Oil palm planters have been asked to create “corridors’’ in their estates for wildlife, particularly the endangered orang utan, to roam in their natural habitats.

Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok said non-governmental organisations had raised their concerns on the impact of oil palm development on wildlife.

“The creation of such corridors will contribute towards a positive image on the part of the industry for taking onboard conservation issues.

GIVEN the nature of their business, plantation companies are among the earliest in the country to embrace and adopt the best green practices to ensure that palm oil is sustainably produced under well-managed environmental conditions.

In fact, many of these companies are being judged on how they earn their profits based on various green practices and initiatives.

The Planters' Association of Ceylon says diversification by Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) into non-traditional areas such as palm oil cultivation and processing, is showing good results.

The AEN palm oil processing mill, a joint venture between Agalawatte, Elpitiya and Namunukula Plantations, is one such project that has shown impressive results in terms of high productivity, improved value addition and export capability and higher ROIs for the plantation companies while also benefiting domestic consumers.