WWF-Indonesia

Forest-driven water and energy cycles are poorly integrated into regional, national, continental and global decision-making on climate change adaptation, mitigation, land use and water management. This constrains humanity’s ability to protect our planet’s climate and life-sustaining functions. The substantial body of research we review reveals that forest, water and energy interactions provide the foundations for carbon storage, for cooling terrestrial surfaces and for distributing water resources. Forests and trees must be recognized as prime regulators within the water, energy and carbon cycles. If these functions are ignored, planners will be unable to assess, adapt to or mitigate the impacts of changing land cover and climate. Our call to action targets a reversal of paradigms, from a carbon-centric model to one that treats the hydrologic and climate-cooling effects of trees and forests as the first order of priority. For reasons of sustainability, carbon storage must remain a secondary, though valuable, by-product. The effects of tree cover on climate at local, regional and continental scales offer benefits that demand wider recognition. The forest- and tree-centered research insights we review and analyze provide a knowledge-base for improving plans, policies and actions. Our understanding of how trees and forests influence water, energy and carbon cycles has important implications, both for the structure of planning, management and governance institutions, as well as for how trees and forests might be used to improve sustainability, adaptation and mitigation efforts.

BACKGROUND: Stunting in early life has considerable human and economic costs. The purpose of the study was to identify factors associated with stunting among children aged 0-23 months in Indonesia to inform the design of appropriate policy and programme responses. METHODS: Determinants of child stunting, including severe stunting, were examined in three districts in Indonesia using data from a cross-sectional survey conducted in 2011. A total of 1366 children were included. The analysis used multiple logistic regression to determine unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios. RESULTS: The prevalence of stunting and severe stunting was 28.4 % and 6.7 %, respectively. The multivariate analysis on determinants of stunting identified a significant interaction between household sanitary facility and household water treatment (P for interaction = 0.007) after controlling for potential covariates: in households that drank untreated water, the adjusted odds on child stunting was over three times higher if the household used a unimproved latrine (adjusted odds ratio 3.47, 95 % confidence interval 1.73-7.28, P <0.001); however, in households that drank treated water, the adjusted odds on child stunting was not significantly higher if the household used an unimproved latrine (adjusted odds ratio 1.27, 95 % confidence interval 0.99-1.63, P = 0.06). Other significant risk factors included male sex, older child age and lower wealth quintile. The risk factors for severe stunting included male sex, older child age, lower wealth quintile, no antenatal care in a health facility, and mother's participation in decisions on what food was cooked in the household. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of unimproved latrines and untreated drinking water was associated with an increased odds on stunting in Indonesia compared with improved conditions. Policies and programmes to address child stunting in Indonesia must consider water, sanitation and hygiene interventions. Operational research is needed to determine how best to converge and integrate water, sanitation and hygiene interventions into a broader multisectoral approach to reduce stunting in Indonesia.

Dipterocarpaceae, the dominant family of Bornean canopy trees, display the unusual reproductive strategy of strict interspecific mast-fruiting. During 1986-99, more than 50 dipterocarp species dispersed seed only within a 1- to 2-month period every 3 to 4 years during El Nino-Southern Oscillation events. Synchronous seed production occurred across extensive areas and was essential for satiating seed predators. Logging of dipterocarps reduced the extent and intensity of these reproductive episodes and exacerbated local El Nino conditions. Viable seed and seedling establishment have declined as a result of climate, logging, and predators. Since 1991, dipterocarps have experienced recruitment failure within a national park, now surrounded by logged forest.

Co-production, the collaborative weaving of research and practice by diverse societal actors, is argued to play an important role in sustainability transformations. Yet, there is still poor understanding of how to navigate the tensions that emerge in these processes. Through analyzing 32 initiatives worldwide that co-produced knowledge and action to foster sustainable social-ecological relations, we conceptualize ‘co-productive agility’ as an emergent feature vital for turning tensions into transformations. Co-productive agility refers to the willingness and ability of diverse actors to iteratively engage in reflexive dialogues to grow shared ideas and actions that would not have been possible from the outset. It relies on embedding knowledge production within processes of change to constantly recognize, reposition, and navigate tensions and opportunities. Co-productive agility opens up multiple pathways to transformation through: (1) elevating marginalized agendas in ways that maintain their integrity and broaden struggles for justice; (2) questioning dominant agendas by engaging with power in ways that challenge assumptions, (3) navigating conflicting agendas to actively transform interlinked paradigms, practices, and structures; (4) exploring diverse agendas to foster learning and mutual respect for a plurality of perspectives. We explore six process considerations that vary by these four pathways and provide a framework to enable agility in sustainability transformations. We argue that research and practice spend too much time closing down debate over different agendas for change – thereby avoiding, suppressing, or polarizing tensions, and call for more efforts to facilitate better interactions among different agendas.

