Photo by : Saharudin / Sawitfest 2021
Palmoilmagazine, JAKARTA - Indonesia has been implementing sustainable palm oil practice but it got popular since Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) scheme came up in 2004. Unfortunately, sustainable palm oil practice that RSPO initiated, was not in good response. It was assumed to immediately force sustainable practice and the responsibility is in upstream sector only.
Besides, sustainable palm oil plantations are not small industries by cultivating narrow areas. That is why it takes time and adaptation to implement it. It also spends much. The most important thing, it is not easy to make the same perception and thought between top management (of a company) and workers (in the field) to implement sustainable palm oil practices.
These became the factors for the planters. They might not trust RSPO. That is why Indonesia finally formulated its own sustainable scheme. In 2011 the Government of Indonesia published Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO). Though the scheme was similar with the previous scheme, the difference is that ISPO is the obligation and every planter and company should obey every regulation to develop palm oil plantations.
Prior ISPO implementation targeted that every palm oil plantation company – which might be 2000s companies – would get ISPO certificate. Unfortunately, it was out of target. Many were ahead to block. There are many overlapping policies which eventually crushed in the field.
Not only that, the policy based on Regulation of Minister of Agriculture was not too powerful to cover other instances which relate to palm oil plantation development in Indonesia. By the late of 2020, degree of ISPO was escalated to be President’s Regulation Number 4 / 2020 which was reinforced by Regulation of Minister of Agriculture Number 38 / 2020.
As a matter of fact, the regulation was not able to take planters to get ISPO certificate. According to palm oil roadmap (2019 – 2045), sustainable palm oil industries should be the main pillar to develop economy to welfare the people.
Then the government published President’s Instruction Number 6 / 2019 about Rencana Aksi Nasional Perkebunan Kelapa Sawit Berkelanjutan (RAN-KSB) or National Action Plan Sustainable Palm Oil, 2019 - 2024.
Actually, RAN KSB has five major works to develop sustainable palm oil plantations, they are, the first, reinforce data, coordination, and infrastructures.
The second, to increase capacity and capability of planters; the third, to conduct environmental supervision and cultivation; the fourth, to implement plantation governance and get conflict solution; and the fifth, to support acceleration to ISPO and market access to palm oil products.
The five components are described into 28 programs, 92 activity, and hoped to get 118 outcomes. The execution should be handled by 14 ministries/institutions, governors, mayors/regents in 26 provinces where palm oil plantations develop.
By the policy, it is hoped that sustainable palm oil practice could run well. Every issue to come can be having solution by involving ministries, regional agencies that involve in palm oil sector. (T2)
