26.4.4 Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) Certification
Scheme
The MSPO Certification Scheme is a national scheme first launched in 2015 and it
provides general principles for production of the sustainable palm oil that covers 3Ps
elements (i.e. People, Planet, Profit) for voluntary compliance. However, the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities (MPIC) had announced in February
2017 that the MSPO certification compliance would be made mandatory by
31 December 2019. All oil palm plantations, independent and organised smallholdings, and palm oil processing facilities need to be certified by with different timeline
set by the Ministry—existing Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) members
by 31 December 2018, companies without RSPO certification by 30 June 2019 and
independent and organised smallholders by 31 December 2019 (Ng 2017). The
MSPO Certification Scheme is operated and owned by the Malaysian Palm Oil
Certification Council (MPOCC), an independent organisation which was incorporated in December 2014 and began its operations in October 2015 (Singh and
Kumaran 2016). The MPOCC has been responsible for the development and
implementation of the MSPO Certification Scheme across the country, with technical support from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) to assist certification
processes of the independent and organised smallholders. The MSPO Standards
have seven (7) Principles that take into account aspects related to: (1) Management
commitment and responsibility; (2) Transparency; (3) Compliance to legal requirements; (4) Social responsibility, health, safety and employment conditions; (5) Environment, natural resources, biodiversity and ecosystem services; (6) Best practices;
and (7) Development of new plantings (Ng 2017). Since the MSPO Standard was
designed to be a voluntary scheme earlier and started in 2019 the Standard is being
reviewed and to be updated for mandatory implementation by 2020. The element of
peat is basically spread across the Principles and Targets.
26.5 Institutions Responsible for Peatland Management
Different aspects of peatland management are governed by different bodies, policies,
laws and regulations. Malaysia is a federation of 13 states and three federal territories. According to the Federal Constitution, State Governments are responsible for
planning, zoning, issuing of titles and land use management. State Governments are
also responsible for administration, management and utilisation of natural resources,
which include forests, fishery, agriculture and water resources. The Federal Government, on the other hand, holds primary responsibility for environmental protection and pollution prevention, while also undertaking coordination and advisory
functions in the area of natural resource management.
26 National Strategies on Responsible Management of Tropical Peatland in Malaysia
697
Scheme
The MSPO Certification Scheme is a national scheme first launched in 2015 and it
provides general principles for production of the sustainable palm oil that covers 3Ps
elements (i.e. People, Planet, Profit) for voluntary compliance. However, the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities (MPIC) had announced in February
2017 that the MSPO certification compliance would be made mandatory by
31 December 2019. All oil palm plantations, independent and organised smallholdings, and palm oil processing facilities need to be certified by with different timeline
set by the Ministry—existing Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) members
by 31 December 2018, companies without RSPO certification by 30 June 2019 and
independent and organised smallholders by 31 December 2019 (Ng 2017). The
MSPO Certification Scheme is operated and owned by the Malaysian Palm Oil
Certification Council (MPOCC), an independent organisation which was incorporated in December 2014 and began its operations in October 2015 (Singh and
Kumaran 2016). The MPOCC has been responsible for the development and
implementation of the MSPO Certification Scheme across the country, with technical support from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) to assist certification
processes of the independent and organised smallholders. The MSPO Standards
have seven (7) Principles that take into account aspects related to: (1) Management
commitment and responsibility; (2) Transparency; (3) Compliance to legal requirements; (4) Social responsibility, health, safety and employment conditions; (5) Environment, natural resources, biodiversity and ecosystem services; (6) Best practices;
and (7) Development of new plantings (Ng 2017). Since the MSPO Standard was
designed to be a voluntary scheme earlier and started in 2019 the Standard is being
reviewed and to be updated for mandatory implementation by 2020. The element of
peat is basically spread across the Principles and Targets.
26.5 Institutions Responsible for Peatland Management
Different aspects of peatland management are governed by different bodies, policies,
laws and regulations. Malaysia is a federation of 13 states and three federal territories. According to the Federal Constitution, State Governments are responsible for
planning, zoning, issuing of titles and land use management. State Governments are
also responsible for administration, management and utilisation of natural resources,
which include forests, fishery, agriculture and water resources. The Federal Government, on the other hand, holds primary responsibility for environmental protection and pollution prevention, while also undertaking coordination and advisory
functions in the area of natural resource management.
26 National Strategies on Responsible Management of Tropical Peatland in Malaysia
697