RSPO probing firms implicated in Indonesian forest fires
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and its certification bodies are probing RSPO-certified companies implicated in the forest fires in Indonesia.
In an email to Malaysiakini yesterday, RSPO chief executive officer Darrell Webber said when a hotspot is detected, it is standard procedure for its Investigation and Monitoring Unit (IMU) to follow up with RSPO members to verify whether fires are occurring, and if so, whether efforts are being made to tackle the blaze...
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and its certification bodies are probing RSPO-certified companies implicated in the forest fires in Indonesia.
In an e-mail to Malaysiakini yesterday, RSPO chief executive officer Darrel Webber said when a hotspot is detected, it is standard procedure for its Investigation and Monitoring Unit (IMU) to follow up with RSPO members to verify whether fires are occurring, and if so, whether efforts are being made to tackle the blaze.
RSPO’s geographic information system manager uses satellites to monitor all fire hotspots within both RSPO-certified and non-certified concessions in Malaysia and Indonesia, Webber said.
“The IMU has been in contact with the RSPO members allegedly linked to the recent fires in Indonesia for further information and verification. Some of these members issued announcements on this matter last week.
“As of now, the respective certification bodies will conduct the necessary investigations.
“If an RSPO member is found to have intentionally used fire to clear land, this will be dealt with through RSPO’s complaints process and sanctions may be imposed,” he said.
Webber was asked whether RSPO-certified companies stand to lose their certification if they are convicted of open burning in Indonesia.
He also stressed that the RSPO took the matter of fires “very seriously”.
“We wish to reiterate that we take the issue of fire - whether intentionally set for land clearing or accidental - very seriously and prohibit its use under our standard,” he said.
Indonesia had reportedly sealed off the plantations operated by some 30 companies and brought criminal charges against four over the forest fires occurring in the country.
Of the 30-odd companies, four companies have links to Malaysian companies: IOI Corporation, Sime Darby Plantation, TDM Bhd and Kuala Lumpur Kepong (KLK) Bhd.
Sime Darby and IOI have denied that their subsidiaries’ plantations had been sealed, while KLK admitted that a fire had broken out at one of its Indonesian subsidiaries’ plantations, but that it had since been put out.
