Download - Application of Polluter Pays Principle for Improving Environmental Quality in the Palm Oil Industry of Malaysia: A Success Story

ADDINUL YAKIN: PPP Palm Oil Malaysia Page 1

Application of Polluter Pays Principle for Improving Environmental Quality in the Palm Oil Industry of Malaysia: A Success Story

By Addinul Yakin

Department of Agricultural Socio-Economics Faculty of Agriculture, Mataram University

Lombok, Indonesia Mobile: +6281339530987

e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] www.addinulyakin.blogspot.com; https://unram.academia.edu/AddinulYakin

ABSTRACT Palm oil industry has been profoundly developed and has created significant contribution to Malaysian economy. However, this has produced enormous wastes and pollution that has emerged as a major environmental problem. To avoid further environmental degradation and social costs Malaysian government has enacted Environmental Quality Act 1974, as the basis for controlling the pollution through a combination of regulatory approach and economic instrument in form of polluter pays principle (PPP). The amount of effluent-related fee payable to the Government was linked to the BOD load of the effluent discharged onto land, watercourse or both. The amount of fee collected dropped sharply in the first year and continuously dropped overtime, despite the increase in the number of oil palm mills operating in the country. As a result, degree of pollution also decreased significantly leading to favorable change in environmental quality in the palm oil industry. It shows that the application of PPP in the Palm Oil Industry has been quite thriving, but it is recommended for the industries to take further benefits of developing green technologies to process other possible benefits such as biogas. Key words: Polluters Pay Principle, compliance, environmental quality, palm oil industry.

ABSTRAK

Industri Minyak Kelapa Sawit telah memberikan kontribusi yang signifikan terhadap perekonomian Malaysia. Namun demikian, hal itu telah menimbulkan limbah dan polusi yang tinggi sebagai masalah lingkungan utama. Untuk menghindari degradasi lingkungan dan biaya sosial lebih lanjut, pemerintah Malaysia telah melahirkan Undang-Undang mengenai Kualitas Lingkungan pada tahun 1974 sebagai landasan pengendalian polusi di industri sawit Malaysia melalui kombinasi pendekatan regulasi dan penerapan Pencemar Bayar (PPP) . Dalam penerapannya, besaran fee yang dibayarkan perusahaan kelapa sawit kepada pemerintah dikaitkan antara kandungan limbah atau polusi dalam entuk BOD dari limbah yang dialirkan ke lahan, air, atau keduanya. Jumlah fee yang dikumpulkan menurun secara drastis dari tahun ke tahun, meskipun jumlah industri kelapa sawit meningkat terus di negara tersebut. Akibatnya, tingkat polusi menurun secara tajam yang menyebabkan terjadinya perubahan kualitas lingkungan ke arah yang lebih baik. Inui menunjukkan bahwa penerapan PPP adalah cukup efektif dalam menangani kasus polusi pada industri minyak sawit Malaysia, dan pada saat yang sama disarankan pula agar industri minyak kelapa sawit untuk mengambil benefit dari

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.addinulyakin.blogspot.com/

https://unram.academia.edu/AddinulYakin


penerapan teknologi ramah lingkungan, antara lain dengan memanfaatkan limbah hijau untuk produksi biogas. Kata kunci: Prinsip Pencemar Bayar, Kepatuhan, Kualitas Lingkungan, industri kelapa sawit. I. Background

Palm oil Industry in Malaysia has been strongly developed in the past 30 years particularly

to anticipate increasing demand of the palm oil products with reasonable prices. Large areas of

forest have been continually converted into oil palm estates (Hai, 2002) to fulfill growing global

demand for palm oils which have a tendency to increase significantly in the last two decades or so.

