Abstract: Oil palm expansion in Indonesia is associated with a reduction in biodiversity and ecosystem services, as well as livelihood improvements for smallholder farmers. While this dichotomy highlights the importance of sustainable management options, empirical evidence on which policies are...

"Oil palms are ubiquitous--grown in nearly every tropical country, they supply the world with more edible fat than any other plant and play a role in scores of packaged products, from lipstick and soap to margarine and cookies. And as Jonathan E. Robins shows, sweeping social transformations...

Cover -- Contents -- List of Figures, Graphs, and Maps -- Abbreviations Used in the Text -- Introduction -- 1. The Oil Palm in Africa -- 2. Early Encounters and Exchanges -- 3. From "Legitimate Commerce" to the "Scramble for Africa" -- 4. Oil Palms and the Industrial Revolution -- 5. Machines in...

This dissertation is an empirical investigation of the implications of the Indonesian oil palm sector for rural village communities located in Jambi province, on the island of Sumatra. It consists of three contributions to the scientific literature on land-use dynamics, economic development, and...

Many tropical regions experience a rapid expansion of oil palm, causing massive land use changes and raising serious environmental and social concerns. Indonesia has recently become the largest palm oil producer worldwide. While much of the production in Indonesia comes from large-scale...

Marine Inseln beherbergen einen großen Teil der biologischen Vielfalt unseres Planeten und weisen gleichzeitig einen hohen Anteil endemischer Arten auf. Inselbiota sind allerdings zudem besonders anfällig für anthropogene Einflüsse wie den globalen Klimawandel, Habitatverlust und invasive...

We investigate land-use dynamics in Jambi, Sumatra, one of the hotspots of Indonesia' recent oil palm boom. Data from a structured village survey are used to analyze the role of socioeconomic and policy factors. Oil palm is partly grown on large plantations, but smallholders are also involved...

Earnings questions have been asked in South Africa's national surveys annually since 1994. A key question for labour economists has been to track and explain the evolution of earnings over this post-apartheid period. Unfortunately, however, the measurement instrument has changed in ways that...

This articles reviews the purchase behaviour of consumers for plants and the attitude towards horticultural novelties. The palm, Trachycarpus wagnerianus especially, is the main focus of this study. Based on a survey of 408 customers in Bavaria during autumn 2009, the results gave an impression...