RSPO to Introduce Rule Prohibiting Oil Palm Plantation on Peatlands

In trying to implement sustainable palm oil, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) will require companies to stop establishing new oil palm plantations on peatlands, starting from November 2018. RSPO Chief Executive Officer Darrel Webber delivered the statement at the 16th Annual Roundtable Conference on Sustainable Palm Oil and  15th Annual General Assembly in Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia, Wednesday (14/11/2018). “The conference will be framed around the key elements of the recent RSPO Principles and Criteria (P&C) review such as halting deforestation, protecting peatlands, and strengthening human and labour rights, as well as developing an additional and separate standard specifically for independent smallholders, due for ratification in November 2019,” he said. According to RSPO Program Director Bilge Daldeniz, protecting peatlands was a point to include in the newest RSPO Principles and Criteria (P&C) 2018 which will be agreed on Thursday (15/11/2108). “We strengthen some requirements in new P&C, such as prohibition to open new oil palm plantation on peatlands starting from November 2019,” Bilge said. The prohibition will stop RSPO-certified independent smallholders and partner companies to open new plantation on peatlands. Were there’s a new one, the land owner is obliged to document and report to RSPO secretariat. RSPO will review on drainage at least five years before replanting. RSPO also reiterated its refusal to compromise with land burning with the exception of pest controlling. Land burning is allowed by government permission, only if all methods have been tried but have not worked to control pest. In this conference, the general assembly will gather to vote on some resolution, including revision of P&C which will become the new RSPO P&C 2018 if it is agreed. (Source: Antara)