“Sustainability Transitions in the Palm Oil Sector”

Helena Varkkey
Department of International and Strategic Studies
Universiti Malaya

Palm oil is the most widely used vegetable oil in the world. Indonesia and Malaysia are the world's largest producers of palm oil, and the commodity is viewed as an important engine of growth and modernization for these countries. However, this crop has been linked to various socio-environmental problems. This talk traces the sustainability transitions in the Southeast Asian palm oil sector, comparing the influence of global (deforestation, human rights) as opposed to localized (regional haze, land grabs) socio-environmental concerns on this trajectory. It argues that market access has been an important determinant of this sector's sustainability transition, clashing with historical narratives of natural resource-based development in the face of ecological imperialism.

7: 30 pm
Thursday, September 28
Online Only; Virtual via Zoom—Registration Required: https://niu-edu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwvceCspzkoEtXwMCS1_uqrIbPWyhvyLlL9)

Contact the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at cseas@niu.edu
Co-sponsored by NIU's Institute for the Study of the Environment, Sustainability and Energy/Environmental Studies