After Oil palm (Elaeis guineenis) had been introduced in Malaysia in 1875, and started with the first

commercial planting in 1911, palm oil plantation was robustly expanded partly due to the relatively

high price of palm oil during 1920s. In 1921, palm oil plantation only covered 770 hectares and

sharply increased to 20,655 hectares by 1930 (Aiken et al., 1982). In forty five years later (1975)

area of palm oil plantation reached 641,791 hectares and in 2002 significantly increased 3,670,243

hectares and has spread out to 11 states in Peninsular Malaysia except Perlis (MPOB, 2003).

Although the contribution of agricultural sector to Malaysian economy, especially in the

last three decades, has decreased substantially which reached only 8.3 percent in 2001, the role of

palm oil industries, particularly to total agricultural exports and total exports has increased

substantially. In 1970, the contribution of palm oil industry to Malaysia’s agricultural exports was

only 7.7 percent, but in 2001 it increased to 44.5 percent. In addition, Malaysia has been

traditionally the top exporter of palm oils in the world market. In 2001, Malaysia exported

10,618,000 tones of palm oil which accounted of 61.12 percent of the world market and followed

by Indonesia, and other countries (MPOB, 2002). It clearly shows that the aggressive expansion of

palm oil industry has contributed considerably in Malaysian Economy.


Palm oil industries involves a diverse array of activities which process raw agricultural

products, which may create adverse impacts on the environment in forms of water, air, and noise

pollution, disposal of solid wastes, and changes in land use (World Bank, 1991). Large quantities of

water are used during the extraction of crude palm oil from the fresh fruit bunch, and about 50%

of the water results in palm oil mill effluent (POME). POME is a thick brownish liquid that contains

high amounts of total solids (40,500 mg&), oil and grease (4000 mg/L), COD (50,000 mg&) and

BOD (25,000 mg/L). This amount of discharge will have a significant impact on the quality of low

volume and slow moving / stagnant water bodies if not treated prior to release into the

environment.

However, the increasing growth of agro-based industries the oil palm produced has

produced enormous wastes and pollution as the result of the effluent discharges from the

operation of palm oil industry, and emerged as a major pollution problem in Malaysia. The

effluents have been identified as major contributors to the rapid deterioration of the aquatic

environments in the 1960’s and 1970’s and the largest source of water pollution during this period

(Abdullah, 1995). By 1970s, 42 rivers in Malaysia were severely aerobically polluted by untreated

effluents. Consequently, this situation led to significant impacts on coastal areas and coastal

resources, which in turn affected the socio-economy of the local communities. It this could not be

treated properly and effectively, they can create huge social and environmental costs and then

may hamper economic development in the long run.

This phenomenon evolved people concerns and forced the federal government to take

action to produce environmental regulations and laws which the most important one was

Environmental Quality Act in 1974. In the following years, series of environmental measures and

programs have been introduced for controlling the pollution to promote sustainable practice in

the palm oil industry. The most crucial environmental policy measure was the introduction of


economic instruments in the form of Polluter Pays Principle (PPP), appropriate mitigating

measures have been instituted and certain standards have to be followed as per requirement of

the Dept of Environment (DOE) with respect to the quality and rate of the effluent discharged into

water courses. However, the implementation and enforcement of the environmental policies has

been questioned especially it impact on environmental quality. This paper tries to identify

magnitude of environmental problems in the palm oil industry; (2) implementation of PPP and its

impact on environmental management of the industry; (3) to discuss the result of the instrument

to improve environmental quality. Finally, this paper will propose some other options for better

environmental governance in the palm oil industry.

II. Application of Polluter Pays Principle (PPP) in Pollution Control in the Palm Oil Industry In managing environmental concern, the government of Malaysia has traditionally given

priority to the most significant environmental problems arising at any particular time. In the 1970s

and early 1980s, the main challenge was to control pollution from agro-based industries such as

palm oil mills and rubber factories (Visvanathan and Tiong, 1999). The Environmental Quality Act

1974 is the principal regulation to prevent, abate, and control pollution, which also incorporates

punitive as well as economic measures for the control of effluents discharge into the environment.

