Palm Oil Policy
Author: Natasha Jane Coutts BBioSc. (Advanced)
The expansion of oil palm plantations has been identified as a major
proponent of deforestation and loss of biodiversity in palm oil producing
regions.1 During the period 1990-2005, 56% and 55-59% of oil palm
plantation expansion in the two prominent production regions, Indonesia and
Malaysia, respectively, was at the detriment of natural forest landscapes.2
The tropical forests of these regions are recognised as biodiversity hotspots:
complex ecosystems that support many endemic animal and plant species,
some of which are listed by The IUCN Red List as being critically endangered,
e.g. Sumatran orang-utan, Sumatran tiger, Sumatran rhinoceros and
Sumatran elephant.3 Much of the landscape of the production regions also
consists of peatlands: areas that act as carbon sinks due to waterlogged soils
that prevent the complete decomposition of organic matter. 4 When disturbed,
peatlands release those carbon stores in to the atmosphere in the form of
greenhouse gas. 4 Deforestation further exacerbates this issue, as the natural
vegetation is replaced with oil palm trees that have been shown to be far less
efficient at carbon sequestration.1
In addition to these environmental issues, negative social impacts also
abound. An extensive number of documented accounts exist, which detail the
displacement of local and indigenous peoples that, until the expansion of the
oil palm industry, had subsisted for generations within the forest areas.5 Land
acquisition has often been under illegal and misleading pretences, resulting in
lengthy land rights disputes between the indigenous peoples and the
production companies.6 Plantation workers have been subjected to suboptimal working conditions and wages, both of which contribute to the
relatively high staff turnover rates and low staff morale observed within the
industry. 7
Coupling the aforementioned environmental and social issues plaguing the
palm oil industry, it is clear to see why concerned NGOs and public
consumers have insisted that an industry-wide reform, geared toward
developing more sustainable practices, must be instigated. And thus the
Round Table for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was born. Initiated in 2004, the
RSPO is a multi-stakeholder organisation with members representative of
each sector of the palm oil industry, namely growers, producers, processors,
traders, consumer goods manufacturers, retailers, banks and investors, as
well as environmental and social NGOs and individuals associated with the
industry.8
At present, there are more than 1300 RSPO members who account for one
third of the processors, one third of consumer goods manufacturers and 17%
of producers globally.7, 9 Through consensus, members have developed eight
key principles and criteria fundamental to achieving a transparent, legally
compliant, economically viable, environmentally appropriate and socially
beneficial industry.10 By adhering to these stringent principles and criteria,
palm oil growers and producers are able to demonstrate their commitment to
creating a sustainable industry and become RSPO certified in return.
RSPO certified plantations cover an area greater than 1.7 million hectares
and the certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO) they produce accounts for
approximately 14% of all crude palm oil produced world-wide.11, 12 While this
is only a small proportion of the global palm oil market, it is evidence of
multiple organisations recognising their environmental and social
responsibilities and responding to consumer pressure. Many leading retailers,
including Walmart, Nestle, The Body Shop, Woolworths and Coles, have
committed to using only CSPO in their products by 2015.13
As public awareness about the negative environmental and social impacts
generated by the palm oil industry increases, so too will this trend for retailers
to replace conventional palm oil with CSPO in their products as a result of
consumer pressure.
As a constituent in a variety of common food and household items, as well as
being a popular cooking oil in some of the world’s most populous regions, e.g.
China, India and Indonesia, the demand for palm oil will continue to grow,
coinciding with an increasing human population. It has been estimated that by
2050 agricultural crop yields will need to increase by 70% to sufficiently
nourish the global population.14
Oil palm yields are typically seven to ten times larger per hectare than other
major oil crops, making it the most economical option available.15 While room
still exists for future growth, arable land in South East Asia is becoming
progressively scarce.16 This has caused oil palm developers to seek out
alternative regions to expand their enterprises. Central Africa, more
specifically the Congo Basin, has been identified as a decidedly viable
location by many palm oil development organisations.
The Congo Basin encompasses five different countries, Cameroon, Gabon,
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Central African Republic (CAR) and
Republic of Congo, and is covered by the world’s second largest contiguous
tropical forest. Many threatened species inhabit this forest, including each of
Africa’s extant great apes- gorillas, chimpanzees and bonobos. Approximately
two-thirds of the total forest area has a climate and soil conducive to oil palm
propagation.1, 17
Multiple small-scale oil palm plantations are already in operation within this
region and, until recently, have seen little to no growth since their initial
colonial-era inception.17 However, since 2010, many oil palm production
companies already operating in South East Asia have planned, or in some
cases already begun, the development and expansion of industrial-scale
plantations that will increase the total production area by five times its current
size over the entire Congo Basin region. 17
Disturbingly, many of the questionable practices observed in the South East
Asian plantations prior to the inception of the RSPO have been reported to be
occurring in the Congo Basin, including a lack of transparency regarding the
agreement terms between developers and governments, documents outlining
development details not being made publicly available and an absence of
records detailing local communities’ land rights and potential important natural
resources.17 However, despite this situation seeming increasingly dire, many
of the mistakes made in the South East Asian region can be avoided in these
new Central African developments by implementing the RSPO’s principles
and criteria for sustainability.
By supporting the RSPO, the Jane Goodall Institute Australia is supporting
their vision to transform the entire oil palm market in to one where CSPO is
the norm. We support the initiative taken by those companies that have
committed to employing sustainable practices and that strive for continuous
improvement, and urge all other organisations within the entire palm oil supply
chain to do the same.
We acknowledge that, while many environmental and social concerns remain
unresolved, the RSPO principles and criteria are a work in progress, and as
such, will continue to be developed until an industry-wide adoption of best
management practices occurs and a uniform level of sustainability is
achieved. It is our hope that consumers will too embrace the ideal of a
sustainable palm oil industry, and will use their influence as a buyer to
persuade retailers to commit to sourcing only CSPO for their products.
In addition to the standards and practices employed by the RSPO, the Jane
Goodall Institute Australia also supports the initiatives taken by
governments, independent NGOs and concerned members of the public to
incite positive change within the palm oil industry. This includes the
introduction of government policies and laws that prevent the replacement of
primary forest with oil palm plantations, and where these policies already
exist, the improvement of enforcement measures. We also encourage the
work of NGOs who aim to educate the public on the devastatingly negative
impacts that the palm oil industry is causing in the producing regions, and
their ability to create change through consumer purchasing power. The Jane
Goodall Institute Australia believes that supporting the efforts of both the
industry-based RSPO and the non-affiliated organisations/individuals is the
most effective way to promote positive changes within the palm oil industry.
Literature Cited
1
Fitzherbert, E. B., Struebig, M. J., Morel, A., Danielsen, F., Bruhl, C. A.,
Donald, P. F. and Phalan, B. (2008). How will oil palm expansion affect
biodiversity? Cell, 23 (10), 538-545.
2
Koh, L. P. and Wilcove, D. S. (2008). Is palm oil agriculture really
destroying tropical diversity? Conservation letters. 1, 60-64.
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. (2013). Retrieved November
15, 2013.
http://www.iucnredlist.org
3
4
5
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6
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landeng.pdf
7
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8
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9
2/Summary
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http://www.rt11.rspo.org
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(2013b). Principles and criteria for production of sustainable
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11 RSPO.
(2013). CSPO Market performance (Feb 2013). Retrieved
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(2012). Milestones. Retrieved November 15, 2013.
http://www.rspo.org/en/milestones
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http://www.rspo.org/files/pdf/Factsheet-RSPO-AboutPalmOil.pdf
16
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17 The
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