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.
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is an industry body formed in 2004 with a mission to reassure consumers that palm oil bearing its certificate of approval is free from links with primary forest destruction, damage to endangered species’ habitats or abuses of the rights of indigenous peoples and communities
In the remote and supposedly protected park in Kalimantan, we found previously pristine rainforest in a state of violent chaos, effectively under siege from logging gangs targeting valuable ramin trees, despite the fact that it was vital habitat for endangered orangutans