Furthermore, the 3rd Malaysia Plan (1976-1980) within the chapter on development and

environment has laid down the machinery for pollution control in order to achieve that objective.

Furthermore, in the 6th Malaysia Plan, it was envisaged that the Department of Environment (DOE)

would examine the use of licenses, fines and charges for the control of effluent disposal. In

addition, one of the policy thrusts in the 8th Malaysia Plan (2001-2005) is to promote the use of

market-based instruments and self-regulatory measures among industries.


Regarding to environmental measures in the palm oil industry, the Malaysian Palm Oil

Industry (Licensing) Regulations that was put into effect on 1st March 1979 require that all those

involved in the palm oil business obtain appropriate licenses from MPOB. This includes the sale,

purchase, milling, storage, export and import of oil palm products. Dealers, brokers, chemists and

surveyors are also required to obtain licenses for their activities. The main objectives of these

Regulations are to regulate and coordinate all activities related to the palm oil industry, to check

malpractices that are detrimental to the industry, and to conduct quality control of palm oil

products produced and traded.

Pollution control in the palm oil industry has been implemented through a combination of

command & control approach and market based instrument. The EQA 1974 clearly indicates the

levels of charges and penalties to those who pollute the environment. In general, Table 1 shows

levels of charges and penalties regarding to all types of pollution in Malaysia. It is apparent that

maximum level of charge is RM 100,000 with maximum penalty of 5 years in prison.

Table 1: Pollution Charge and Penalties in Malaysia based on EQA 1974

Restriction and Prohibition Charge and Penalties

Restrictions on Pollution of the atmosphere, the soil, and inland waters

≤ RM 100,000 or imprisonment not exceeding 5 years or both ≤ RM 1,000 a day if ignoring a notice

Restrictions on noise pollution ≤ RM 100,000 or imprisonment not exceeding 5 years or both ≤ RM 500 a day if ignoring a notice

Prohibition of discharge of oil and wastes into Malaysian Waters, and open burning

≤ RM 500,000 or imprisonment not exceeding 5 years or both

Environmental Quality (Prescribed Premises) (Crude Palm Oil) Regulations, 1977

The firms are required to obtain a license in order to be allowed to dump effluents into the

watercourse or land and authorities can use it as a threat (to cancel the license) in case of excessive

violation of regulations by the firms (command and control component), while standard effluent


charges are levied according to the BOD load discharged (market based component). The scheme

provides incentive for firms to reduce discharge as they are charged according to the BOD load

discharged, it may also be also necessary to set a maximum level of pollution discharge beyond

which any level of pollution is not allowed regardless of the payment.

A licensing system was introduced to control the pollution load into rivers and

onto land. Due to the lack of a proven technology for the treatment of effluents from

agro-based industries, a progressive reduction program was allowed under the

regulation. Under this regulation, a license is necessary before effluents can be dumped

into the water or land. The license to discharge effluents was given based on class of

premises; location of premise; quality of waste discharged; pollutants or class of

pollutants discharged, and the existing level of pollution. Based on regulation 25 of the

Malaysian Palm Oil Industry (Licensing) Regulations 1979 states that for any person who

contravenes any of the provisions of these Regulations is guilty of an offence and shall be

liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding ten thousand Ringgits or to a term of

imprisonment not exceeding two years or to both fine and imprisonment".

The government provided a provision in the regulations authorizing it to grant a partial or

full waiver of effluent-related license fees to industries conducting research on effluent treatment

as an incentive for the palm oil industry to use new technology in their effluents disposal. The

manner the effluence fee was structured serve as an incentive for the industry to improve their

technological capability to reduce pollution arising from their production activities. Committed to

overcome the problem, the government and the industry worked together to source for

treatment technologies that are environmentally and economically sound. Bear in mind, none was

available any where in the world then to specifically treat POME. This government-industry

synergy towards common goal-pollution abatement paid off handsomely. Systems for treatment


of organic industrial wastes were successfully adapted for POME treatment. The three most

commonly used systems were pounding system, open tank digester and extended aeration

system, and closed anaerobic digester and land application system.

