The palm oil industry has penetrated Kalimantan since the 1980s and its expansion has continued to this day. as in various regions in Indonesia, the Kalimantan palm oil industry is not free from various problems of practices that are not environmentally friendly, prone to land grabbing, violations of rights, both to workers and surrounding communities, and social and cultural changes. Urgent fundamental changes or reforms in oil palm plantation management have emerged, both in terms of law enforcement, as well as the establishment of more stringent new laws.
The Indonesian Government’s policy regarding the sustainability and improvement of oil palm governance began with the initiation of the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) in 2011. The ISPO revision took place in 2015, at which time a number of reports and research revealed the Indonesian oil palm industry supply chain that was not resolved environmental issues, so that various parties ask Indonesia as the largest producer of Crude Palm Oil (CPO) to pay special attention to ecological aspects. Since the adoption of ISPO as of March 2011 to February 2016, there have been 225 ISPO certificates that have been awarded, with an coverage of 1.4 million ha area (the status is still the same as of February 2017), and certified CPO reaches 5.9 million tons per year. Issuance of ISPO certification increased significantly in the span of 2 years, February 2016 – 2017, which is 290% of the average percentage of ISPO certificate issuance per year since 2011.
In response, the Kalimantan Region Civil Society Group issued a Position Paper entitled “The Certification System Is Not Just a Sustainable Palm Label”.
Position paper can be downloaded on the following link: Kertas Posisi Kelompok Masyarakat Sipil Region Kalimantan
