10% of supermarket goods already contain palm oil; however, the growth of the oil palm industry may be harming our tropical rainforests and their abundant wildlife. Conservationists and industry representatives will discuss the issues surrounding our increased demand for oil palm at this meeting.

Whilst not appearing on everyone’s shopping lists, palm oil is one of the most important vegetable oils in the world today. Already present in ten percent of supermarket goods, the demand for palm oil is exploding as new markets for biofuels open, driven by concerns over carbon emissions and rising crude oil prices. But oil palm grows best in exactly the same places as tropical rainforests, which hold some of the world’s greatest biodiversity hotspots and key endangered species.

This expansion is leading to severe conflict between industry and wildlife conservation, with recent campaigns highlighting the plight of high profile species such as orang utans and tigers.

Oil palm is here to stay and oil palm demand is set to rise. However, it is in the interests both the industries and conservationists to reduce such conflict wherever possible. As conservation scientists, it is our role to determine exactly what impacts are occurring and what can be done to mitigate them.

This meeting represents an opportunity for researchers in this burgeoning field to share their results and for conservationists and industry representatives to meet and discuss future directions.

Organised by Sarah Christie and Dr Tom Maddox, ZSL

Speakers
to be confirmed

The talks are free and open to the public – talks will begin at 6.00pm. A dinner with the speakers will follow this Scientific Meeting and places must be booked in advance. A dinner booking form will be available from March for further information.

Further Information: please contact Joy Hayward, Scientific Meetings Coordinator, Zoological Society of London, Regents Park, London NW1 4RY.
Tel:+44 (0)20 7449 6227. Fax: +44 (0)20 7449 6411. E-mail: joy.hayward@zsl.org.

Registration required:

No

Free:

Yes