The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is responsible for the certification of palm oil producers that comply with sustainability standards. However, it is not known whether RSPO-certified plantations are effective in maintaining biodiversity. Focusing on Peninsular Malaysia, we show that both RSPO-certified plantations and uncertified large-scale plantations are characterized by very low levels of landscape heterogeneity. By contrast, heterogeneity measures were many times higher in palm oil producing smallholdings, despite their lack of RSPO certification. The low heterogeneity of large-scale oil palm plantations, including those certified by the RSPO, is likely to severely limit their value for biodiversity conservation. Uncertified smallholdings, in contrast, are much more heterogeneous and therefore hold substantially greater promise for the integration of palm oil production and biodiversity conservation than large-scale plantations. With oil palm agriculture further expanding, certification schemes should mandate producers to improve biodiversity conservation through landscape management that promotes greater landscape heterogeneity

Biodiversity has been devastated globally in the past hundred years, largely because of land conversion and agricultural intensification. Conversion of tropical forest to oil palm plantations is one of the greatest per unit area contributors to biodiversity loss in Southeast Asia. Concerned consumers, mainly from developed countries, have begun demanding sustainable palm oil in response to these issues. More ‘biodiversity-friendly’ oil palm production is also in demand, similar to that of other commodity crops (e.g. coffee, cacao). However, farming practices that improve biodiversity are thought to reduce yield, leading to increased pressure to clear more forest, resulting in further biodiversity loss. Here, we explore relationships between oil palm yield and avian biodiversity. To gather data on yields and agricultural inputs, we interviewed smallholders in Selangor, Peninsular Malaysia. We also quantified bird species richness, feeding guild diversity, abundance, and vegetation structure in smallholdings. We found that smallholdings with high yields were characterised by high species richness and feeding guild diversity, but low bird abundance. Our empirical results show the benefits to both yield and avian biodiversity of a wildlife-friendly strategy in smallholdings. We encourage the integration of farming practices with management that improves biodiversity to reconcile oil palm production and nature conservation.

The increased fuelwood demand and commercialization activities in Nigeria over the years have incurred various sustainability issues and concerns along the fuelwood value chain. This study employed value chain analysis to examine the sustainability of the fuelwood value chain in Yobe, Nigeria, in relation to economic, environmental, and social aspects. From the analysis, it was found that fuelwood business activities were conducted by registered licensed actors (formally) and informally by non-licensed actors who do not register with the government agency that controls forest-related activities. Profit was not equally distributed along the value chain, whereby 65% of the total profits were reaped by the transporters. Natural forests were the main source of fuelwood, with 18 tree species being preferred and commonly traded by both formal and informal chain actors. Women’s participation in the formal fuelwood value chain was limited and mainly concentrated in the informal chain. The findings of this study can inform policymakers to enhance the sustainability of fuelwood production and trade along the value chain, especially in terms of profit sharing, exploitation of forest resources, and gender equality.

This study aims to assess the characteristics of the fuelwood value chain in Yobe, Nigeria. Data were collected through state government records, direct observations, focus group discussions, and interviews with key informants using open-ended questionnaires. Results showed that the fuelwood value chain comprises five functions: harvesting, transporting, trading, retailing, and consumption. The analysis further revealed five sub-chains characterized by actors in which two sub-chains were classified as formal (registered with associations and functioning with licenses) and three were classified as informal (not registered with an association and functioning without license). The presence of informal actors in the value chain observed in this study is widespread due to weak governance, high fuelwood demand, and corruption. Consequently, their poor practices have added extra pressure on the forest and is threatening the environment, fuelwood availability, accessibility, and market. The intrusion of informal actors needs to be properly addressed by the government through measures that include an efficient and flexible licensing system, strict implementation of fuelwood regulations, active monitoring, increase of awareness on the benefits of licensing and operating as registered actors in an organized group on job security, profits, and the environment and improved supervision of the forest laws’ enforcement agents to curtail corruption.