For centuries swidden was an important farming practice found across the girth of Southeast Asia. Today, however, these systems are changing and sometimes disappearing at a pace never before experienced. In order to explain the demise or transitioning of swidden we need to understand the rapid and massive changes that have and are occurring in the political and economic environment in which these farmers operate. Swidden farming has always been characterized by change, but since the onset of modern independent nation states, governments and markets in Southeast Asia have transformed the terms of swiddeners' everyday lives to a degree that is significantly different from that ever experienced before. In this paper we identified six factors that have contributed to the demise or transformation of swidden systems, and support these arguments with examples from China (Xishuangbanna), Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. These trends include classifying swiddeners as ethnic minorities within nation-states, dividing the landscape into forest and permanent agriculture, expansion of forest departments and the rise of conservation, resettlement, privatization and commoditization of land and land-based production, and expansion of market infrastructure and the promotion of industrial agriculture. In addition we note a growing trend toward a transition from rural to urban livelihoods and expanding urban-labor markets.

CONTEXT: Little is known about the efficacy of mental health interventions for children exposed to armed conflicts in low- and middle-income settings. Childhood mental health problems are difficult to address in situations of ongoing poverty and political instability. OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy of a school-based intervention designed for conflict-exposed children, implemented in a low-income setting. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A cluster randomized trial involving 495 children (81.4% inclusion rate) who were a mean (SD) age of 9.9 (1.3) years, were attending randomly selected schools in political violence-affected communities in Poso, Indonesia, and were screened for exposure (> or = 1 events), posttraumatic stress disorder, and anxiety symptoms compared with a wait-listed control group. Nonblinded assessment took place before, 1 week after, and 6 months after treatment between March and December 2006. INTERVENTION: Fifteen sessions, over 5 weeks, of a manualized, school-based group intervention, including trauma-processing activities, cooperative play, and creative-expressive elements, implemented by locally trained paraprofessionals. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: We assessed psychiatric symptoms using the Child Posttraumatic Stress Scale, Depression Self-Rating Scale, the Self-Report for Anxiety Related Disorders 5-item version, and the Children's Hope Scale, and assessed function impairment as treatment outcomes using standardized symptom checklists and locally developed rating scales. RESULTS: Correcting for clustering of participants within schools, we found significantly more improvement in posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms (mean change difference, 2.78; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02 to 4.53) and maintained hope (mean change difference, -2.21; 95% CI, -3.52 to -0.91) in the treatment group than in the wait-listed group. Changes in traumatic idioms (stress-related physical symptoms) (mean change difference, 0.50; 95% CI, -0.12 to 1.11), depressive symptoms (mean change difference, 0.70; 95% CI, -0.08 to 1.49), anxiety (mean change difference, 0.12; 95% CI, -0.31 to 0.56), and functioning (mean change difference, 0.52; 95% CI, -0.43 to 1.46) were not different between the treatment and wait-listed groups. CONCLUSIONS: In this study of children in violence-affected communities, a school-based intervention reduced posttraumatic stress symptoms and helped maintain hope, but did not reduce traumatic-stress related symptoms, depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, or functional impairment. TRIAL REGISTRATION: isrctn.org Identifier: ISRCTN25172408.

