Oil palm is a hotly-debated issue in the media both at national and international stage. For Indonesia, Malaysia, and a few other nations in Africa and Latin America, the crop - which is the most efficient source of vegetable oil - represents two sides of a coin. On the one side, it is the source of a national GDP, while on the other side it is linked to forest fire and environmental disasters. The problem grew more complicated with millions of people relying on the crop to put food on their table every day.

In recent years, there are several initiatives towards sustainable palm oil. An association called Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and NGOs such as WWF have been tried to motivate palm oil producers to not expand their area to the pristine forest. Also, an organization such as Greenpeace tried to educate the consumer to ban palm oil. Such initiatives have been endorsed by environmental journalists around the world but evidence-based reporting on them is still minimum.

In this context, The Society of Indonesian Science Journalists (SISJ), in collaboration with the Center of International Forestry Research (CIFOR), proudly presents the “Palm Oil: Beyond Controversy” webinar. It will be a discussion beyond the typical black and white portrayal of the crop, a deep dive into the aspects of ecology, economy, governance, and of course journalism!

Register below: