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Palm Oil Plantations A Papua, Indonesia story

Agriculture
  1. Earthshots
  2. Papua, Indonesia
  3. Palm Oil Plantations
Description

Understandably, many countries are pursuing renewable resources to get away from the reliance on fossil fuels. However, new research has determined that palm oil doesn’t reduce greenhouse gas emissions at all—producing biofuel from palm oil may actually increase greenhouse gases as much as burning fossil fuels does.

One of the reasons is peat land. Much of the rain forest that is being converted to palm oil plantations is located on peat land. These natural carbon sinks sequester huge amounts of carbon. Cutting these forests and draining the peat land releases this stored carbon that has been there for thousands of years. Besides that, the carbon costs in fertilizing and managing the crops, processing the products, and transporting them outweigh any benefits.

Forest cover in West Papua was estimated to be 33 million hectares in 1997. That reduced to 30.4 million hectares by 2004. Even more plantations appear by the 2014, 2015, and 2017 images.

View Related Imagery & Stories

Location

Nov. 20, 1990, Landsat 5 (path/row 100/65) — Location of palm oil plantations, Papua, Indonesia

Nov. 20, 1990, Landsat 5 (path/row 100/65) — Location of palm oil plantations, Papua, Indonesia

Oct. 28, 2002, Landsat 7 (path/row 100/65) — Location of palm oil plantations, Papua, Indonesia

Oct. 28, 2002, Landsat 7 (path/row 100/65) — Location of palm oil plantations, Papua, Indonesia

Jan. 19, 2007, Landsat 5 (path/row 100/65) — Location of palm oil plantations

Jan. 19, 2007, Landsat 5 (path/row 100/65) — Location of palm oil plantations

Apr. 4, 2011, Landsat 5 (path/row 100/65) — Location of palm oil plantations, Papua, Indonesia

Apr. 4, 2011, Landsat 5 (path/row 100/65) — Location of palm oil plantations, Papua, Indonesia

Feb. 7, 2014, Landsat 8 (path/row 100/65) — Location of palm oil plantations, Papua, Indonesia

Feb. 7, 2014, Landsat 8 (path/row 100/65) — Location of palm oil plantations, Papua, Indonesia

Jan. 25, 2015, Landsat 8 (path/row 100/65) — Location of palm oil plantations, Papua, Indonesia

Jan. 25, 2015, Landsat 8 (path/row 100/65) — Location of palm oil plantations, Papua, Indonesia

Sep. 22, 2015, Landsat 8 (path/row 100/65) — Location of palm oil plantations, Papua, Indonesia

Sep. 22, 2015, Landsat 8 (path/row 100/65) — Location of palm oil plantations, Papua, Indonesia

Mar. 19, 2017, Landsat 8 (path/row 100/65) — Location of palm oil plantations, Papua, Indonesia

Mar. 19, 2017, Landsat 8 (path/row 100/65) — Location of palm oil plantations, Papua, Indonesia

Nov. 20, 1990, Landsat 5 (path/row 100/65) — Location of palm oil plantations, Papua, Indonesia
Oct. 28, 2002, Landsat 7 (path/row 100/65) — Location of palm oil plantations, Papua, Indonesia
Jan. 19, 2007, Landsat 5 (path/row 100/65) — Location of palm oil plantations
Apr. 4, 2011, Landsat 5 (path/row 100/65) — Location of palm oil plantations, Papua, Indonesia
Feb. 7, 2014, Landsat 8 (path/row 100/65) — Location of palm oil plantations, Papua, Indonesia
Jan. 25, 2015, Landsat 8 (path/row 100/65) — Location of palm oil plantations, Papua, Indonesia
Sep. 22, 2015, Landsat 8 (path/row 100/65) — Location of palm oil plantations, Papua, Indonesia
Mar. 19, 2017, Landsat 8 (path/row 100/65) — Location of palm oil plantations, Papua, Indonesia

Papua, Indonesia Additional Imagery & Stories

Demand
Demand

In the late 1960s, the Indonesian government began working toward improving and expanding its economy. It encouraged people to move to the remote and ...

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