Producing Environmentally Friendly Palm Oil

The Indonesian Palm Oil Pledge (IPOP) should offer the government a way to encourage large companies to abide by standards they agreed to apply. Moreover, the IPOP can be used to encourage other farmers to follow sustainable agriculture practices. Without these steps, the palm oil industry's efforts to become environmentally friendly will remain just an empty slogan.

The government, through the agriculture ministry, already issued its guidelines for Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) in March 2011. Nevertheless, several European countries and the United States are still unwilling to accept Indonesian palm oil products even though they are certified to comply with ISPO. These countries consider the certification, which it was hoped would reduce the rate of deforestation, has no value as a strict standard.

May 10, 2016