The Palm Oil Controversy in Southeast Asia : A Transnational Perspective

"This engaged and vital edited volume brings together the varied viewpoints of academics, consultants and activists all concerned with the astonishing expansion of palm oil as a globally traded commodity. It reveals how this complex, contested and controversial expression of globalization transcends narrow national and sectoral interests, stimulating a transnational exchange of goods, capital and labour, as well as laws, norms, values and even understanding. Compelling, readable and insightful, the study shows that corporate responses to civil society’s concerns about palm oil’s role in global warming, human rights abuses, land grabbing and biodiversity loss, now need to be complemented by legal, regulatory and governance reforms to be effective." - Marcus Colchester, Director, Forest Peoples Programme Contents Foreword Preface Contributors Abbreviations 1. Introduction by Oliver Pye 2. Malaysian Coporations as Strategic Players in Southeast Asia's Palm Oil Industry by Teoh Cheng Hai 3. The Political Ecology of the Indonesia Palm Oil Industry: A Critical Analysis by Norman Jiwan 4. Evolutionary Change in the Oil Palm Plantation Sector in Riau Province, Sumatra by Junji Nagata and Sachiho W. Arai 5. Contradictions of Palm Oil Promotion in the Philippines by Mary Luz Menguita-Feranil 6. The Political Economy of Migration and Flexible Labour Regimes: The Case of the Oil Palm Industry in Malaysia by Johan Saravanamuttu 7. Migration and Moral Panic: The Case of Oil Palm in Sabah, East Malaysia by Fadzilah Majid Cooke and Dayang Suria Mulia 8. Reconciling Development, Conservation, and Social Justice in West Kalimantan by Oetami Dewi 9. An Analysis of Transnational Environmental Campaigning around Palm Oil by Oliver Pye 10. EU Biofuel Policies and Their Implications for Southeast Asia by Joana Chiavari 11. Leveraging Product and Capital Flows to Promote Sustainability in the Palm Oil Industry by Eric Wakker 12. Free, Prior, and Informed Consent? Indigenous Peoples and the Palm Oil Boom in Indonesia by Patrick Anderson Index Photo plates Compelling, readable and insightful, this study shows that corporate responses to civil societys concerns about palm oils role in global warming, human rights abuses, land grabbing and biodiversity loss, now need to be complemented by legal, regulatory and governance reforms to be effective.