Reports from the Technical Panels of the 2Nd Greenhouse Gas Working Group of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
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Reports from the Technical Panels of the 2nd Greenhouse Gas Working Group of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) Editors: Timothy J. Killeen Jeremy Goon Authors: Fahmuddin Agus, Petrus Gunarso, Nancy Harris, Arina P. Schrier-Uijl, Abdul Rashid Hj Ab. Malik, Ian E. Henson, Bambang Heru Sahardjo, Manjela Eko Hartoyo, Meine van Noordwijk, Kevin Brown, Michael Netzer, Timothy J. Killeen, Khali Aziz Hamzah, K.T. Joseph, M. Silvius, F. Parish, K.H. Lim, S. Rosediana, and Gusti Z. Anshari Cover design by: Digital Impressions Sdn. Bhd. Photo credits: Front cover: Bremen Yong, RSPO Dr. Asril Darussamin, RSPO MPOC Back cover: Bremen Yong, RSPO Available from: www.rspo.org or contact RSPO at [email protected] Disclaimer: The research papers contained in this publication are prepared for RSPO by members of the Greenhouse Gas Working Group 2 (GHG WG 2) established by the RSPO. Every effort has been taken to make this publication as complete and accurate as possible; nonetheless, there may be omissions or errors, both typographical and in content. Changes in circumstances over time may impact on the accuracy of the contents and the contents may become superseded. The RSPO, members of the second GHG Working Group and the authors disclaim any liability or responsibility or duty of care towards any person for loss or damage caused by any use or reliance on the information or content so contained in this publication. Published in November 2013 Acknowledgements The Editors and the RSPO Secretariat are grateful to the institutions that supported or otherwise contributed to the research, analysis and writing of these papers. The Executive Board of the RSPO commissioned the RSPO GHG Working Groups and provided the financial support for meetings and the research pursued by the three technical panels. The ProForest Consultancy Services facilitated meetings and their representatives, Ruth Nussbaum and Pavithra Ramani, provided valuable insight into the environmental, social and business aspects of the palm oil supply chain. The Department for International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom provided financial support for the Second GHG Working Group and the technical panels whose results are reported in this publication. The Peat Land Working Group, which was Co-Chaired by Faizal Parish and Rosediana Suharto, coordinated its meetings and generously contributed its findings as to the sources and dimensions of GHG from peat soils. We are indebted to the authors of the various studies for their contribution in time and knowledge, as well as by facilitating access to the physical and intellectual resources of their institutions, particularly the Indonesian Programme of the Tropenbos Foundation, the Indonesian Agency for Agricultural Research and Development, the World Agroforestry Centre, Winrock International, Wetlands International, Global Environment Centre, Conservation International and the World Wildlife Fund. We are extremely grateful to five individuals who provided diligent peer reviews that led to significant modifications of the studies, including in the assumptions and models that underlie the analyses, as well as in how the results were organized and graphically presented in order to better communication the results to our stakeholders. Finally, we thank Ian Henson for his editorial expertise and Melissa Chin for her abilities in completing the layout of the final publication. Table of Contents Overview ................................................................................................................................................ 1 Review of emission factors for assessment of CO2 emission from land use change to oil palm in Southeast Asia ........................................................................................................................................ 7 Oil palm and land use change in Indonesia, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea. .................................. 29 Historical CO2 emissions from land use and land cover change from the oil palm Industry in Indonesia, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea ........................................................................................ 65 CO2 emissions scenarios from land use and land cover change from the oil palm Industry in Indonesia, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea ....................................................................................... 89 Land use change in Malaysia .............................................................................................................. 113 Environmental and social impacts of oil palm cultivation on tropical peat – a scientific review ...... 131 Methods for determining greenhouse gas emissions and carbon stocks from oil palm plantations and their surroundings in tropical peatlands ..................................................................................... 169 Overview OVERVIEW Timothy J. Killeen1 and Jeremy Goon2 1World Wildlife Fund, 1250 24th St NW, Washington DC 20037 2Wilmar International, 56 Neil Road Singapore 088830 In November 2008, the RSPO Executive Board the GHG-WG2, this commissions organized its activities established a Green House Gas Working Group (GHG into six work streams, each of which focused on specific WG) that was charged with reviewing relevant tasks, an approach that separated the technical issues information on palm oil production and GHG emissions. from policy and market discussions (Box 1). This effort The GHG WG was convened to inform discussions succeeded in reaching the much sought after consensus within the RSPO as to the sources and dimensions of and the GHG WG2 made a series of recommendation to GHG emissions from the palm oil supply chain and the the RSPO Executive Board. These recommendations need to respond to text within the RSPO Principles and were forwarded to a P&C Task Force that was Criteria (P&C) that refer to GHG emissions.1 The GHG conducting the first technical review of the certification WG was charged to review the current criteria of the standard, which was originally approved in 2005. The P&C and make recommendations to the Executive Board P&C Task Force considered the recommendations, regarding options for reducing GHG emissions from the which called for producers to begin monitoring and palm oils supply chain. Special emphasis was placed on reporting their emissions, as well as to reduce emissions understanding GHG emissions from the development of from existing operations and future expansion of new new plantations, because these are widely considered to plantations (Table 1). be the greatest source of GHG emissions by the sector The ability to monitor emissions, as well as taking due to deforestation and other forms of land use change. actions to reduce them, is very much dependent on Similarly, documenting the dimensions of GHG having access to objective information that is both emissions from plantations on peat soils were accurate and precise. The first three work streams of the highlighted as important, because of recent scientific GHG WG2 were convened specifically to address the reports that those emissions were a major source of lack of objective information; as such, they constitute GHG emissions in both Indonesia and Malaysia. technical panels that provide information to the RSPO The participants of the GHG WG agreed on many community. The composition of the panels was issues, specifically the potential to reduce emissions by carefully considered and arrived at by consensus to improving efficiencies in the use of fossil fuels and ensure their technical and scientific competence, as well fertilizers, increasing the use of biomass energy, as a balanced perspective regarding the issues being avoiding biomass burning in the establishment of new evaluated. For example, the LCA Panel included experts plantations, and capturing methane emissions from from both the downstream and upstream sectors of the palm oil mill effluent treatment ponds (POME). The palm oil supply chain, including representatives from GHG-WG was not able to reach consensus, however, on corporations, academics and independent consultants, the dimensions of net GHG emissions from land-use while the Peat Land Working Group included both change or from operations of plantations on peat soils. ecologists and plantation managers. In the case of the Subsequently, the Executive Board of the RSPO Science Panel, all the participants had advanced degrees determined that it was necessary to convene a second in ecology, forestry, soil science or geography, and working group to complete the process. Referred to as included scientists from Southeast Asia, Europe and North America. 1 Principle 5: Environmental responsibility and conservation of natural resources and biodiversity Criterion 5.6 Plans to reduce pollution and emissions, including greenhouse gases, are developed, implemented and monitored. Reports from the Technical Panels of the 2nd Greenhouse Gas Working Group of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) 1 Timothy J. Killeen and Jeremy Goon Box. 1. The six work streams of the RSPO GHG WG 2. Work stream #1: A group of technicians skilled in Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) developed a framework and informatics tool to facilitate RSPO producer members seeking to measure, monitor and report GHG emissions within their operations, including palm oil mills, corporate estates and smallholder suppliers. Work stream #2: A multi-stakeholder commission composed of ecologists and plantation managers participating as the Peat Land Working Group reviewed current management