Area of plantations tripled in just 50 years

December 22, 2017 |

In Germany, UFOP reports that expansion of the South American soybean production area continues, as does that of palm oil plantations in Southeast Asia, particularly in Indonesia. The continuous growth in population and changes in eating habits due to higher incomes are the drivers of intensification of, and increases in agricultural production. Most of these increases are the result of expansion and, consequently, direct changes in land use predominantly in the southern hemisphere, referring to information published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

The conversion of primeval forest and other land required to protect the environment and climate encounters increasingly strong public and political resistance. For this reason, there is a need to create sustainability requirements that are binding on all growing areas, such as those already specified in the Renewable Energy Directive for biofuels and cultivated biomass feedstocks required for biofuels production that also applies to non-EU countries. There are growing calls to develop these system requirements further – irrespective of final use – in order to create a “level playing field” for global fair competition without any environmental or social dumping.

Category: Fuels

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