Palm oil is in a wide variety of products, from food to cosmetics and has also been used as biofuel in the recent years. Industry's need for more palm plantations contends with habitat for many endangered species, including tigers, elephants, and rhinos. Researchers evaluated the finances involved in the cost of a major palm plantation devoting land to conservation efforts and the amount of mark-up that consumers are willing to pay for "conservation-grade" palm oil. Their experiments showed that consumers are willing to pay 15 to 56 percent more, which could induce companies to practice sustainability where government enforcement has failed.
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| African oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) by William M. Brown Jr., Bugwood.org |
Source Article:
Palm oil price change could save tigers, other species
