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Several specific geographies where oil palm is expanding have been selected in seven countries, including Sumatra and East Kalimantan in Indonesia, Sabah in Malaysia, southeastern Nigeria, the Cameroonian oil palm belt in southwestern Cameroon, the northeast of Para State in Brazil, San Martin and Ucayali in Peru, and oil palm provinces in Colombia in three zones (north, central and east), as seen in Figure 1.

A significant expansion of oil palm has taken place in the landscapes of Indonesia and Malaysia, which has been driven by large-scale plantations but with growing involvement of smallholders over time. While oil palm is traditionally part of the agricultural systems of smallholders in the landscapes in Nigeria and Cameroon, oil palm plantations are expanding and are increasingly driven by local elites and the arrival of foreign large-scale investors. Oil palm plantations are relatively well-developed in Colombia, with larger expansion in the Llanos Orientales, which is driven by medium-scale domestic investors, yet alliances with smallholders are becoming more important. In Peru, smallholder cooperatives constitute important actors in oil palm expansion along with a few industrial groups. In Brazil, oil palm expands due to a few large- and medium-scale companies, and the integration of smallholders in the business is still slow.