Table 2: Development of Pollution Standard in Malaysia

Parameter* Std A Std B Std C Std D Std E Std F

1/7/78 1/7/79 1/7/80 1/7/81 1/7/82 1/7/84

PH 5 - 9 5 - 9 5 - 9 5 - 9 5 - 9 5 - 9

Biological Oxygen Demand

5000 2000 1000 500 250 100

Chemical Oxygen Demand

10000 4000 2000 1000 - -

Total Solids 4000 2500 2000 1500 - -

Suspended Solids 1200 800 600 400 400 400

Oil and Grease 150 100 75 50 50 50

Ammoniacal Nitrogen

25 15 15 10 150 100

Total Nitrogen 200 100 75 50 - -

Temperature (°C) 45 45 45 45 45 45

Source: Environmental Quality Report 1981-1984

Theoretically, introducing pollution standards and charges may lead to better

management of resources in agro-based industries. In order to give time to the industry to use

technology to dispose off their effluents, a mechanism in the progressive phasing in the standards

were adopted. The standards set by government have become increasingly stringent overtime.

The year 1978 witnessed the enactment of the Environmental Quality Regulations detailing POME

discharge standards. BOD was the key parameter in the standards. From the initial BOD of 25,000

ppm of the untreated POME, the load was reduced to 5,000 ppm in the first generation of

discharge standard, down to the present BOD of 100 ppm.

In history of application of PPP, the quality standard used in the instrument has been

progressively phased out that has allowed the industries to adapt to the more stringent standards

and at the same time, the industry have a favorable time to adopt technology to dispose off their


effluents. Moreover, the reduction of effluence fees over time due to the more stringent standards

has allowed the industries to invest into more technology improved treatment facility.

In the implementation of the "polluter pays principle" (PPP) fee structure was adopted

where the amount of effluent-related fee payable to the Government was linked to the BOD load

of the effluent discharged either onto land, watercourse or both (UNESCAP, 1996b).

III. Compliance of PPP and favorable change in environmental quality

Compliance is an indicator how far all standard that has been fulfilled by the industry.

Results of monitoring by DOE (1991) shows that level of compliance by the industry was very high

as indicated in Table 3.

Table 3: Status of Compliance of Palm Oil Mills and Rubber (Watercourse discharge) in 1990

Parameter % of compliance

Palm oil Mills Rubber

pH 97.6 96.7

BOD3@300C 82.0 84.4

Suspended Solids 97.6 78.2

Oil and Grease 92.8 n.a

Ammoniacal Nitrogen 93.4 80.6

Total Nitrogen 93.4 81.0

Total solids 97.6 n.a

COD n.a 78.2

Source: Environmental Quality Report 1990

The amount of fee collected dropped sharply in the first year and continuously dropped

overtime. The amount collected dropped despite the increase in the number of oil palm mills

operating in the country.


Table 4: Responses of the Palm Oil Industry of the Polluter Pays Principle, 1978-1982

Range of fees % of Mills

1978 (5000)

1979(2000) 1980 (1000)

1981(500) 1982(250)

0-1000 19 63 73 68 75

1001-10000 35 37 24 31 25

10001-50000 24 - 3 1 -

50001-100000 15 - - - -

100001 or more 7 - - - -

Note: Based on 130 mills (____) BOD standard Source: Environmental Quality Report 1981-1984

Table 4 shows that from 1978 when BOD standard was still 5000 mg/l the collected fees

were still quite high, however, in seven years later the collected fees decreased dramatically

although BOD standard has downed to 250 with high number of palm oil industries. This

achievement has been possible because the companies have had the opportunity to adapt with

the more stringent standards through investing into more technology improved treatment facility.

