Chapter 18
Role of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm
Oil (RSPO) in Tropical Peatland
Management
Faizal Parish, Amir Afham, and Siew Yan (Serena) Lew
Abstract The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was established in 2004
and is the premier global mechanism to facilitate sustainable production and use of
palm oil. The RSPO has developed a set of environmental and social criteria which
companies must comply with in order to produce Certified Sustainable Palm Oil
(CSPO). The RSPO has more than 4000 members worldwide who represent all links
along the palm oil supply chain. They have committed to produce, source and/or use
sustainable palm oil certified by the RSPO. Oil palm is grown in the tropical region
around the world with the majority in Southeast Asia but is expanding in Africa and
Latin America. Approximately three million hectares (ha) (14%) out of a total of
about 21.4 million ha (FAOSTAT 2017 FAOSTAT online database. http://www.fao.
org/faostat/en/#data) of oil palm is cultivated on tropical peatlands—primarily in
Indonesia and Malaysia. Assessments undertaken by RSPO have demonstrated that
use of best management practices (BMPs), especially for water management, pest and
diseases and fire prevention, is critical for responsible cultivation of oil palm.
However, in the long term, cultivation on peatlands can lead to significant subsidence
and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Since the beginning of its certification scheme
in 2005, RSPO has discouraged extensive planting on peat and since 2018 has
required a total halt in new plantations on peatlands by members, globally. RSPO
and its members are actively supporting peatland conservation and rehabilitation as
well as ensuring any existing plantations on peatlands are managed responsibly.
Keywords Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) · Oil palm · Peatland
management · Rehabilitation · Certification
F. Parish (*)
Director, Global Environment Centre, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
e-mail: fparish@gec.org.my; http://www.gec.org.my/
A. Afham
Greenhouse Gas Manager, RSPO Secretariat, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
e-mail: amir.afham@rspo.org; http://www.rspo.org/
S. Y. Lew
Manager for Peatland Program, Global Environment Centre, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
e-mail: serena@gec.org.my
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
M. Osaki et al. (eds.), Tropical Peatland Eco-management,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4654-3_18
509
Role of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm
Oil (RSPO) in Tropical Peatland
Management
Faizal Parish, Amir Afham, and Siew Yan (Serena) Lew
Abstract The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was established in 2004
and is the premier global mechanism to facilitate sustainable production and use of
palm oil. The RSPO has developed a set of environmental and social criteria which
companies must comply with in order to produce Certified Sustainable Palm Oil
(CSPO). The RSPO has more than 4000 members worldwide who represent all links
along the palm oil supply chain. They have committed to produce, source and/or use
sustainable palm oil certified by the RSPO. Oil palm is grown in the tropical region
around the world with the majority in Southeast Asia but is expanding in Africa and
Latin America. Approximately three million hectares (ha) (14%) out of a total of
about 21.4 million ha (FAOSTAT 2017 FAOSTAT online database. http://www.fao.
org/faostat/en/#data) of oil palm is cultivated on tropical peatlands—primarily in
Indonesia and Malaysia. Assessments undertaken by RSPO have demonstrated that
use of best management practices (BMPs), especially for water management, pest and
diseases and fire prevention, is critical for responsible cultivation of oil palm.
However, in the long term, cultivation on peatlands can lead to significant subsidence
and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Since the beginning of its certification scheme
in 2005, RSPO has discouraged extensive planting on peat and since 2018 has
required a total halt in new plantations on peatlands by members, globally. RSPO
and its members are actively supporting peatland conservation and rehabilitation as
well as ensuring any existing plantations on peatlands are managed responsibly.
Keywords Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) · Oil palm · Peatland
management · Rehabilitation · Certification
F. Parish (*)
Director, Global Environment Centre, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
e-mail: fparish@gec.org.my; http://www.gec.org.my/
A. Afham
Greenhouse Gas Manager, RSPO Secretariat, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
e-mail: amir.afham@rspo.org; http://www.rspo.org/
S. Y. Lew
Manager for Peatland Program, Global Environment Centre, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
e-mail: serena@gec.org.my
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
M. Osaki et al. (eds.), Tropical Peatland Eco-management,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4654-3_18
509