The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was established in 2004 with the objective of promoting the growth and use of sustainable oil palm products through credible global standards and engagement of stakeholders. The seat of the association is in Zurich, Switzerland, while the secretariat is currently based in Kuala Lumpur with a satellite office in Jakarta. RSPO currently has 3,659 members from 92 countries.
RSPO is an association under Swiss Law composed of various organizations from different sectors of the palm oil industry (oil palm producers, palm oil processors or traders, consumer goods manufacturers, retailers, banks and investors, environmental or nature conservation NGOs and social or developmental NGOs) for the purpose of developing and implementing global standards for sustainable palm oil.
RSPO is inspired by the idea of the "roundtable" in which all members have equal rights. There are different types of membership with different membership fees: Ordinary Member, Ordinary Member (small grower), Affiliate Member, and Supply Chain Associate. Affiliate Members and Supply Chain Associates do not have voting rights in the General Assembly but Ordinary Members, and Ordinary Members who qualify as small growers do. Affiliate Members include groups such as academic organizations or individual supporters while Supply Chain Associates are organizations dealing with less than a total of 500 metric tonnes of palm oil or palm oil derivatives per year.
The organization holds an annual meeting to bring together the various stakeholders to negotiate and discuss various issues affecting the industry.
Video Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil
Criticisms
The RSPO has been criticised by various sectors, especially the environmental NGOs. Issues include the impact of palm oil plantations on the orangutan population; destruction of tropical forest for the new oil palm plantations; the burning and draining of large tracts of peat swamp forest in Kalimantan, Indonesia. The fact that RSPO members are allowed to clear cut pristine forest areas, when there are large areas of Imperata grasslands (alang alang) available in Indonesia raises doubts about commitment to sustainability. In 2013, the 11th annual RSPO meeting was crashed by palm oil workers and others, and Indonesian and international labour-rights groups have documented a litany of abuses, including forced labour and child labour. A 2013 study uncovered "flagrant disregard for human rights at some of the very plantations the RSPO certifies as 'sustainable'".
World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
The WWF released in 2009 a Palm Oil Buyer's Scorecard. The website stated in 2010:
Clearing for oil palm plantations threatens some of the world's greatest forests, endangered species such as orangutans, and puts forest-dwelling people at risk. But with better management practices, the palm oil industry could provide benefits without threatening our some of our most breathtaking natural treasures...
Reaching those objectives requires a common language for industry, environmental and social groups to work together. Through the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), WWF has helped to establish a platform for these parties to collaborate towards the production of sustainable palm oil. Thanks to the RSPO, sustainable palm oil is now on the market. By applying stringent production criteria to all stages of palm oil manufacture, some companies are proving that oil palm plantations need not flourish at the expense of rainforests. But so much more remains to be done. Too many palm oil producers still ignore the destructive impacts of palm oil plantations, contributing to biodiversity loss and social unrest and more companies that buy palm oil need to switch to using certified sustainable palm oil in their products.
WWF continues to monitor the palm oil industry.
Maps Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil
Other Roundtable initiatives
Similar initiatives have been established for other sectors including: Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels, Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials, Roundtable on Sustainable Forests, Roundtable on Sustainable Development, Roundtable on Responsible Soy, and Roundtable for a Sustainable Cocoa Economy.
See also
- Bumitama Agri
- GreenPalm
- IOI Group
- Social and environmental impact of palm oil
- State of Sustainability Initiatives
- Sustainability standards and certification
- Sustainable biofuels
- Borneo peat swamp forests
References
External links
- Official website
- Palm Oil - Production, Consumption, Exports, and Imports Statistics by Country
- Are emission reductions from peatlands MRV-able?
- The impacts and opportunities of oil palm in Southeast Asia: What do we know and what do we need to know? (2009).
- FAQ: Palm oil, forests and climate change.
- What is the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil? | Visual.ly
- Profile : Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil.
Source of article : Wikipedia
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