Environmental Quality Report 1989 showed that from 1986-1989 BOD load discharged

from agro-based industries (palm and rubber) remained low which was 11 tonnes per day (DOE,

1990). The latest Malaysia Environmental Quality report 2001, BOD load (tonnes per day) from

agro-based industries has been quite low ranging from 8 tonnes per day in 1997 and 22 tonnes per

day in 2001 (DOE, 2002).

Between 1979 and 1994, the palm oil and rubber industries' contribution to organic

pollution load into the rivers was reduced significantly by about 91 per cent although the total

number of mills increased by 26 per cent during that period. Today, the Department Of

Environment's monitoring results indicate that in terms of BOD, only 13 per cent of the 936

stations monitored at 116 river systems are categorized as 'very polluted' because of organic load

from agro-based and other manufacturing industries. In comparison, 37 per cent are categorized

as 'very polluted' due to organic loading from sewage and animal husbandry (UNESCAP, 1996b).


As result of employing PPP in pollution control in Malaysia, positive responses from agro-

based industries for better management practices are clearly shown in Table 4. There had been a

significant decrease in amount and level of fees paid by the industries from 1978 to 1982. It shows

that in the same period, the industries have been successful to adopt effective treatment systems

as also claimed by Abdullah (1995). The tremendous reduction in the amount of fees collected

indicates compliance on the part of the industry.

The success story of application of PPP in the Palm oil industry could be seen in term of

favorable changes in environmental quality. The changes can be seen in three important

parameters. Firstly, the comparison of BOD Load between agro-based industry (palm oil and

rubber industries) against other pollution sources in Malaysia. Table 5 shows that, during 1997-

2001, BOD load for agro-based industries including palm oil industry was relatively lower than

other sources of pollution. It indicated that the implementation of PPP has had a positive effect to

decrease the number of effluent discharged to watercourse and land.

Table 5: BOD Load (tones per day) for Agro-based Industries against Other Sources 1997-2001 in Malaysia

Year Sources and BOD Load

Agro-based industries

Manufacturing Pig farms Domestic Sewage

1997 8 5 305 776

1998 14 13 312 957

1999 13 14 166 955

2000 14 19 196 1023

2001 22 24 35 1101


Despite the increase in the number of Crude Palm Oil Mills, the level of pollution in the river

system remains remain very low. Data in 2001, as shown in Table 6, percentage of water pollution

based on sources in Malaysia show that agro-based industries produced the lowest percentage

compared to other sources of pollution.


Table 6: Distribution and Percentage of Water Pollution by sources in Malaysia, 2001

Source Number of sources (unit)

Percentage (%)

Manufacturing Industries 5086 39

Sewage treatment plants 6693 53

Agro-based industries 472 4

Pig farms 909 7

Total 100


The good compliance of PPP and good environmental management by the industry has

resulted in favorable change in environmental quality. If we look at graph 1, trend of river water

quality from 1997 to 2001 is relatively positive, meaning river water quality has been improved

overtime. This also shows that Malaysian government policy of controlling water pollution in agro-

based industries (especially palm oil industry) has been successful.


IV. Developing More Sustainable Practice in the Palm Oil Industry

One of main purpose of the pashing out of fee structure and BOD load in the

application of PPP is to allow the palm industry to introduce more sustainable

technology and practice in managing pollution and wastes in the industry. At the same

Graph 1: Trend of River Water Quality 1997-2001 of Malaysia

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 Year

Percentage

Clean

Slightly polluted

Polluted


time, the government also assigns a provision in the regulations authorizing it to grant a

partial or full waiver of effluent-related license fees to industries conducting research on

effluent treatment as an incentive for the industries to use new technology in their

effluents disposal in managing pollution and wastes.

One of advancing stage in treatment technology by introducing the decanter-

drier system. This system reduced the volume of clarification sludge by 75% while at the

same time harnessing solid from POME using a rotary drier. The drier obtained its heat

from the boiler exhaust gas. The system, while reducing the volume of effluent also

helped reduce the problem of air pollution. The dried solids have been used as soil

conditioners and animal feeds.

