Reports

The 20th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP20) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) will take place from 23 November and 5 December in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. EIA will be actively engaging at CoP20 on a range of key issues relating to the protection of elephants, rhinos, Asian big cats, pangolins and vaquita porpoises, in addition to broader compliance and enforcement issues.

A report by EIA and our Indonesian partner Kaoem Telapak which documents alleged deforestation, corruption and human rights violations in Indonesia’s  palm oil sector by companies which are linked via the involvement of members of the Fangiono family.

In this briefing we examine the extent to which the RSPO standard ensures legality, traceability and deforestation free palm oil. At first glance it may look as if the RSPO standard largely ensures palm oil is deforestation-free, legal and traceable. In reality, the system is complicated and many caveats and loopholes allow companies to bypass and bend the rules.

Tracking the overall trade in oil palm is complex due to its many derivatives, products and uses. Many of the trade codes used at an international level are not specific to oil palm and multiple codes can be used for similar products, making trade opaque.

By tackling its own consumption and by developing strong international multi-stakeholder partnerships, the UK has a critical opportunity to lead by example in global environmental governance.

In 2021, the UK Government passed the Environment Act, under which businesses will be required to establish and implement a due diligence system to ensure the forest-risk commodities they use are legal.