         
The final day of the event saw a keynote address by the Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities, YB Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui. Here is where I highlight the progress the RSPO has made compared to the relatively small engagement with government to date. After two, what I would characterise, as rather productive days of discussion between the various sectors present, the speech by the Minister was a bit of a non sequitur. He began his speech by decrying the focus on palm oil as the only commodity undergoing such scrutiny, drawing the conclusion that Malaysia and Indonesia were being unfairly targeted by this environmental NGO propaganda. This assertion after several speeches had been made in previous days about the real example that the palm oil industry was making to the other commodities and the RSPO's role as standard setter for commodity markets of the future. He did echo, though probably not on purpose, the concern of many speakers that smallholder producers of palm oil were going to be negatively affected by certification unless requirements were either relaxed or costs significantly reduced so they could remain engaged. The Minister lamented the dominance of the RSPO and the 'giants' among the palm oil producers as the only two places smallholders could turn to for support. He also forthrightly stated that environmental NGOs should "always" play a constructive role in the process for certifying sustainable palm oil and should only expect "realistic" best management practices (BMPs). I can tell you the applause was anything but jubilant. But as a few commented afterwards, the position communicated by the Minister seemed to be more of a result of lack of awareness of how engaged the industry has been thus far and, dare I say it again, the progress that this multi-stakeholder process has made. Though whether the government will ever be appeased by the tempered criticism by social and environmental NGOs who are still waiting to see the changes being implemented on the ground, but overall claim to support the efforts being made by the RSPO. Most governments around the world have accepted that they will always in part be criticised as the non-governmental sector is rife with different perspectives and priorities that will never all be satisfied simultaneously. What was admirable, was the RSPOs efforts to provide a space for as many of these perspectives as possible during the 2 1/2 days of the Roundtable. As RSPO President Jan-Kees Vis stated again and again, this process is voluntary and can only demand best practice from its members. Groups such as Greenpeace or Borneo Orangutan Society (BOS), who were on a panel on promoting sustainable palm oil, would wish to see the worst practices done away with and until then images of forests burning, indigenous peoples being marginalised from their former lands and the charismatic Bornean and Sumatran species losing more and more habitat will remain in the media. I don't believe this was meant as a threat, just as a challenge to the RSPO and perhaps the industry to really police itself. What seemed obvious at the end of this meeting was that the RSPO was not and did not expect to be the solver of all problems social and environmental in the Southeast Asian region. Instead it could offer a positive alternative and hopefully a premium price for certified palm oil. What was not discussed more seriously was the growing food demand for India and China, let alone any significant use of palm oil for biofuels. To date, there is no principle requiring an account of greenhouse gas emissions from palm oil production, although a proposal has been made for a working group on greenhouse gas emissons primarily concerned with the issue of peat cultivation and the current uncertainty on rates of carbon emissions from draining these areas? I will leave it at that! Do post any reactions or questions you might have! Blog post by amorel on Nov. 26, 2007 at 3:02 p.m.
Bookmark to: |
