Promises in Practice

Promises in Practice

Promises in Practice The Limited Reliability of Voluntary “No Deforestation” Commitments in Papua’s Palm Oil Plantations Forests ©EIAimage CONTENTS ABOUT EIA EIA UK Executive summary 4 62-63 Upper Street, We investigate would like and to campaign thank against ABOUT EIA EIA UK London N1 0NY UK EIA’s Papua Palm Oil project 5 environmental crime and abuse. 62-63 Upper Street, Ximporae. Ut aut fugitis resti ut atia WeT: investigate+44 (0) 20 7354 and campaign7960 against London N1 0NY UK Ournobit undercover ium alici bla investigations cone consequam environmentalE: [email protected] crime and abuse. - Aims of the project 5 T: +44 (0) 20 7354 7960 exposecus aci oditaquatestransnational dolorem wildlife volla crime, eia-international.org Our undercover investigations E: [email protected] withvendam, a focus consequo on elephants, molor sin pangolins net - Methodology 6 expose transnational wildlife crime, eia-international.org andfugitatur, tigers, qui and int forest que nihic crimes tem such as with a focus on elephants and illegalasped queilogging oditaquates and deforestation dolorem for The “NDPE effect” in Papua 8 tigers, and forest crimes such as cashvolla vendam,crops like conseqci palm oil. oditaquates We work to EIA US illegal logging and deforestation for safeguarddolorem volla global vendam, marine consequo ecosystems PO Box 53343 - Deforestation down but not done 8 cash crops like palm oil. We work to bymolor addressing sin net fugitatur, the threats qui posed int que Washington DC 20009 USA safeguard global marine ecosystems bynihic plastic tem aspedpollution, quei bycatch oditaquates and T: +1 202 483 6621 - Social exploitation still widespread, notably on land rights 10 by addressing the threats posed commercialdolorem volla exploitation vendam, consuo of whales, molor E: [email protected] by plastic pollution, bycatch dolphinssin net fugitatur, and porpoises. qui int que Finally, nihic eia-global.org - Certification’s limited assurance 11 and commercial exploitation of wetem reduce asped quethe impactn nes ape of climateverrovid whales, dolphins and porpoises. changemaximolorera by campaigning doles magni to teteliminate ea Environmental Investigation Agency - Factors limiting NDPE implementation 12 Finally,Environmental we reduce Investigation the impact ofAgency powerfulvoluptas enis refrigerant as de evel greenhouse ipsam (UK) Ltd. Company Number: 7752350 climateUK. Company change Number: by campaigning 7752350 VAT gases,dolendit, exposing voluptam related endusci illicit psunto trade VAT Number: 440569842. Registered Summary and conclusions 15 toNumber: eliminate 440569842. powerful Registeredrefrigerant in andquibusandit, improving sitaque energy enture efficiency in in England and Wales greenhouseEngland and gases, Wales exposing related the cooling sector. Recommendations 16 illicit trade and improving energy efficiency in the cooling sector. References 17 2 Environmental Investigation Agency Promises in Practice 3 EIA’s Papua Palm Oil Project Aims of the Project Recognising the significant social, environmental Acknowledging the promise of NDPE policies to rapidly and climatic impacts of relentless deforestation, halt deforestation, EIA began in 2015 a project aiming to governments and companies worldwide have both help companies implement them and, importantly, increasingly committed to achieve zero-deforestation. measure the reliability of such voluntary policies in eliminating deforestation and social exploitation on the Notably, since 2013 numerous major palm oil ground. companies have developed ’no deforestation, no peat, no exploitation‘ policies (see NDPE box) and pledged to EIA’s project focused on Papua and West Papua transform production of the crop. provinces in Indonesia (hereafter “Papua”), the country’s last forest frontier (see Papua box) where significant These pledges were cheered by the global community expansion of palm oil plantations was expected to and followed by a range of high-level international dramatically increase deforestation. political commitments to eliminate deforestation1 and increased calls for regulation in major consumer markets in support of these aims, notably in the EU.2 No Deforestation, No Peat and No Exploitation (NDPE) policies NDPE policies emerged in response to the failure of For example, methods to identify HCS areas differ. palm oil “sustainability certification” to adequately stop Companies are increasingly adopting the HCS environmental and social abuses and to pressure from Approach (HCSA), a well-accepted methodology for non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the market achieving no deforestation which integrates HCV and politicians globally to halt deforestation. and FPIC, although others use differing weaker HCS standards. Unlike high-level