RSPO GRANTED LEGAL CONSENT TO PUBLISH PALM OIL CONCESSION OF ITS INDONESIAN MEMBERS

Update on the implementation of RSPO GA10 Resolution 6g
 

May 3, 2016. Access to information is paramount to ensure transparency, openness, and effective public participation, which are key elements of an industry that wants to redefine itself to become sustainable.

Due to the lack of a single official public source of data on oil palm concession maps, it is currently impossible to adequately and publicly verify claims such as those related to fires in RSPO oil palm plantations. For this reason, the RSPO General assembly (GA10) had voted in favour of Resolution 6g (TRANSPARENCY IN PLANTATION CONCESSION BOUNDARIES) asking for publication of all RSPO Grower Members’ concession boundaries.

Since the date of the vote, the RSPO Secretariat has sought legal advice and undergone a process of extensive discussions with the key stakeholders, to deliver on the resolution. As part of this process, the RSPO had sought clarification to the Indonesian Ministry of State Secretary, who had referred the matter to the Indonesian Ministry of Agrarian and Spatial Planning/National Land Agency, which in turn responded to the RSPO with a letter on 4th April 2016. The letter, signed by Minister of Agrarian and Spatial Planning/Head of National Land Agency, confirms that the publication of concession map does not constitute a breach of the Indonesian law.

The letter represents the confirmation from the Indonesian authorities that RSPO’s intentions do not violate the Indonesian law and regulations, and therefore, the RSPO will now proceed in its effort to collect and publish the palm oil concession map of its palm oil growers in Indonesia.

This new turn in the discussions brings RSPO closer to the target of making its Indonesian members’ concessions public by the second quarter of 2016, as previously announced by the RSPO. We praise the efforts of the Indonesian Government and our Indonesian Members in moving the industry toward unprecedented levels of transparency. We look forward to working with our Indonesian members on this and we trust this positive move will lead the way towards enhanced transparency also in other producing countries.