In 2020, acknowledging the need to reform its current system for managing palm oil, the Government of Indonesia ratified new regulations on the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) certification scheme, widely known as the ‘new ISPO’.
Here we analyse Indonesia’s key policies related to palm oil sustainability and deregulation, including the potential impacts of the newly passed UUCK.
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is one of the world’s most well-known certification schemes. Its environmental and social standards are often ranked highly and yet it continues to face criticism, eroding trust in its brand.
Analysis by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and Indonesian partners Kaoem Telapak reveals Indonesia is not set to fundamentally improve its palm oil standards.
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.
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.