political commitments on ©EIAimage deforestation, NDPE policies involve more detailed, The HCSA has already produced an indicative HCS comprehensive commitments going beyond the forests map for requirements of law or certification schemes. Papua and completed multiple HCSA Executive summary ‘No deforestation’ is typically realised through assessments in Papua, protecting High Conservation Value (HCV) and High showing there is Carbon Stock (HCS) areas; ‘no peat’ through avoiding room to develop some Unrelenting deforestation and human right abuses in palm oil production have provoked international outrage. planting on peat of any depth; and ‘no exploitation’ concessions without through protecting human rights, workers’ rights and Governments and producers alike have pledged to halt deforestation. Since 2013, major palm oil companies have sacrificing forests or the rights of local communities and indigenous peoples, increasingly adopted ambitious ‘no deforestation, no peat, no exploitation’ (NDPE) policies to make palm oil more peat. including to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC). sustainable. Going beyond legal or certification requirements and hailed as holding much promise, these have so Traceability is a key element of such policies because The Roundtable on far fallen short of expectations. conformity to NDPE is unverifiable without it. Sustainable Palm To test the reliability of NDPE policies, the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) monitored their impact on Oil (RSPO) recently NDPE therefore refers to voluntary corporate palm oil plantations in Papua and West Papua provinces (Papua) – Indonesia’s last forest frontier – not least their adopted the HCSA – sustainability policies including these commitments. ability to facilitate the halting of deforestation by 2020, one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. reflecting consensus NDPE policy adoption has rapidly spread across the on the strengths of These NDPE policies have, roughly, halved the extent of deforestation for oil palm in Papua anticipated under supply chain – from traders and processors to growers, this approach and the a business-as-usual scenario but have not stopped it altogether and the rate still remains high even though manufacturers and retailers, as well as by financiers significant number a significant number of palm oil growers have halted forest clearance in order to comply with NDPE. While of RSPO members and to other commodities such as soy, cocoa and pulp NO EXPLOITATION deforestation is being confronted, mechanisms for eliminating social exploitation as part of NDPE implementation and paper, with some companies adopting cross- implementing it. are considerably less advanced or effective. commodity policies. However, the RSPO The voluntary nature of NDPE policies is a major contributor to their unreliability. Incentives for companies and NDPE policies apply not just to a company’s own delayed specifying their suppliers to uphold NDPE policies are weak – the tensions between maintaining revenues and voluntarily operations but to all its suppliers and, increasingly, to how the HCSA will imposing NDPE results in leakage, non-transparency, ineffective monitoring and, ultimately, non-compliance. their “whole operations”. be applied in what it calls ‘High Forest NDPE as a voluntary process cannot be relied on by policy-makers to achieve the eradication of deforestation and The scope and strength of NDPE policies, however, Cover Countries’ – a social exploitation. That NDPE is not a market requirement in any country hinders its robust implementation. varies considerably and each company’s policy differs category it deems to include the provinces In this light, policy-makers are advised to introduce binding regulatory measures requiring compliance with slightly. This limits standardisation and, unlike certification, many are not consistently independently of Papua and West NDPE-like sustainability criteria for palm oil (and other commodities) placed on their markets. With the European verified. Papua. Union currently consulting on the action it could take on deforestation, the time for clear regulatory policies is upon us. 4 Environmental Investigation Agency Promises in Practice 5 Methodology Palm oil in Papua In late 2015 and 2016, EIA built upon the West Papua In 2018, EIA expanded the project to cover an additional Papua and West Papua provinces (together known as 2000 to 71,000 ha between 2010-15.12 Clearance of Palm Oil Atlas3 to produce “The Papua Palm Plantation five traders with NDPE policies which had by then also Papua) are the most extensively forested region in Papua’s pristine rainforests and the exploitation of its Risk Profiles”, a 200-page confidential catalogue published supply chain

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