Fun on the outside, serious about animals on the inside. Zoo Knoxville is committed to being part of the solution to save species from extinction, both locally and globally.
Zoo Knoxville works with other zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) on a collective Species Survival Plan for all animals that live in AZA-accredited zoos in North America. Working together, we can maintain a healthy, genetically diverse population in zoos to ensure we don’t lose animals to extinction when wild populations are in peril.
Zoo Knoxville is also involved with conservation work in the field, with award-winning recognition for our efforts to save East Tennessee’s endangered bog turtle and ongoing research with native hellbender and mudpuppy salamanders. Our staff members travel to far-flung places like the Komodo Islands, Madagascar and Indonesia to study animals in their native habitats. Every guest that visits Zoo Knoxville also helps save wildlife and wild places.
Statement in support of Sustainable Palm Oil
The conservation organizations listed below are committed to driving the palm oil industry in the right direction, and support a move to sustainable palm oil and not a blanket boycott.
Palm oil produced according to the standards set by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) or Palm Oil Innovation Group (POIG), as of 2018, is required to be deforestation-free. Manufacturers, retailers and traders all over the world have made bold commitments to removing deforestation from their supply chains – some are making swifter progress than others towards meeting these commitments. There are no quick fixes, but the following actions will go a long way to cleaning up the palm oil industry:
- Palm oil producers must stop converting forests, peatlands and other sensitive natural habitats to oil palm plantations. Instead, they should increase yields on existing plantations, and any expansion should be restricted to degraded land that is not classified as High Conservation Value or High Carbon Stock. They also need to be transparent about their production methods and avoid labour, land and human rights violations.
- Companies manufacturing or selling products made with palm oil and its derivatives need to investigate their suppliers and only source palm oil from responsible growers, ensuring their supply chain is traceable, and communicating honestly with their customers about their progress on their journey to using solely sustainable palm oil.
- We expect the RSPO and its members to adhere to the criteria and take action when there is evidence of non-compliance.
- Consumers can support retailers and manufacturers which are committed to removing deforestation from their products, join social media campaigns to drive the industry in the right direction, and support conservation organisations who are working to break the link between palm oil and deforestation.
There is no denying that the rapid expansion of the palm oil industry over the last 30 years has had a catastrophic environmental and social impact across Southeast Asia, South America and Africa. Consumers all over the world have been horrified to learn about the destructive practices rife within the industry, and the orangutan has become an emblem for the clash between development and conservation.
Boycotting palm oil is a legitimate expression of consumers’ social and environmental concerns, but the question we urge individuals and businesses to ask themselves is:
Will this action help wildlife, forests and communities?
The problem with a blanket boycott is that it punishes indiscriminately. It removes the market for palm oil from those companies which are making genuine efforts and progress towards sustainability, as well as those which aren’t. And if we remove the market for sustainable palm oil, we also remove the incentive for companies to abide by the better management practices which reduce the footprint of the industry – in terms of impacts on wildlife, forests, climate and human rights.
A blanket boycott of palm oil could lead to the following unintentional consequences:
- More deforestation, not less
If the international market for palm oil disappears, palm oil companies and smallholder farmers alike could switch to producing an alternative crop. Oil palms are the most productive oil crop in the world, producing around 35% of global vegetable oil supplies on less than 10% of the total land under oil crops . A switch to another type of edible vegetable oil (such as soybean oil) would require up to nine times as much land to produce the same yield. This will increase natural habitat loss, species loss and other impacts.
- Increasing demand
A blanket boycott of palm oil could drive the price of palm oil down. This could increase demand, especially in markets which have less interest in sustainability. This reduces the incentive to produce environmentally sustainable palm oil.
All agriculture has an impact: bananas, beef, cane sugar, chocolate, coconuts, coffee, pineapples, soybeans, tea and vanilla are all produced in previously forested tropical areas.
With over 4.5 million people in Indonesia alone relying on the palm oil industry as their primary source of income, palm oil is here to stay. What we need to do is ensure that it is cultivated in the least damaging way possible. Oil palms do not need to be grown at the expense of forests and other sensitive natural habitats. Instead we need to break the link between development and the degradation of natural ecosystems.
The conservation organisations committed to driving the palm oil industry in the right direction, and support a move to sustainable palm oil and not a blanket boycott are:
Sumatran Orangutan Society
Orangutan Land Trust
Chester Zoo
WWF
Conservation International
World Land Trust
Jane Goodall Institute
Australia Borneo Futures
Yayasan Orangutan Sumatera Lestari
Global Canopy
Hutan KOCP
Borneo Nature Foundation
Earthworm Foundation
Zoological Society of London
Solidaridad
Orangutan Outreach
Global Environment Centre
Orangutan Veterinary Aid
Orangutan Conservancy
Danau Girang Field Centre
Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre
Borneo Wildlife Preservation
Save Orangutans Now
Twycross Zoo
Save the Rhino International
WildCats Conservation Alliance
Borneo Rhino Alliance
Save the Orangutan
Lincoln Park Zoo
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
San Diego Zoo
Global Conservation Medicine
Houston Zoo
Copenhagen Zoo
The Living Rainforest
Beauval Nature
Naples Zoo
Zoos Victoria
Association of Zoos and Aquariums
Woodland Park Zoo
British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums
Wild Planet Trust
Wildlife Reserves Singapore
Dartmoor Zoological Society
Taronga Conservation Society
Australia Wellington Zoo
Auckland Zoo
National Marine Aquarium
The Deep
Bristol Zoological Society
National Wildlife Federation
Forever Sabah
Land Empowerment Animals People (LEAP)
Marwell Wildlife
Yorkshire Wildlife Park
Crocodiles of the World
Indianapolis Zoo
Toronto Zoo
Paradise Wildlife Park/Zoological Society of Hertfordshire
The Big Cat Sanctuary
Orana Wildlife Park
Detroit Zoological Society
Lubee Bat Conservancy
Perth Zoo
Oregon Zoo
Wildlife Conservation Network
Jenkinson’s Aquarium
Oklahoma City Zoo
Zoos South Australia
Columbus Zoo
Orangutan Republik Foundation Seratu Aatai
Borneo Child Aid
PM Haze
Tulsa Zoo
Kansas City Zoo
Little Rock Zoo
Blank Park Zoo
Staten Island Zoo
Wild Welfare
Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium
Fondation Ensemble
Saint Louis Zoo
Ocean Conservation Trust
Malaysian Primatological Society
Aidenvironment Asia
Chicago Zoological Society / Brookfield Zoo Alameda
Wildlife Conservation Park
Amici della Terra Onlus International
Elephant Foundation
Great Plains Zoo
Zoo Knoxville
Santa Barbara Zoo
Verify Humanity
Audubon Nature Institute
Zoo New England