JAKARTA – All palm oil stakeholders have warmly welcomed the implementation of sustainability principles in Indonesia. The Indonesian Growers Caucus (IGC) Deputy Chairman Fadhil Hasan said that the New Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) as stipulated in the presidential regulation (Perpres) No.44/2020 has proven that Indonesia is serious in ensuring the legality, sustainability, and transparency of the Indonesian palm oil industry.
The certification of New ISPO is mandatory, not only for oil palm plantation companies, but also for all smallholders under all schemes. “The realization of sustainable palm oil is also supported with the policy of the sustainable palm oil action plan (RAN-KSB), which stipulates four main points.
First, support the development of basic data of oil palm plantations to further improve the governance of palm oil.
Second, increase awareness through socializations among growers and stakeholders at the levels of provinces and regencies/mayoralties.
Third, increase coordination among government institutions related to the palm oil industry.
Fourth, support law enforcement in the palm oil industry.
“The Indonesian government has banned the opening of peat lands for new developments of oil palm plantations. It is part of the moratorium policy that has been implemented since 2011, and even extended by President Joko Widodo in 2017. Then it has been made as a permanent policy,” said Fadhil as quoted from InfoSAWIT.
Fadhil noted that the palm oil industrial players have also followed a variety of certifications in the palm oil sector. “For example, most of oil palm plantations in Indonesia apply the certification scheme of Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO),” he said.
A number of palm oil companies that produce or supply the raw material of biodiesel have also followed the scheme of International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC). In addition to that, many of the palm oil industrial players have also joined and started discussing about the High Carbon Stock (HCS) and the High Conservation Value (HCV).
“They are also strongly committed to implementing the policy of no deforestation, no peat land, and no exploitation (NDPE),” said Fadhil.
He pointed out that the palm oil players’ hard work was reflected by the decrease of deforestation rate in Indonesia up to 75 percent. “The sustainable production of palm oil has started to become a prevailing norm, along with the implementation of the replanting programs of smallholders’ plantations, which comply with the principles of sustainability,” he concluded. (*)
Source: wartaekonomi.co.id | Featured image via indonesia-investments.com
