The headline summary for Indonesia, among the top six carbon emitting countries, constitutes a pattern of annual fire seasons when smallholders and commercial enterprises alike clear land for new palm oil plantations. MongaBay tirelessly reports continuously on all Indonesia’s palm oil news, good, bad and ugly, while the larger news outlets only hone in on this every year when the forests are ablaze and the entire region disappears in haze.
Yet, well-intentioned initiatives exist, and we hope that these may at some point have clout and teeth for enforcement. Currently, enforcement of any measure – voluntary or regulatory – appears nonexistent, not too surprising given the widespread corruption; at least some tireless activists and media outlet do their best to mount a challenge, currently mostly after the fact, uncovering disasters in progress or after the damage. The lack of effective and proactive enforcement hampers any true Paris love this December. But we’ll administer a chaste air kiss of hope today.
For the latest initiative, grown out of a partnership between the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority, the eight largest banks will attempt, with WWF’s technical assistance, to systemically integrate Environmental, Social and Governance analysis into lending decisions as well as direct more funding towards sustainable projects. The hope is for this to trickle down further into the banking sector and become more ambitious over time, as an FSA spokesman outlined concurrently to positing that banning banks from lending to non-sustainable projects right now would only result in the economy grinding to a halt – something that, if we might add, is directly opposed to any regulator’s set of mandates.
This is another piece in the mosaic in progress, which we bank on for Indonesia to eventually significantly limit carbon emissions from deforestation and address many of the associated issues such as unfair labor practices, equitable development, respecting property rights of all ethic groups, protecting and biodiversity. The mozaic of good intentions so far already showcases:
* The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO): not just limited to Indonesia but since Indonesia is a key source for Palm Oil, the group’s global reach and name recognition makes the initiative a key component – even as it isn’t without its critics.
* Many big players in the palm oil supply chain, have made zero deforestation commitments.
* Pilot projects of sustainable palm oil productions demonstrating the possibilities.
* The Indonesian Palm Oil Pledge, a joint sustainability pact, which major palm oil companies entered into with the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in September 2014.
* The government of Indonesia publicly setting targets
* The binding UN and government-sponsored Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) Foundation