We humans have always cut down trees for our own uses, but as in most of the world, in the latter half of the 20th century the rate of deforestation in Indonesia accelerated greatly.
How We're Connected: Forests, Palm Oil, and You
As detailed in Part One, growth of large-scale oil palm plantations starting in the 1990’s showed immediate and obvious negative effects. Outcry from NGOs, environmental groups, and consumers over deforestation and human rights abuses led to the formation of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). Starting in 2008, the RSPO developed a set of criteria which producers could voluntarily apply in order to gain an RSPO sustainable palm oil certification.