KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 21 (Bernama) -- There are still many opportunities forthe palm oil industry to enhance its environmental profile andperformance, WWF (World Wildlife Federation) Malaysia representative, TeohCheng Hai said at the 2001 PIPOC here on Tuesday.

He said that although the industry has a better environmental profile thanmajor oil seedcrops like soyabean and rapeseed, it can still takepro-active action concerning the environment.

"By taking pro-active action such as the adoption of a holistic approachon environmental management and sustainable development, it will alsoimprove its competitive position versus other edible oils," he said inpresenting a paper on "Trade-Related Environmental Challenges for the PalmOil Industry" here on Tuesday.

The working paper was jointly prepared by Teoh, Andrew Ng and MartinAbraham for the 2001 International Palm Oil Congress (2001 PIPOC) whichentered its second day here on Tuesday.

Teoh said that in adressing the various environmental issues, it was vitalthat the palm oil industry pays serious attention to the concerns andexpectation of all its stakeholders.

"Effective dialogues and meaningful consultation with all relevantstakeholders would go a long way towards making the palm oil industry atrue partner for environmentally sound and sustainable developmentworldwide," he said.

Apart from stakeholders expectations, the industry must also have bestmanagement practice, whereby priority should be given to the adoption ofthe ISO 14001 Environment Management System standard.

Teoh said that it was important to practise sound agronomic and productionuniformly and widely throughout the industry, including the smallholders.

"The opening of new palm oil plantations is often seen as one of theprimary reasons for loss of tropical rain forests and its biodiversity,"he noted.

He said that Malaysian companies who have operations overseas, especiallyIndonesia, should also practise the same sound management praticesanywhere.

"It is of interest to note that 45 Malaysian companies have invested inthe development of 1.34 million hectares of land in Indonesia," he said.

As for genetically modified (GM) crops, Teoh said it would be commerciallyand economically attractive and advantageous for palm oil to remain GMfree and to be labelled and marketed as such. -- BERNAMA