Bisnis Indonesia - WWF invites members of RSPO (Roundtable on SustainablePalm Oil) to implement sustainable and responsible palm oil plantationsand industries. Executive Director of World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)Indonesia, Mubariq Ahmad said that the development of the palm oilindustry has raised concern from international consumers and otherstakeholders, including European entrepreneurs. "So far, many oil palmplantations and industries still have negative social and environmentalimpacts," he said last week. This was stated in connection with the RSPOmeeting scheduled for 5-6 October 2004 in Jakarta. This event is organizedby Gapki (Gabungan Pengusaha Kelapa Sawit Indonesia = Association ofIndonesian Palm Oil Companies), KMSI (Indonesian Palm Oil Commission) andWWF Indonesia. He mentioned that the negative impacts are associated withthe clearing of high conservation value forests, conflicts betweenwildlife and plantations due to habitat loss, as well as land and forestfires for land clearing. To anticipate the spread of the negative impact,WWF has urged palm oil companies to participate in the Roundtable onSustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). Last year, the RSPO meeting was held in KualaLumpur.