Anaerobic digestion of POME produces another valuable product, the biogas. It is

estimated that about 20,000 cubic meters of biogas could be obtained per day from 60 tone FFB

per hour mill operating for 20 hours. The biogas has a calorific value of 53,000 kcal per cubic meter.

Tremendous savings on fuel could be obtained when the biogas is harnessed for heat and

electricity generation. Other solid wastes such as mesocarp fibers and shells are the main sources

of energy in the palm oil mills. Together, they can produce sufficient energy to meet the mills

energy requirement.

In 1980, there were 133 palm oil mills in Peninsular Malaysia, 10 palm oil mills in Sabah and 4

palm oil mills in Sarawak. In 1980, the DOE reported that 63 mills had applied biological 'treatment

and oxidation pond systems, 39 mills disposed off their effluents on to land and 2 mills used

chemical treatment systems (Guha, 1995).

Energy conversion from the fiber and shell of the industry wastes is a strategic and

sustainable way to promote sustainable management of palm oil wastes, at least to fulfill energy

needs for the palm oil mill industry. In the energy point of view, the advantage of the palm oil


industry is that the fiber and shell can be conveniently used as fuel for the steam boiler, which is

the heart of a palm oil mill. This energy is considered as free for the palm oil milling process. The

calculation has shown that the shell and fiber alone can generate more than enough energy to

meet the energy demand of the palm oil mill. Another advantage of using the fiber and shell as a

boiler fuel is that it helps to dispose of these bulky materials which otherwise would contribute to

environmental pollution. The ash from the combustion process is also found suitable for fertilizer

for the palm oil plantation (Mahlia et al, 2001). Biomass, particularly oil palm residues have been

identified as the most promising renewable energy among other renewable energy resources in

Malaysia. Several enabling factors were introduced in Malaysia to provide inroads for renewable

energy into the mainstream energy supply, particularly for electricity generation (Jafaar et al,

2003).

In the refinery, the industry has to contend with treating the palm oil refinery effluent

(PORE). The characteristics of PORE are very much dependent on the types of refinery process. The

three most common types of operation are physical refining and dry fractionation, physical refining

and detergent fractionation and physical and chemical refining and dry/detergent fractionation.

The treatment technology for PORE has reached the stage where the BOD could be brought down

to as low as 50 ppm before final discharge. One such cost effective system for treatment of

refinery effluent is the sequencing batch reactor (SBR) process.

It is apparent that the oil palm industry is eco-friendly in every aspect of its activities. Right

from the plantation to the refinery, the industry's commitment for cleaner environment is

unquestionable. The achievement in controlling POME pollution bears testimony on the

seriousness of both the government and the private sector to see a greener Malaysia. Together

they formed a synergistic teamwork that tackled the problem in record time. Indeed, the solution

to POME problem paved the way for growth of the industry to what it is today. Without such


effective treatment technology the industry's development would have been inhibited in many

ways.

A zero waste concept in the oil palm industry is not a mere lip service but a reality. The

active recycling of biomass accruing from plantation activities, together with POME from the mill,

without doubt provides good fertilizer substitute. What is even more gallant, such a practice

indirectly cuts down on pollution that is caused by over dependence on fossil fuel.

A POME treatment system based on membrane technology shows high potential

for eliminating the environmental problem, and in addition, this alternative treatment

system offers water recycling. The treated effluent has a high quality and crystal clear

water that can be used as the boiler feed water or as the source of drinking water

production. In our current research, a pilot plant was designed and constructed for

POME treatment; two stages of treatment have been conducted whereby coagulation,

sedimentation and adsorption play their roles at the first stage as a membrane

pretreatment process, and ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis membranes are combined

for the membrane separation treatment. Results from the total treatment system show

a reduction in turbidity, COD and BOD up to l00 %, 98.8 % and 99.4 %, respectively, with

a final pH of 7. Thus, the results show that this treatment system has a high potential for

producing boiler feed water that can be recycled back to the plant (Ahmad et al, 2003).