OBJECTIVES: Increasing evidence suggests that water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) practices affect linear growth in early childhood. We determined the association between household access to water, sanitation and personal hygiene practices with stunting among children aged 0-23 months in rural India. SETTING: India. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 10 364, 34 639 and 1282 under-2s who participated in the 2005-2006 National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3), the 2011 Hunger and Malnutrition Survey (HUNGaMA) and the 2012 Comprehensive Nutrition Survey in Maharashtra (CNSM), respectively, were included in the analysis. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The association between WASH indicators and child stunting was assessed using logistic regression models. RESULTS: The prevalence of stunting ranged from 25% to 50% across the three studies. Compared with open defecation, household access to toilet facility was associated with a 16-39% reduced odds of stunting among children aged 0-23 months, after adjusting for all potential confounders (NHFS-3 (OR=0.84, 95% CI 0.71 to 0.99); HUNGaMA (OR=0.84, 95% CI 0.78 to 0.91); CNSM (OR=0.61, 95% CI 0.44 to 0.85)). Household access to improved water supply or piped water was not in itself associated with stunting. The caregiver's self-reported practices of washing hands with soap before meals (OR=0.85, 95% CI 0.76 to 0.94) or after defecation (OR=0.86, 95% CI 0.80 to 0.93) were inversely associated with child stunting. However, the inverse association between reported personal hygiene practices and stunting was stronger among households with access to toilet facility or piped water (all interaction terms, p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Improved conditions of sanitation and hygiene practices are associated with reduced prevalence of stunting in rural India. Policies and programming aiming to address child stunting should encompass WASH interventions, thus shifting the emphasis from nutrition-specific to nutrition-sensitive programming. Future randomised trials are warranted to validate the causal association.

Abstract Most conservation challenges are complex and possess all the characteristics of so called “wicked” problems. Despite widespread recognition of this complexity conservationists possess a legacy of institutional structures, tools and practices better suited to simpler systems. We highlight two specific challenges posed by this mismatch: the difficulty of adaptive management where success is ambiguous and the tension between “best practice” and creativity. Drawing on research in other disciplines (including psychology, information systems, business management, and military strategy) we suggest practices that conservation could consider to better respond to complexity. These practices include, defining clear objectives, the use of scenarios, emphasis on pattern analysis, and ensuring greater scope for creative and decentralized decision making. To help illustrate these challenges and solutions, we point to parallels between conservation and military operations.

Abstract In recognition of the fact that orang-utans (Pongo spp.) are severely threatened, a meeting of orang-utan experts and conservationists, representatives of national and regional governmental and non-governmental organizations, and other stakeholders, was convened in Jakarta, Indonesia, in January 2004. Prior to this meeting we surveyed all large areas for which orang-utan population status was unknown. Compilation of all survey data produced a comprehensive picture of orang-utan distribution on both Borneo and Sumatra. These results indicate that in 2004 there were c. 6,500 P. abelii remaining on Sumatra and at least 54,000 P. pygmaeus on Borneo. Extrapolating to 2008 on the basis of forest loss on both islands suggests the estimate for Borneo could be 10% too high but that for Sumatra is probably still relatively accurate because forest loss in orang-utan habitat has been low during the conflict in Aceh, where most P. abelii occur. When those population sizes are compared to known historical sizes it is clear that the Sumatran orang-utan is in rapid decline, and unless extraordinary efforts are made soon, it could become the first great ape species to go extinct. In contrast, our results indicate there are more and larger populations of Bornean orang-utans than previously known. Although these revised estimates for Borneo are encouraging, forest loss and associated loss of orang-utans are occurring at an alarming rate, and suggest that recent reductions of Bornean orang-utan populations have been far more severe than previously supposed. Nevertheless, although orang-utans on both islands are under threat, we highlight some reasons for cautious optimism for their long-term conservation.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of menstrual hygiene management (MHM) knowledge and practices among adolescent schoolgirls in Indonesia, and assess factors associated with poor MHM and school absenteeism due to menstruation. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey enrolled a representative sample of urban and rural school-going girls aged 12-19 years in four provinces of Indonesia. A semi-structured, self-administered questionnaire obtained socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge, practices and attitudes related to menstruation, MHM and school absenteeism. School water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities were also assessed. Univariate weighted population prevalence was estimated and multivariable logit regression analyses applied to explore associations. RESULTS: A total of 1159 adolescent girls with a mean age of 15 years (SD = 1.8) participated. Most girls (90.8%, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) = 79.7-96.1) had reached menarche. Over half (64.1%, 95% CI = 49.9-76.2) reported poor MHM practices, and 11.1% (95% CI = 8.1-15.2) had missed one or more days of school during their most recent menstrual period. Poor MHM practices were associated with rural residence (Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.73, 95% CI = 1.13-2.64), province (various AOR), lower school grade (AOR = 1.69, 95% CI = 1.05-2.74) and low knowledge of menstruation (AOR = 3.49, 95% CI = 1.61-7.58). Absenteeism was associated with living in rural areas (AOR = 3.96, 95% CI = 3.02-5.18), province (various AOR), higher school grade (AOR = 3.02, 95% CI = 2.08-4.38), believing menstruation should be kept secret (AOR = 1.47, 95% CI = 1.03-2.11), experiencing serious menstrual pain (AOR = 1.68, 95% CI = 1.06-2.68) and showed mixed associations with school WASH facilities. CONCLUSIONS: High prevalence of poor MHM and considerable school absenteeism due to menstruation among Indonesian girls highlight the need for improved interventions that reach girls at a young age and address knowledge, shame and secrecy, acceptability of WASH infrastructure and menstrual pain management.

