Endangered Orangutans and the Palm Oil Industry

Endangered Orangutans and the Palm Oil Industry
Project Purpose
In this project, you will evaluate the business decision the Tengku needs to make to keep his company a viable commercial opportunity The purpose of this assignment is to develop the critical thinking and decision making skills necessary to make a contemporary business decision. Along with critical thinking skills, you will develop research, communication and data evaluation skills.
 
Outcomes You Will Meet by Completing This Project:
• applies the basic steps of the MDQ model to make a sound business decision 
• describes and explain the reasoning behind the application steps used and the ultimate decision 
• demonstrate the use of collaboration to help determine the final decision
• analyze, evaluate and explain both the decision factors in making the decision as well as the stakeholders involved
 
                                                                                 
Setting the Stage
Palm oil is the most widely consumed vegetable oil on Earth. Referred to as the “Miracle Crop” (Wan, 2017) it can be found in seventy-one percent of most supermarket food products like pizza and doughnuts, 24 percent of cosmetic products like lipstick and makeup, and five percent for energy uses like heating fuel (Deutsch bank, 2015). Known as a super food, the demand for palm oil is already high, and it is expected to triple by 2050 (Deutsch Bank (db), 2015).
Currently Malaysia, Indonesia and India produce 50 of the 56 million tons needed to meet international consumer demand. While the production of Palm Oil promotes economic development badly needed in these countries, it does not come without serious environmental and social consequences (Deutsch Bank(db), 2015).
One prominent side effect of the deforestation caused by the rapid growth of palm oil production is the reduction of the Orangutan population. It is estimated that over fifty thousand Orangutans died because of palm oil production in the last 20 years. It is also estimated that 2,000- 3,000 die every year (Orangutan. n.d.). The guestimates by experts suggest that in the next 30-50 years those found in the wild will be extinct.  Environmentalists are attempting to stave off the extinction by creating refuges on nearby islands and transporting the remaining Orangutans from Borneo (where most Orangutans have traditionally lived) to the sanctuaries (Emont, 2017).
Orangutan’s are not the only victims of the increased number of palm oil plantations, but humans also suffer from the side effects. A study estimated that 91,600 people in Indonesia, 6,500 in Malaysia and 2,200 in Singapore may have died prematurely because of exposure to fine particle pollution from burning forests (France-Presse, 2016).
The large destruction of rain forests by plantation owners and its effect on global climate is also a serious problem brought about by palm oil production. Deforestation is a significant contributor to climate change; when the forests are lost, carbon is released into the atmosphere, causing the climate to heat up. Clearing the land to plant the new crop is often done by burning timber and undergrowth putting significant amounts of smoke into the air which releases carbon dioxide in large amounts. In Indonesia and Malaysia, much of the land is on tropical peat soil. The richness of the holds carbon. Clearing the land releases that carbon into the atmosphere, which contributes to global warming (Perils of Palm, 2018).