1 - The palm oil debate: European NGOs as stakeholders in the policy dialogue

Public debate in Europe has raised concerns about the effects of oil palm monoculture farming in Indonesia on deforestation, biodiversity loss, and social problems that arise from violations of human rights and indigenous land rights. The critique has focused on these perceived problems, i.e., the dangers both to local communities and to global climate crisis. The discussion centers on reducing palm oil use and is held up by different stakeholders, including European non-government organizations (NGO). Since most of the world’s palm oil is produced in Indonesia where oil palm cultivation provides a livelihood for 16 million smallholders, workers and their families, the issue is highly contested.

This paper explores the dialogue on palm oil focusing on the views voiced by European NGOs in the media and other public outlets. The dialogue is understood as a process of negotiation, or bargaining, on the different aspects and impacts of oil palm farming. Multiple methods are used to investigate the diverse arguments in order to identify the “good and bad” of palm oil. Data are collected from NGO publications, expert interviews, and online news archives. Based on the materials the paper presents 1) a qualitative content analysis and a narrative on the European NGO opinions, and 2) a sentiment and clustering analysis on the perceived positive and negative aspects and the stance of these stakeholders.

Co-Author 1
Ayu Pratiwi

Co-Author 2
Ratih Adiputri