In this study, the authors assessed air quality and health effects of the 1997 haze disaster in Indonesia. The authors measured carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, particulate matter with diameters less than or equal to 10 microm, inorganic ions, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The authors also interviewed 543 people and conducted lung-function tests and determined spirometric values for these individuals. Concentrations of carbon monoxide and particulate matter with diameters less than or equal to 10 microm reached "very unhealthy" and "hazardous" levels, as defined by the Pollution Standards Index. Concentrations of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were 6-14 times higher than levels in the unaffected area. More than 90% of the respondents had respiratory symptoms, and elderly individuals suffered a serious deterioration of overall health. In multivariate analysis, the authors determined that gender, history of asthma, and frequency of wearing a mask were associated with severity of respiratory problems. The results of our study demonstrate the need for special care of the elderly and for care of those with a history of asthma. In addition, the use of a proper mask may afford protection.

Agriculture in Africa is expected to meet the dual objectives of providing food and helping people to escape poverty. African agriculture is dominated by smallholdings and donors generally target their agricultural support at the smallholder sector. The expectation is that if the gap between actual and potential yields can be closed, smallholders will grow sufficient crops to feed their families, with a surplus to sell, thus meeting food security needs and bringing in an income to move them out of poverty. In practice, this is often not possible. While technologies already exist that can raise smallholder farmers' yields 3 or 4 times, even under rainfed conditions, the small size of land available to them limits how much can be grown and the per capita income from agriculture is insufficient to allow people to move above the current World Bank-defined poverty line of US$1.90 per day. We link this finding with farmer typologies to further explain that there are large differences between individual farming households themselves in terms of their investment incentives and capability to benefit from field-level technologies that are aimed at increasing farm productivity. We argue for more differentiated policies for agricultural development in Africa and suggest that policymakers should be much more aware of the heterogeneity of farms and target interventions accordingly. It is important to understand where and for whom agriculture will have the main purpose of ensuring food and nutritional security and where and for whom there is the potential for significant increases in incomes and a contribution to wider economic growth. Let us recognize the distinctiveness of these targets and underlying target groups and work towards solutions that address the underlying needs.

AIM: To describe the epidemiology of cerebral palsy (CP) in children from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) using data from the Global Low- and Middle-Income Country CP register (GLM-CPR). METHOD: The GLM-CPR is a multi-country initiative that combines and compares data from children with CP (<18y) in LMICs. Children with CP are registered after detailed neurodevelopmental assessment by a multidisciplinary medical team using a harmonized protocol. Data are collected on agreed core variables. Descriptive analyses are completed to report findings from participating countries. RESULTS: Between January 2015 and May 2019, 2664 children were recruited from Bangladesh, Nepal, Indonesia, and Ghana (mean age [SD] at assessment: 7y 8mo [4y 8mo], 95% confidence interval 7y 6mo-7y 11mo; male [n=1615] 60.6%, female [n=1049] 39.4%). Overall, 86.6% children acquired CP prenatally and perinatally (e.g. preterm birth, birth asphyxia, neonatal encephalopathy). Median age at CP diagnosis was 3 years. Moreover, 79.2% children had spastic CP and 73.3% were classified in Gross Motor Function Classification System levels III to V. Notably, 47.3% of children never received rehabilitation services (median age at receiving rehabilitation services was 3y; 12.7% received assistive devices) and 75.6% of school-age children had no access to education. INTERPRETATION: Population-based data show that the proportion of severe cases of CP is very high in LMICs. Children with CP in LMICs lack access to rehabilitation and educational services and a large proportion of children have potentially preventable risk factors, for example, birth asphyxia and neonatal infections. Delayed diagnosis, severe motor impairments, and lack of rehabilitation in most children call for urgent action to identify preventive opportunities and promote early diagnosis and intervention for children with CP in LMICs. What this paper adds The proportion of severe cases of cerebral palsy (CP) is very high in rural low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Children with CP in LMICs lack access to rehabilitation and educational services. A large proportion of children with CP in LMICs have potentially preventable risk factors.

