Sustainable palm oil as a public responsibility? On the governance capacity of Indonesian Standard for Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO)

Abstract

own targets and solving palm-oil related problems, such as deforestation, biodiversity loss, greenhouse gas emissions, and social conflicts between big plantations and local communities. The main governance challenge regards combining a more authoritative implementation mechanism with a convincing balance between sustainability objectives and economic interests of the sector.

On yield gaps and better management practices in Indonesian smallholder oil palm plantations

“…Currently, about 20% of the global palm oil volume is RSPO certified, meaning that it is produced according to the RSPO sustainability guidelines (RSPO, 2013). Triggered by the influence of the RSPO, Indonesia and Malaysia created their own sustainability guidelines: the voluntary Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil standard (MPOCC, 2018), and the mandatory Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil certification scheme (Hidayat et al, 2018). Like the RSPO, these standards focus on legality, good agricultural practices, and some form of environmental sustainability.…”

Global sustainability agenda and institutional change

“…Nevertheless, compared to other private sustainability standards for palm oil, the ISPO is seen as deficient as it provides very little protection of human rights and community livelihoods (McInnes, 2017); has less ambitious goals, particularly related to forest conservation (Pirard et al, 2017); and has not yet developed its full potential because of weak authority of the implementing organisations, and lack of acceptance and reliability in the global market (Hidayat, Offermans, & Glasbergen, 2017). More criticism has emerged as there are none of the sustainability standards required for corporations to strengthen indigenous institutions; to encourage independent unions, or provide assistance for the independent smallholders to develop production on their own land autonomously.…”

“…Study has suggested that private and public initiatives need to diversify their implementation approach to accommodate the different types of smallholders (Hidayat et al, 2017).…”

“…The ISPO is believed to offer more latitude to palm oil plantations to increase production at the expense of forests and other high conservation areas (Hospes, 2014). There are also doubts that the ISPO will have more speedy results for enhancing sustainability in the palm oil sector as compared to the private initiatives (Hidayat et al, 2017).…”

“…In the case of regional haze, Indonesia's environmental protection laws have been criticized for being inadequate to solve the haze issue (Atkinson, 2014). Similarly, other studies found that it was difficult for the government to formulate strict regulations on the environmental impacts associated with palm oil plantation expansion (Hidayat et al, 2017). It was argued that Indonesia will not implement a far-reaching system of control for environmental protection until an environmental catastrophe stimulates public support in favour of sweeping changes to the system.…”