Small migratory farming is responsible for 70% of the annual deforestation in Peru. Can palm oil address this problem and lead the change towards sustainable development in the Peruvian Amazon?

In 2005, Brazil was losing more forest each year than any other country. Today, Brazil has reduced deforestation in the Amazon by 70 percent. Seventeen countries across four continents have also shown progress in reducing tropical deforestation. But there is still a long way to go.

What was obvious to a Malaysian studying in Singapore was slightly less clear to a California-born New Yorker, but as my knowledge on the subject grew, I quickly understood my colleague’s enthusiasm for studying oil palm.