Human-orangutan conflict and hunting are thought to pose a serious threat to orangutan existence in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo. No data existed prior to the present study to substantiate these threats. We investigated the rates, spatial distribution and causes of conflict and hunting through an interview-based survey in the orangutan's range in Kalimantan, Indonesia. Between April 2008 and September 2009, we interviewed 6983 respondents in 687 villages to obtain socio-economic information, assess knowledge of local wildlife in general and orangutan encounters specifically, and to query respondents about their knowledge on orangutan conflicts and killing, and relevant laws. This survey revealed estimated killing rates of between 750 and 1800 animals killed in the last year, and between 1950 and 3100 animals killed per year on average within the lifetime of the survey respondents. These killing rates are higher than previously thought and are high enough to pose a serious threat to the continued existence of orangutans in Kalimantan. Importantly, the study contributes to our understanding of the spatial variation in threats, and the underlying causes of those threats, which can be used to facilitate the development of targeted conservation management.

Archaeological evidence indicates that pig domestication had begun by ∼10,500 y before the present (BP) in the Near East, and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) suggests that pigs arrived in Europe alongside farmers ∼8,500 y BP. A few thousand years after the introduction of Near Eastern pigs into Europe, however, their characteristic mtDNA signature disappeared and was replaced by haplotypes associated with European wild boars. This turnover could be accounted for by substantial gene flow from local European wild boars, although it is also possible that European wild boars were domesticated independently without any genetic contribution from the Near East. To test these hypotheses, we obtained mtDNA sequences from 2,099 modern and ancient pig samples and 63 nuclear ancient genomes from Near Eastern and European pigs. Our analyses revealed that European domestic pigs dating from 7,100 to 6,000 y BP possessed both Near Eastern and European nuclear ancestry, while later pigs possessed no more than 4% Near Eastern ancestry, indicating that gene flow from European wild boars resulted in a near-complete disappearance of Near East ancestry. In addition, we demonstrate that a variant at a locus encoding black coat color likely originated in the Near East and persisted in European pigs. Altogether, our results indicate that while pigs were not independently domesticated in Europe, the vast majority of human-mediated selection over the past 5,000 y focused on the genomic fraction derived from the European wild boars, and not on the fraction that was selected by early Neolithic farmers over the first 2,500 y of the domestication process.

To identify environmental sites commonly contaminated by avian influenza virus A (H5N1) in live-bird markets in Indonesia, we investigated 83 markets in 3 provinces in Indonesia. At each market, samples were collected from up to 27 poultry-related sites to assess the extent of contamination. Samples were tested by using real-time reverse transcription-PCR and virus isolation. A questionnaire was used to ascertain types of birds in the market, general infrastructure, and work practices. Thirty-nine (47%) markets showed contamination with avian influenza virus in ≥ 1 of the sites sampled. Risk factors were slaughtering birds in the market and being located in West Java province. Protective factors included daily removal of waste and zoning that segregated poultry-related work flow areas. These results can aid in the design of evidence-based programs concerning environmental sanitation, food safety, and surveillance to reduce the risk for avian influenza virus A (H5N1) transmission in live-bird markets.

