RSPO CREDIBILITY IMPORTANT FOR MALAYSIA AND INDONESIA, SAYS WWF

KUALA LUMPUR, May 20 (Bernama) -- It will be counter-productive to call for
a lowering standards of Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), according to
WWF Malaysia and WWF Indonesia.

This will undermine the success that has been achieved and bring their
credibility into question, the two non-governmental organisations (NGOs) said in
a joint statement today.

"If there is no RSPO, or it loses credibility, edible oil buyers may be
forced to abandon palm oil, which would have a major impact on Malaysian and
Indonesian economies," said WWF Malaysia and WWF Indonesia.

The joint statement was in response to the move by several oil palm
producers in Indonesia and Malaysia meeting in Kuching, the capital of the east
Malaysian state of Sarawak, to establish the Indonesia-Malaysia Palm Oil Group
to formalise their collaboration on sustainable palm oil development.

Several oil palm producers here and Indonesia are reported to be facing
scrutiny by NGOs for alleged violations of the principles and criteria for
sustainable palm oil set by the RSPO, leading them to call for a rethink of the
RSPO scheme.

WWF Malaysia and WWF Indonesia said Malaysia and Indonesia, which together
accounted for 85 per cent of the world's palm oil production, were closing ranks
in responding to what they perceived as a threat to their industry by European
NGOs.

"RSPO principles and criteria are already both practical and implementable
as more than 300,000 hectares of oil palm production have been certified and an
increasing number of plantations in both countries and Papua New Guinea are
becoming certified," they said.

According to WWF Malaysia and WWF Indonesia, they have always recognised the
value of the sustainable palm oil industry in bringing economic growth,
providing livelihoods and ensuring food security for the nations.

"With the publication of the WWF Scorecard on European buyers of palm oil
products, we have seen the demand for certified and sustainable palm oil grow
three-fold and estimate that demand Europe alone can potentially reach two
million tonnes by 2012," they said.

WWF Malaysia and WWF Indonesia are part of a global network of conservation
NGOs but are both locally registered and governed by local board members.
-- BERNAMA


Attachments: