Palm oil and sustainable development practices

I read with interest eminent primatologist Jane Goodall’s comments on palm oil production and forests in Malaysia made during her recent visit to Kuala Lumpur.

As a member of the primary industries ministry that is in charge of promoting commodities in the country, including palm oil, let me assured Goodall that the ministry and the government of Malaysia is committed to sustainable development practices in this economic sector.

Since taking over power in May 2018, the new administration has acknowledged the shortcomings of some of the practices in the past and has wasted no time introducing the necessary corrective measures.

Therefore, I would like to draw her attention to the policy reforms that were introduced in the past 18 months. These measures were by no means easy given the fact that we are a federation where land and forest matters are under the respective states’ jurisdictions.

For a start, we are working towards capping oil palm plantation expansion at 6.5 million hectares by 2023. We are currently at 5.85 million ha.

On top of that, we are halting conversion of forest reserves and prohibiting further encroachment on peatland. Existing plantations on peatland will be subjected to stricter regulations. And, finally, in the interest of transparency, we will make public oil palm plantation maps soon.

It has to be noted, regrettably, that there has been a protracted disinformation campaign associating Malaysia’s land use change, including oil palm development, to deforestation. I wish to clarify that substantial areas of oil palm cultivation in this country were in fact established on land converted from other agricultural use. I am also pleased to inform that despite the increase in oil palm cultivation over the years, some of which has resulted in forest loss, more than 50% of the nation’s land remains forested as pledged at the Rio Summit in 1992.

While we cherish the economic benefits from the palm oil industry, we also recognise that it must not be realised at the expense of the environment. Towards this end, we are compelling the industry to mandatory certification under the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) scheme.

No other country in the world has mandated their oil and fats industry to be certified 100%, especially when it involves smallholders – and we have 40% of them. But Malaysia has taken this lead just like its Rio’s pledge to keep 50% of its relatively small land mass under forest cover for the benefit of global communities.

This illustrates our clear commitment to driving the industry towards environmental and social rights protection in accordance with national regulations and international sustainability requirements. Furthermore, the MSPO has been benchmarked against International Sustainability and Carbon Certification, a German certification system.

Sustainability, as we all know, is more than environmental protection. As a developing country, Malaysia has to ensure that its policies translate to better lives for its citizens as we strives to balance all three pillars of sustainability to the best of our ability.

Therefore, we sincerely hope eminent leaders such as Goodall will recognise Malaysia’s efforts to produce sustainable palm oil to meet the SDG goals, not only for the benefits of Malaysia but for the rest of the world.

Lastly, I am also pleased to inform Goodall that the oil palm industry has committed to restoring a degraded forest in Sabah which is home to orangutans, starting with planting one million trees over the next few years. Perhaps, in her next visit, we could show Goodall and let her verify this effort on the ground.

Hilary Chiew is chairman of Forest Plantations Development Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned company of the Malaysian Timber Industry Board. - FMT