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Local community involvement key to success of sustainable palm oil
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(Courtesy of RSPO)
S
ustainable palm oil sounds great, doesn’t it? It will, for example, improve the livelihoods of smallholders and reduce the risk of land conversion, which potentially threatens wildlife, forests, and biodiversity.
The intriguing questions are: Who is responsible for the sustainable palm oil agenda? And how to make sustainable palm oil a real success?
Roundtable Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) Sr. Manager Global Community Outreach & Engagement Imam A. El Marzuq says local communities are “one of the most vital parts in the success of our journey towards sustainable palm oil.”
“Their proximity to palm oil plantations and knowledge of the local community allows them to be the voice on specific needs as well as the benefits their society can obtain from the development of sustainable palm oil.”
However, he acknowledges that sustainable palm oil is not such a familiar concept for society.
“This creates a challenge to make sure that all of our community stakeholders are on the same page and speaking the same language when it comes to access to knowledge, implementation strategies, and shared resources. The dissemination of knowledge among communities is an important function of the RSPO,” he says.
To support his statement, he says that more than 3 million smallholders and small-scale farmers make a living from palm oil globally.
“While their farmlands are small compared to industrial plantations, smallholders account for about 40 percent of total global palm oil production, making smallholders significant contributors towards a sustainable oil palm industry.”
“However, we have seen that these individuals often have inadequate information and knowledge on growing palm trees and selling oil, while their yields are also typically relatively low.”
“We need to ensure that communities have access to the resources they need to be successful. For example, independent advice and better documentation of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) procedures, to address potential land rights issues and help provide better protection of their rights are valuable resources we must share,” he remarks.
Imam identifies major and complex social challenges in the sector which need to be addressed. They include a lack of effective legal protection for the rights of workers, communities and indigenous peoples; a lack of land security for indigenous peoples and local communities, a lack of respecting community rights to lands and to FPIC; a lack of incentives for small producers and local communities to consider and apply environmental standards (climate, environmental services and biodiversity conservation).
The RSPO, according to Imam, believes that, regardless of the end product, oil palm should only be grown in a way that respects biodiversity, natural ecosystems, local communities, workers and avoids deforestation in palm oil producing countries.
“We need to hear the voice of our communities to make sure that we are recommending the appropriate action towards these goals and supporting those who are driving the change in ways that are useful. Without this, we run the risk of inaction and falling back to business as usual,” he opines.
This is why the level of involvement of communities in the sustainable palm oil journey must be constantly improved, he says.
He says further that communities who are engaged, transparent, and accountable will not only understand their position and rights but also how to better protect them.
When it comes to improving livelihoods, he says there is 35 percent and 89 percent higher profitability for certified schemes and independent smallholders respectively; while environmentally, RSPO certified sustainable palm oil has a 35 percent lower global warming impact and 20 percent lower biodiversity impact from land use changes.
“Furthermore, connected communities are able to make meaningful contributions to determining the values, principles, and indicators of multi-stakeholder-driven initiatives, so that their voice can be heard and their concerns addressed,” he says.
That’s why, he says, communities must first be educated on the fundamental principles of sustainable palm oil, the economic benefits it can bring to their communities, and what technologies or platforms are available to them.
“In addition to that, local community leaders must be watchful of when violations occur or when they witness negative impacts on their ecosystem as a result of the oil palm plantation.
“They must understand the proper channels to convey their grievances and seek remedy for problems. These platforms may include local governments, company-internal management, independent commission or state institutions, or the RSPO,” he says.
RSPO Principles and Criteria
In connecting communities to the sustainable oil palm journey, the RSPO outlines its roadmap for making sustainable palm oil the norm and including communities in the RSPO Theory of Change (TOC).
“This plan works on the pillars of Commitment (all stakeholders contributing to transform markets); Collaboration (recognizing the need to work together); and Accountability (mutual agreement for accountability, transparency, and active participation by all partners for results).
“Each pillar of action is mapped to direct outputs, such as increased adoption of the RSPO standards, greater transparency and inclusivity in the RSPO system, increased market uptake of sustainable palm oil, and an improved enabling environment.”
