Oil palm is highly suited to cultivation in the ecological and climatic conditions of the tropics and its cultivation in South America has expanded steadily over the last three decades. The area under cultivation has shown a marked increase in its rate of growth during the last decade. Palm oil has been the second-largest global driver of deforestation in the tropics, and its expansion in the Amazon has been accompanied by widespread concern that land-use practices that characterise the industry globally will be replicated there.

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