UNDP and Ministry
of Agriculture launch Indonesia Sustainable Palm Oil (SPO) Initiative
20 December 2012
Jakarta , In order to facilitate sustainable palm oil production in
Indonesia, the Ministry of Agriculture, United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) and several multinational corporations have partnered to develop the
Sustainable Palm Oil (SPO) Initiative. This initiative will help Indonesia
break new ground in terms of building a greener economy that promotes growth,
equity and livelihood. Indonesia is one of the world’s largest producers of
palm oil.
While the palm oil industry has contributed substantially to job
creation and the growth of Indonesia’s economy, there are concerns that, if not
properly managed, it can also lead to environmental hazards such as
deforestation, loss of biodiversity and rising greenhouse gas emissions.
Furthermore, small-scale palm oil farmers often lack the capacity, knowledge
and resources to adopt sustainable production practices and gain meaningful
livelihoods. .
The SPO initiative aims to support the sustainable production
and use of palm oil while minimising adverse environmental and social impacts.
It also seeks to improve the capacity of small farmers to produce sustainable
palm oil, and will promote the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil System (ISPO) in
the international community. ISPO is a mandatory national sustainable palm oil
certification scheme managed by the Ministry of Agriculture. .
This first National Palm Oil Platform meeting will serve as a
starting point for a series of discussions among stakeholders within the SPO
Initiative. The Platform aims to bring together public, private and other palm
oil stakeholders in a bid to strengthen partnerships, build synergies and
create greater transparency. Discussions at the Platform will be brought to the
Ministry of Agriculture to facilitate further development of the Indonesian
palm oil industry. The first meeting will present and review the objectives,
proposed activities and organizational arrangements for the SPO initiative. .
The establishment of SPO is in line with UNDP’s mission to help
countries such as Indonesia find ways to ensure that economic growth becomes
sustainable and empowers the poor and the marginalized population. SPO is also
a window of opportunity to create a more socially-responsible palm oil
industry. .
A. Objective of SPO InitiativeThe Ministry of Agriculture and
UNDP will work together on the SPO initiative to increase smallholder capacity
and improve livelihoods, better protect the environment and reduce GHG
emissions. .
B. SPO Initiative strategic components: .
·
Strengthen ISPO
smallholder certification process focussing on good agriculture practices and
environment protection;
·
Strengthen ISPO
standards to protect forests, enhance biodiversity conservation, and mitigate
and monitor greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions;
·
Facilitate social
responsibility, empowering related communities and mediation systems;
·
Reinforce the ISPO
framework and clarify ISPO standards for wider acceptance; and
·
Establish national and
provincial platforms to ensure transparency in support of the SPO initiative to
promote sustainable palm oil.
D. SPO will be coordinated with key stakeholders such as
Ministry of Forestry, Ministry of Environment, BAPPENAS, UKP4, REDD+ Agency,
Ministry of Cooperation and SMEs, National Land Agency, Ministry of Trade,
National Standardization Agency, provincial and district governments, the
private sector, smallholders, relevant palm oil associations, CSOs and NGOs.
E. The SPO Initiative, through the platform mechanism, will
recommend to the Ministry of Agriculture rules and regulations to be included
or withdrawn from ISPO criteria. Decisions to add or amend regulations will be
taken after consideration by the ISPO Commission.
SPO is a five-year project working at the national level and
also in three pilot provinces (Riau, South Sumatra, and West Kalimantan).
Collaboration between the private sector and other related schemes such as RSPO
and NGO projects will be pursued.
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