From above, a mature oil palm plantation is mesmerising because of the thick and lush greenery that covers the land. While the thick foliage covers the sky, creepers cover the soil. Any visitor who lays in wait would easily see either an animal looking for prey or scampering away from a sleek predator. This is the rich ecosystem of the planted forest of oil palm.

Oil palm releases an average of 21.3 tonnes of oxygen while absorbing an average of 29.3 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere per hectare of plantation. At least six species of legumes are grown as ground cover in oil palm plantations, they inject up to 250kg of nitrogen into every hectare of soil. This powerful carbon sink and rich source of moisture helps, in its own unique way, the world’s fight against global warming.

The trees themselves prevent soil erosion, keeping the soil rich with nutrients and biodiversity. Malaysia practises a zero burning policy and recycles the oil palm trees during replanting. Effluent from oil mills are biologically treated and sprayed back on the plantation as fertilizers. Within this eco-friendly oil palm plantation environment that uses minimal chemical intervention, a variety of flora and fauna are known to thrive.

Malaysian oil palm plantations are experts in going back to nature to control pests in the plantations thus avoiding the need for extensive chemical-based interventions. Barn owls and snakes are a regular part of the oil palm plantation ecology to keep rodents in check while predatory insects and entomo-fungi leaf-defoliating insects are similarly kept at bay through eco-friendly agricultural practices.

Oil palm estates have such rich biodiversity that resorts have cropped up among some of the plantations here in Malaysia, encouraging visitors to experience this ecosystem first hand.