Over the past decade, several global maps of above-ground biomass (AGB) have been produced, but they exhibit significant differences that reduce their value for climate and carbon cycle modelling, and also for national estimates of forest carbon stocks and their changes. The number of such maps is anticipated to increase because of new satellite missions dedicated to measuring AGB. Objective and consistent methods to estimate the accuracy and uncertainty of AGB maps are therefore urgently needed. This paper develops and demonstrates a framework aimed at achieving this. The framework provides a means to compare AGB maps with AGB estimates from a global collection of National Forest Inventories and research plots that accounts for the uncertainty of plot AGB errors. This uncertainty depends strongly on plot size, and is dominated by the combined errors from tree measurements and allometric models (inter-quartile range of their standard deviation (SD) = 30–151 Mg ha−1). Estimates of sampling errors are also important, especially in the most common case where plots are smaller than map pixels (SD = 16–44 Mg ha−1). Plot uncertainty estimates are used to calculate the minimum-variance linear unbiased estimates of the mean forest AGB when averaged to 0.1∘. These are used to assess four AGB maps: Baccini (2000), GEOCARBON (2008), GlobBiomass (2010) and CCI Biomass (2017). Map bias, estimated using the differences between the plot and 0.1∘ map averages, is modelled using random forest regression driven by variables shown to affect the map estimates. The bias model is particularly sensitive to the map estimate of AGB and tree cover, and exhibits strong regional biases. Variograms indicate that AGB map errors have map-specific spatial correlation up to a range of 50–104 km, which increases the variance of spatially aggregated AGB map estimates compared to when pixel errors are independent. After bias adjustment, total pantropical AGB and its associated SD are derived for the four map epochs. This total becomes closer to the value estimated by the Forest Resources Assessment after every epoch and shows a similar decrease. The framework is applicable to both local and global-scale analysis, and is available at https://github.com/arnanaraza/PlotToMap. Our study therefore constitutes a major step towards improved AGB map validation and improvement.

We studied the feeding ecology of the black howler monkey (Alouatta pigra) from March 1994 to April 1995 in the Community Baboon Sanctuary in northern Belize, Central America. Activity and diet composition were recorded using continuous focal animal sampling. Diet composition was compared with the relative abundance of plant parts eaten by the howlers within the study site. The study animals spent an average of 24.4% of their time feeding, 61.9% resting, and approximately 9.8% traveling. In contrast to previously published reports on A. pigra, we found the diet composition to be similar to that of other Alouatta species (conforming to the folivore/frugivore profile), with 41% of feeding time spent eating fruit, 45% foliage, and 11% flowers. This contrast may indicate a wide degree of dietary flexibility that allows A. pigra to inhabit a variety of habitat types. We suggest that a high level of resource abundance throughout the year makes the Community Baboon Sanctuary excellent habitat for Alouatta pigra.

Sharks and rays are key functional components of coral reef ecosystems, yet many populations of a few species exhibit signs of depletion and local extinctions. The question is whether these declines forewarn of a global extinction crisis. We use IUCN Red List to quantify the status, trajectory, and threats to all coral reef sharks and rays worldwide. Here, we show that nearly two-thirds (59%) of the 134 coral-reef associated shark and ray species are threatened with extinction. Alongside marine mammals, sharks and rays are among the most threatened groups found on coral reefs. Overfishing is the main cause of elevated extinction risk, compounded by climate change and habitat degradation. Risk is greatest for species that are larger-bodied (less resilient and higher trophic level), widely distributed across several national jurisdictions (subject to a patchwork of management), and in nations with greater fishing pressure and weaker governance. Population declines have occurred over more than half a century, with greatest declines prior to 2005. Immediate action through local protections, combined with broad-scale fisheries management and Marine Protected Areas, is required to avoid extinctions and the loss of critical ecosystem function condemning reefs to a loss of shark and ray biodiversity and ecosystem services, limiting livelihoods and food security.

Large-scale industries do not operate in isolation, but have tangible impacts on human and planetary health. An often overlooked actor in the fight against noncommunicable diseases is the palm oil industry. The dominance of palm oil in the food processing industry makes it the world's most widely produced vegetable oil. We applied the commercial determinants of health framework to analyse the palm oil industry. We highlight the industry's mutually profitable relationship with the processed food industry and its impact on human and planetary health, including detrimental cultivation practices that are linked to respiratory illnesses, deforestation, loss of biodiversity and pollution. This analysis illustrates many parallels to the contested nature of practices adopted by the alcohol and tobacco industries. The article concludes with suggested actions for researchers, policy-makers and the global health community to address and mitigate the negative impacts of the palm oil industry on human and planetary health.