Mapping oil palm-related land use change in Guatemala, 2003–2019: Implications for food security

The Guatemalan oil palm industry has had a contentious history marred with violent evictions, environmental damage, employment abuses, and ongoing poverty in producer regions. Previous studies have observed detrimental effects of the oil palm industry on food production and access, which has exacerbated food insecurity and spurred land conflicts with peasant communities. However, few have characterized and quantified the region-specific oil palm expansion over time. This study illustrates the geographic pattern of oil palm development in different parts of Guatemala and calculates the associated reduction in other types of land uses, with special focus on basic grain production, forests, and fallow land, which are key components of traditional food systems. It is found that in the northern provinces of Petén and Quiché, 36% and 63% of oil palm expansion occurred over former basic grain farmland, while 16% and 22% displaced fallow land, and 17% and 12% displaced tropical forests, just between 2010 and 2019. In the same decade, over 1500 ha of forest and about 2800 ha of basic grain farmland were converted to oil palm in Alta Verapaz. Significant, though less prominent, loss of forest and basic grain production was also detected in Izabal and along the country’s southern coast. It is concluded that oil palm has compromised local food systems in many poor rural regions where many households rely on locally produced and/or self-provisioned food. Continued uncontrolled oil palm expansion poses a threat to food security in producer regions, especially in the absence of strong social and environmental protections and enforcement of employment safety, equity, and fair pay.