Figure 2 : Common beneficial plant in Oil Palm Plantation ( Source : http :// www . salcra . gov . my / en / sustainable-plantation )
plantation companies have adopted mitigation plans to minimise the impact of land activities on the environment . The Environment Impact Assessment ( EIA ) was established to ensure that the impact from all pre-planting activities are controlled to protect the environment . Standard Operating Procedures ( SOP ) have been established to ensure that the land preparation follows best practices in protecting the environment . Typically , sub-activities involved during replanting include felling , shredding , road construction , terrace construction , platform construction , drain construction , water conservation , lining , holing and planting .
Under the provision of the Environment Quality Act 1974 , open air burning cannot be conducted in any land clearing activities . A zero burning technique has been adopted by most of Malaysia ’ s plantation companies in replanting activities . The technique involves felling and shredding to manage the old oil palm stand . This technique can also produce nutrients from the old oil palm shredded chips when added to the soil through decomposition . New oil palm seedlings benefit from the organic content produced by the decomposing shredded chips . To reduce soil erosion and water pollution from a plantation site , a Legume Cover Crop ( LCC ) is planted to cover the soil and reduce the impact of heavy rains . This also benefits the soil by improving its structure and texture and improves soil fertility through the decomposition of organic matter . It facilitates the nitrogen fixation process , soil moisture conservation and also recycles soil nutrients naturally .
During oil palm plantation maintenance , the use of chemical fertiliser has a major environmental impact due to leaching out of fertilisers into rivers causing water pollution . Therefore , to mitigate the impact , plantation management has to establish a riparian buffer zone to allow natural vegetation to grow along the riverbanks . The buffer zone absorbs the nutrients from the plantation area so that they don ’ t leach into the river resulting in water pollution .
Another practice in palm oil plantation operations that has an environmental aspect is plant protection which involves the use of chemicals to guard against pest attacks on the oil palms . The common pests in oil palm plantations are rats , bagworms , nettle caterpillars , rhinoceros beetles , bunch moths and termites . To reduce the impact on the environment , an Integrated Pest Management ( IPM ) practice has been established as a sustainable practice to control and protect oil palms from pest attack . Planting beneficial plants such as Turnera Subulata , Antigonon Leptopus , and Casia Cobanensis provides shelter and also attract predator insects ( see Figure 2 ). The predators attack the beneficial plants instead of the oil palms . The best practices in oil palm plantation management result in the production of good fresh fruit bunches .
Palm Oil Mill Operations Palm oil mill operations can have a significant negative environmental aspect if they are not properly managed and cause air and water pollution . Due to the high risk of palm oil mill operations impacting the environment , there
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