In addition, the RSPO commissioned an assessment in 2014 of its capacity to engage with communities impacted by oil palm development. “One of the strategic recommendations of this study was to establish a community outreach and engagement program through Intermediary Organisations (IMO) to support the provision of services. The ideal IMO would have strong skills & insights into rural natural resource development with established links to communities and NGO networks. This would allow the RSPO to reach out to a more diverse population.”
He discloses that the first pilot programme for community outreach (2016-2018) was implemented in Indonesia in collaboration with Lembaga Study & Advokasi Masyarakat (ELSAM).
“The geographical barriers in Indonesia can lead to a lack of discourse and access to information on sustainable palm oil for communities in remote areas. Often, geographical realities force organizations to prioritize certain areas for information and outreach.”
To widen its reach, the RSPO cooperates with ELSAM to disseminate information on sustainable palm oil and connect the RSPO with local communities, indigenous people, trade unions and other NGOs.
“We hold workshops with stakeholders as well as short training sessions on human rights and other palm oil issues in order to build as much capacity and knowledge as possible,” he says.
“Another key challenge in community building is the fact that sustainable palm oil governance involves a very complex group of decision makers on many levels, who may have different interests and levels of authority in defining sustainable palm oil standards. For supply chains of sustainable palm oil products that go beyond state jurisdiction and are subject to different prevailing laws, we see added complexity.”
“In these cases, the RSPO facilitates communication through the national interpretation of the RSPO Principles and Criteria, which can be referenced by the community in accordance with specific issues the community might be facing.
However, for this to be successful, there must be members of the community who have the capacity to understand the implementation of sustainable palm oil standards. “Capacity-building for the community in regards to conflict resolution skills is a challenge that will require additional investment in training and resources,” he says.
Meanwhile, ELSAM’s Deputy Director Andi Muttaqien says several efforts have been made by ELSAM to conduct short training sessions for the community. “These trainings have brought together indigenous people, NGOs, trade unions and academics across varied discussions.”
“The RSPO also has a remediation mechanism that has been developed to allow civil society organisations to seek remedy. We are working to make this mechanism more responsive by involving the affected communities to articulate their particular needs.”
“Our efforts to engage all stakeholders, particularly affected communities, around the implementation of the RSPO Principles and Criteria aims to help communities gain profit but with the understanding that business should also maintain harmony with the local community (peoples) and the ecological environment (planet) which support the long-term viability of the company.”
According to Imam, for solutions to be truly effective, they cannot be driven solely by one organization.
“The RPSO views itself as a convener and a resource provider that can bring together the best knowledge, local views and context for action. We are committed to leading the effort from the perspective of connecting communities and arming them with the best information and resources to tailor their approaches.
“That said, there is a shared responsibility for all our partners working in various regions to keep such collaborations going and make sure that we are being as inclusive as possible along all points of the supply chain.”
“As mentioned, the RSPO can offer its extensive archive of best practices, technology, and resources from our far-reaching international experience in ensuring the fundamental rights of landowners, local communities, plantation workers, smallholders as well as their families. Continuously monitoring the impact of the RSPO’s work and incorporating innovative technology to gather data is essential for the development of our standards.
“One example of a resource that we have made publicly available, in our commitment to transparency and accountability is our interactive map application GeoRSPO, which provides satellite information, along with the location of member concession areas within both RSPO certified and non-certified concessions in Malaysia and Indonesia. This allows our communities to actively monitor all detected fire hotspots,” he says.
Looking ahead, the RSPO will continue to increase smallholder inclusion through a simplified approach to certification. “We will build smallholders’ capacity through access to high-quality training and resources, and connect smallholders with potential project partners through our Smallholder Engagement Platform,” Imam says.
“Also drawing from our experiences in collaboration with local IMOs, the RSPO will continue to prepare for the second phase community outreach program for Indonesia.
“We will continue to work collaboratively with our vibrant ecosystem of communities to build initiatives and capacity to benefit every individual in the sustainable palm oil journey.”
