790052 Palmoil – foe or friend?

Type
Seminar
Semester hours
1
Lecturer (assistant)
Organisation
Offered in
Sommersemester 2023
Languages of instruction
Englisch
Content

Collaborative seminar and discussions of students of Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM, Yogyakarta, Indonesia) and the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU, Vienna, Austria).

We want to look into the topics of policy and sustainability of palm oil production.

Reservations against palm oil are very pronounced in the European Union. EU policy aims at a total ban of palm oil import. Public opinion is widely supporting this aim out of environmental concerns. However, the motivations are biased in several directions. One important point is that the EU seeks to protect its own plant oil business without openly declaring financial and economic reasons as drivers. Another aspect is that efforts exist to address environmental concerns, such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil’s (RSPO) certification system, which was put in place to get a grip on sustainability. Therefore, addressing environmental aspects is possible avoiding a total ban.
Seen from the Indonesian perspective palm oil constitutes an important means for income and employment – provided the palm oil is exploited locally and not exclusively from international corporations. Environmental aspects play clearly also an important role, but the view on details might be quite different form the European perspective than from the Indonesian perspective. It would be important to find some common ground of understanding and raise awareness for the issues, which concern different stakeholders in this discussion.
Previous knowledge expected

A basic understanding of the concepts of sustainability is required. Otherwise, interest into policy making and discussing issues are helpful.
Objective (expected results of study and acquired competences)

Sharpening intercultural understanding, sharpening the perspective on sustainability from a non-European point of view, development of a joint statement.
You can find more details like the schedule or information about exams on the course-page in BOKUonline.