As the world approaches 2020 targets to halt deforestation, the RSPO needs to rapidly implement radical solutions to restore its credibility. We question whether the RSPO is willing and able to rectify its systemic failures – ultimately, voluntary certification is too limited by its voluntary nature.
Ahead of the 18th Conference of the Parties (CoP18) of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), EIA has prepared comments and recommendations on listing proposals and working documents (as available at the time of writing)
Findings in our report Promises in Practice indicate that although deforestation rates in Indonesia’s Papua and West Papua provinces have fallen to approximately half of what would be anticipated under business-as-usual, deforestation is still happening.
Our latest joint report with the Independent Forest Monitoring Network in Indonesia (aka JPIK) reveals systematic and extensive encroachment into forests as well as illegal logging in Sebangau National Park
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is currently revising the standards it requires oil palm growers to meet to be certified as “sustainable”
To meet its pledge to halt deforestation, the European Union needs to act to reduce the deforestation footprint of the commodities it imports, including palm oil. Existing methods to alleviate the impacts of palm oil, have failed to stop deforestation sufficiently to qualify as ‘sustainability’