VI. Concluding Remarks and Policy Implication

This paper has demonstrated that development of Palm oil industry has been

profoundly developed and has created significant contribution to Malaysian economy. However,

this has produced enormous wastes and pollution that has emerged as a major environmental

problem. To avoid further environmental degradation and social costs Malaysian government has


enacted Environmental Quality Act 1974, as the basis for controlling the pollution through a

combination of regulatory approach and economic instrument in form of polluter pays principle

(PPP). The amount of effluent-related fee payable to the Government was linked to the BOD load

of the effluent discharged onto land, watercourse or both. The amount of fee collected dropped

sharply in the first year and continuously dropped overtime. The amount collected dropped

despite the increase in the number of oil palm mills operating in the country. As a result, degree of

pollution also decreased significantly leading to favorable change in environmental quality in the

palm oil industry. It shows that the application of PPP in the Palm Oil Industry has been quite

thriving, but it is recommended for the industries to take further benefits of developing green

technologies to process other possible benefits such as biogas.

Acknowledgement: My high gratitude goes to the Nippon Foundation which provided the Asian Public Intellectual (API) Fellowship program that unable me to become a visiting researcher at the National University of Malaysia (UKM) where I produced the earlier version of this manuscript. My thanks also go to Prof. Chamhuri Siwar, Prof. Jamal Othman, and other colleagues at the Institute of Development and Environment Studies (LESTARI) who share a lot of knowledge and experiences during my five-month stay in the center.

References Abdullah, Abdul Rani (1995), Environmental Pollution in Malaysia: Trends and Prospects. Trends in

Analytical Chemistry, vol. 14, No.5: 191-198. Ahmad, Abdul Latif; Suzylawati Ismai; and Subhash Bhatia (2003), Water recycling from palm oil

mill effluent (POME) using membrane technology, Desalination 157: 87-95 Aiken, S Robert, C.H. Leigh, T.R. Leinbach, and M R Moss, 1982. Development and Environment in

Peninsular Malaysia. Singapore: McGraw-Hill International Book Company. Anonymous (2002), Clean Development Mechanism Project Opportunities in Indonesia:

Pre-feasibility Report on a Palm Oil Waste to Energy CDM Project. Center for Research on Material and Energy Bandung: ITB and CIDA.

Bhattacharya, S.C; P. Abdul Salam; H.L. Pham; and N.H. Ravindranath (2003), Sustainable

biomass production for energy in selected Asian countries. Biomass and Bioenergy, vol 25, Issue 5, November 2003: 471-482.

Casson, Ane (2000), The Hesitant Boom: Indonesia’s Oil Palm Sub-Sector in an Era of Economic

Crisis and Political Change. Occasional Paper No. 29. Bogor, Indonesia: Center for International Forestry Research.


Department of Environment (1990), Environmental Quality Report 1989. Ministry of Science,

Technology, and Environment (MOSTE), Malaysia. Department of Environment (1991), Environmental Quality Report 1990. Ministry of Science,



Technology, and Environment (MOSTE), Malaysia. Department of Environment (1997), Environmental Quality Report 1996, Ministry of Science,

Technology, and Environment (MOSTE), Malaysia. Department of Environment (2002), Environmental Quality Report 2001, Ministry of Science,

Technology, and Environment (MOSTE), Malaysia. Economic Planning Unit (2000), The Malaysian Economy in Figures 2000. Prime Minister’s Office:

Putrajaya-Malaysia. Jahi, Jamaluddin Md. (1995), Environmental Policies, Laws and Institutional Arrangements: A

Critique and Suggestions, in the State of the Environment in Malaysia. Consumers Association of Penang: Malaysia. Pp 45-58.

Ghani, Awang Noor Abdul (1995), Forest Concession, Revenue Systems, and Timber Trade, in the

State of the Environment in Malaysia. Consumers Association of Penang: Malaysia. Pp 457-463.

