07/08/2012 (The Inquirer) - Two Liberian environmental professionals of Green Consultancy Inc (GreenCons) have been confirmed by the internationally acclaimed Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil(RSPO) as RSPO's High Conservation Value(HCV) Assessor for the period of two years.

According to the organization, the two Liberians Mr. Solomon P. Wright and E. Abraham T. Tumbey who were selected from among 107 environmental professionals from around the world received this certification  to serve the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil for two years beginning August.

The certification of the two Liberians by the RSPO is a significant milestone for oil palm development in Liberia, the West African region and Africa at large.

Prior to this certification the entire continent of Africa could only boast of one RSPO certified assessor from Ghana. This certification will provide opportunity to the two Liberian professionals to conduct high conservation value assessment for oil palm projects in Africa and the world at large as well as to enhance their skills and experience in the sector.

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), created in April 2004, is an "association created by organizations carrying out their activities in and around the entire supply chain for palm oil to promote the growth and use of sustainable palm oil through co-operation within the supply chain and open dialogue with its stakeholders."

In the RSPO, oil palm growers, oil processors, food companies, retailers, NGOs and investors work together towards a global supply of palm oil that is produced in a socially and environmentally responsible way.

The Roundtable promotes palm oil production practices that help reduce deforestation, preserve biodiversity, and respect the livelihoods of rural communities in oil-producing countries. It ensures that no new primary forest or other high conservation value areas are sacrificed for palm oil plantations, that plantations apply accepted best practices and that the basic rights and living conditions of millions of plantation workers, smallholders and indigenous people are fully respected.

At present, more than 340 organizations subscribe to the Roundtable's principles, representing about half of the world's palm oil supply. Membership of the Roundtable is growing. The first sustainable oil palm plantations were certified in 2008. In November 2009, the first shipment of RSPO-certified sustainable palm oil was delivered to ports in Europe. Among the first buyers were Unilever and Sainsbury's Supermarkets. Initial volumes of RSPO-certified palm oil will still be relatively small, but supply will gradually grow over the coming years so that sustainable palm oil can be used in a growing number of products. In due course, the Roundtable aims to see the entire world's palm oil produced in a sustainable way.

In 2009 Messrs Tumbey and Wright established GreenCons as an Environmental Impact Assessment and Management Consultancy Firm bringing together a team of Liberian professionals with diversified working background and cross-cutting experiences, who saw the need to form a locally based consortium of Liberian experts that could be harnessed to support the Country's sustainable development needs in different areas. Over the years GreenCons has provided wide range of support to development projects in Liberia. The firm client base includes local and international companies and development organizations including Golden Veroleum Liberia Inc, BHP Billiton, Sime Darby (Liberia) Plantation, Total Liberia Inc, UNIFEM, Equatorial Palm Oil, Rural & Renewable Energy Agency of Liberia, Winrock/USAID.