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RSPO Identifies Members Suspected Of Causing Indonesian Fires
RSPO Identifies Members Suspected Of Causing Indonesian Fires
26/06/2013 (Bernama) - The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has identified five of its members publicly reported to be allegedly involved in the current forest fires in Indonesia.
They are Indonesia's PT Jatim Jaya Perkasa and Sinar Mas and Malaysia's Tabung Haji Plantations, Kuala Lumpur Kepong and Sime Darby.
RSPO secretary-general Darrel Webber said the five members would be directed to submit digital maps of their plantations in Kalimantan and Sumatra within the next 48 hours for its investigation.
The maps will be used to assess and analyse against the published mapping of the forest fires by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) and NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), he said in a statement to Bernama.
The analysis would assist in confirming the locations of the forest fires in comparison with the location of plantations owned by these member companies, which would then form the basis for the next step in the investigation, he added.
He said the environmental pollution caused by forest fires in Indonesia that had enveloped several countries in Southeast Asia to such hazardous levels was deplorable.
The RSPO firmly condemned any negligent activities related to this, Webber said.
The RSPO was highly concerned about the impact on communities and children living in these countries and strongly advocated urgent measures to be taken to cease this heightening pollution, he added.
Webber assured that as an international multi-stakeholder organisation and certification scheme for sustainable palm oil, the RSPO's principles and criteria explicitly indicated that no open burning was permissible.
He said any member organisation that was implicated would be instructed to immediately terminate any open burning caused by them, and the RSPO would take remedial action against these companies if the forest fires were due to negligent conduct.
Based on the report by the World Resources Institute, Webber said, 47 per cent of the fires in Indonesia originated outside of forest or oil palm plantations, 27 per cent originated in timber plantations, 20 per cent in oil palm plantations, four per cent in protected areas, and one per cent in logging areas.
In the same statement, Sime Darby President and Group Chief Executive Tan Sri Mohd Bakke Salleh said the company fully supported the initiative by RSPO.
He reiterated Sime Darby's commitment and full compliance of the zero- burning policy, which was strictly embedded in all its oil palm plantation operations.
Kuala Lumpur Kepong Head of Sustainability (Plantations) Sin Chuan Eng said the company would be making arrangements to submit the digital maps of its plantations to RSPO and give the RSPO the fullest cooperation during the process of the proposed investigation.
They are Indonesia's PT Jatim Jaya Perkasa and Sinar Mas and Malaysia's Tabung Haji Plantations, Kuala Lumpur Kepong and Sime Darby.
RSPO secretary-general Darrel Webber said the five members would be directed to submit digital maps of their plantations in Kalimantan and Sumatra within the next 48 hours for its investigation.
The maps will be used to assess and analyse against the published mapping of the forest fires by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) and NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), he said in a statement to Bernama.
The analysis would assist in confirming the locations of the forest fires in comparison with the location of plantations owned by these member companies, which would then form the basis for the next step in the investigation, he added.
He said the environmental pollution caused by forest fires in Indonesia that had enveloped several countries in Southeast Asia to such hazardous levels was deplorable.
The RSPO firmly condemned any negligent activities related to this, Webber said.
The RSPO was highly concerned about the impact on communities and children living in these countries and strongly advocated urgent measures to be taken to cease this heightening pollution, he added.
Webber assured that as an international multi-stakeholder organisation and certification scheme for sustainable palm oil, the RSPO's principles and criteria explicitly indicated that no open burning was permissible.
He said any member organisation that was implicated would be instructed to immediately terminate any open burning caused by them, and the RSPO would take remedial action against these companies if the forest fires were due to negligent conduct.
Based on the report by the World Resources Institute, Webber said, 47 per cent of the fires in Indonesia originated outside of forest or oil palm plantations, 27 per cent originated in timber plantations, 20 per cent in oil palm plantations, four per cent in protected areas, and one per cent in logging areas.
In the same statement, Sime Darby President and Group Chief Executive Tan Sri Mohd Bakke Salleh said the company fully supported the initiative by RSPO.
He reiterated Sime Darby's commitment and full compliance of the zero- burning policy, which was strictly embedded in all its oil palm plantation operations.
Kuala Lumpur Kepong Head of Sustainability (Plantations) Sin Chuan Eng said the company would be making arrangements to submit the digital maps of its plantations to RSPO and give the RSPO the fullest cooperation during the process of the proposed investigation.