Sustainable Palm Oil Certification Has No Detectable Impacts on Plantation Production Efficiency in Malaysia

Zachlod et al. 1 analysed satellite data from Malaysian oil palm plantations and concluded that Roundtable Table on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certification reduces plantation efficiency by lowering canopy coverage. Our reanalysis of 93,987 ha shows that their methods and interpretation are fundamentally flawed, primarily because the study does not account for routine replanting, which caused temporary canopy loss in 32.7% of certified areas between 2018 and 2023. Using validated remote sensing methods and cross-verified timelines, we found no significant decline in oil palm coverage and no evidence of reduced oil palm coverage in certified plantations. Given the risk of policy misinterpretation we call for more rigorous, transparent, and context-aware evaluations of sustainability outcomes in plantation systems.