already degraded areas. This strategy would ensure that palm oil production can expand to meet demand, generating local revenue and jobs, while halting the destruction of forests.

PALM OIL FACTS

Indonesia is now the world's number one producer of palm oil, with 44 percent of the world's production.
From just 600,000 hectares in 1985, oil palm plantations have exploded to more than six million hectares in 2007 and are expected to increase to ten million hectares by 2012 in response to global demand for palm oil as a biofuel and as an ingredient in food, cosmetics and other products. This is a growth from 1.5 million acres in 1985 to 15 million acres in 2007.
Global consumption of palm oil exceeded 35 million metric tons in 2005. The United States annually consumes about two percent of palm oil. Asia and the European Union account for over 70 percent of the world’s imports. The top five palm oil consuming regions are China, Indonesia, the European Union, India and Malaysia.
Oil palm is regarded as a promising biofuel crop because it requires less land than other oil crops to achieve comparable yields. In 2008, the oil palm yielded an average of 3.68 metric tons of oil per hectare, outperforming major oil crops such as rapeseed (0.59 metric tons per hectare), sunflower (0.42 metric tons per hectare) and soybean (0.36 metric tons per hectare).

INDONESIA FOREST FACTS

Ten percent of the world’s tropical rainforests are in Indonesia.
225 million acres (90 million hectares) in Indonesia are currently covered by rainforests.
Since 1990, approximately 25 percent of the country’s forests—about 28 million hectares or 70 million acres—have been cleared.
35-50 million acres (15-20 million hectares) of logged and degraded land are potentially available for palm oil plantations.
According to some estimates, Indonesia is now the 3rd or 4th largest emitter of greenhouse gases due mostly to the deforestation occurring in the country.

BENEFITS OF POTICO

Preservation of 100,000 - 500,000 hectares of virgin tropical Indonesian rainforests that were previously slated for conversion.
100,000 – 500,000 hectares of degraded land converted into oil palm plantations in a manner that creates sustainable, local jobs.
Development opportunities for local communities. An oil palm plantation employs a person for every 5-10 hectares (1 hectare is approximately 2.5 acres).
Prevention of future illegal logging through adoption of FSC-certified forest management guidelines.
Availability of additional FSC-certified wood supply for use in paper products.
Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and of biodiversity loss from forest clearing.

Cick here to download a PDF of the Project POTICO Fact Sheet.

Interested in interviewing experts and project staff in the field? Please contact:

Jessica Forres,
Media Officer
jforres@wri.org
+1-202-729-7736

Please direct all media inquiries regarding NewPage and its involvement in POTICO to:

Shawn Hall, Manager,
External Communications
slp2@newpagecorp.com
+1-937-242-9373