Hai, Teoh Cheng, (2002), The Palm Oil Industry in Malaysia: From Seed to Frying Pan. A Report for

WWF Switzerland. Malaysia: WWF Malaysia. Indarti (2001), Commercialization of Biomass Technology: Country Paper: Indonesia. Paper

presented at Regional Seminar on Commercialization of Biomass Technology, 4-8 June 2001, Guangzhou, China.

Jafaar, Mohd Zamzam; Wong Hwee Kheng; and Norhayati Kamaruddin (2003), Greener energy

solutions for a sustainable future: Issues and Challengges for Malaysia, Energy Policy, vol 31(11): 1061-1072.

Legal Research Board (2002), Environmental Quality Act 1974 (Act 1974) & Subsidiary Legislation

(as at 5th June 2002). Petaling Jaya: International Law Book Series. Mahlia, T.H.I; M.Z. Abdulmuin; T.M.I. Alamsyah; and D. Mukhlishiene (2001), An Alternative Energy

Source from Palm Waste Industry for Malaysia and Indonesia. Energy Conversion and Management, Vol. 42(18): 2109-2121.


Manurung, E.G. Togu (2001), An Analysis of Economic Valuation of Palm Oil Investments in

Indonesia (in Indonesian). A Technical Report for National Resources Management Program, sponsored by USAID

McMorrow, Julia and M. A. Talip (2001), Decline of forest area in Sabah, Malaysia: Relationship to

state policies, land code and land capability. Global Environmental Change, Vol. 11 (3), October 2001: 217-230.

Ming, Khoo Khee and Chandramohan (2002), Malaysian Palm Oil Industry at Crossroads and Its

Future Direction. Malaysia: Malaysian Palm Oil Board. New Sunday Times, 31 August 2003. Another bumper year for settlers, 46th Merdeka Day Special. Sargeant, H.J (2001), Vegetation Fires in Sumatra Indonesia. Oil Palm Agriculture in the Wetlands of

Sumatra: Destruction or Development? European Union Forest Fire Prevention and Control Project with Dinas Kehutanan Propinsi Sumatra Selatan. European Union and Ministry of Forestry, Jakarta. 50 pp.

The United Nations, 1993. The Global Partnership for Environment and Development: A Guide to

Agenda 21 Post Rio Edition. New York: The United Nations UNESCAP (1996), Integrating Environmental considerations into economic Policy-Making Process:

Institutional arrangement and Mechanisms at the sectoral level in agriculture in Malaysia. http://www.unescap.org/drpad/publication/integra/volume3/malaysia/3my09can.htm UNESCAP (1996b) Effluent Related Fee in the Palm Oil Industry of Malaysia

http://www.unescap.org/DRPAD/VC/CONFERENCE/ex_my_14_erf.htm Visvanathan and T. K. Tiong (1999), Use of Economic Tools for Malaysian Environmental

Management, Strategic Environmental Management, Volume 1 (4): 333-350. World Bank (1991), Environmental Assessment Sourcebook, Volume II Sectoral Guidelines. World

Bank Technical Paper No. 140. Washington: World Bank. WWF (2002a). Position Paper on Oil Farm. Switzerland: WWF WWF Malaysia (2003a), WWF Malaysia Position Statement, 29 May 2003. WWF (2003), WWF Welcome First Steps toward Sustainable Palm Oil. Forest Conservation News

No.2, August 2003. Switzerland: WWF’s Forest Conversion Initiative. Zen, Zahari; Colin Barlow; and John McCarthy (2003), Environmental Economics in an age of

Regional Autonomy: The case of pollution in the plantation Sector in North Sumatra. Unpublished Paper.

http://www.unescap.org/drpad/publication/integra/volume3/malaysia/3my09can.htm

http://www.unescap.org/DRPAD/VC/CONFERENCE/ex_my_14_erf.htm