Scientific community seeks protection of biodiversity hotspots from palm oil cultivation

MaduraiThe Centre's recently approved Mission on Oil Palm proposing a large scale cultivation in biodiversity rich Andaman & Nicobar Islands and the North East has been flayed by the All I

Madurai

The Centre's recently approved Mission on Oil Palm proposing a large scale cultivation in biodiversity rich Andaman & Nicobar Islands and the North East has been flayed by the All India Peoples' Science Network (AIPSN).

The members have described the plan as ill-conceived given its ecologically damaging focus. Madurai-based AIPSN general secretary P. Rajamanickam said such substantial expansion plan requires research and evidence-based locale-specific information before implementing it in ecologically sensitive areas. “The government is pushing a political decision rather than being guided by scientific opinion,” he said.