Written by Wild Asia on 4 May 2009 with 0 comments. Be the first!

Endorsed by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), the first training course under ProForest and Wild Asia's joint Stepwise Support Programme (SSP) saw participants attending a 4-day regional training course on the interpretation and implementation of the RSPO Principles and Criteria. Using real case studies from ProForest and Wild Asia's ground experience in Southeast Asia, the course provided valuable insights into the intricacies of the standard.

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil's Principles and Criteria (RSPO P&C) is the first certification standard ensuring sustainability in the production and processing of oil palm. The standard is performance-based, and is regarded as having strong requirements for environmental, social as well as management practices for the production of palm oil. RSPO certification demands that plantation companies look beyond their operating boundaries to understand how their activities are affecting the surrounding environment and other stakeholders. The standard was developed through a multi-stakeholder process and has been used as a model in the development of other agricultural commodity certification schemes, such as the Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS).

Supporting RSPO through training

Proforest and Wild Asia recognise that there are companies well on their way towards achieving RSPO compliance but may require very specific support to interpret RSPO. As such, training modules can be designed to achieve better awareness and proficiency in line with RSPO P&C. This means that everyone from senior management to field workers and contractors are informed and engaged in the process.

The first regional training course was held at Kuala Lumpur on March 30 - April 2, which saw participants from Thailand, Indonesia, Ghana, Nigeria and Malaysia attend a 4-day training on the interpretation and implementation of the RSPO P&C.

Endorsed by RSPO in March 2008, the course provided insights to implementation complexities via real case studies. Key topics covered included an overview of the RSPO P&C and supply chains, as well as the core environmental and community requirements of the standard, as outlined below:-

• Overview and introduction to RSPO requirements and certification systems.

• Supply chain systems and chain of custody.

• Overview of the environmental issues in plantations.

• HCVF & Biodiversity in existing plantations and new developments.

• Overview of the social issues within RSPO P&C.

• Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC).

• Labour standards and plantations.

Notwithstanding the fact that the participants came from different countries, representing different stakeholder groups and are of various levels with regards to the understanding and implementation of RSPO, ProForest and Wild Asia take into serious consideration the feedback from course participants and will endeavour to improve the overall organisation of the course to bring about quality training.

What participants have to say*

"The diverse background, expertise and experience of both the trainers and participants brought about interesting and insightful discussions."

"Grey areas were elaborated at length using group work to challenge the participants in applying the theory that had been delivered".

Most felt that the course was "exactly what is needed" to make consistent the thinking and understanding behind RSPO and it was indeed a reality check to some, with regards to how much work is involved in order to obtain a certificate of compliance.

Wild Asia and ProForest are now planning another regional training course to be held in Indonesia, in the coming months.

(*) Feedback from course participants obtained through feedback forms, with minimal grammatical edits.

Click here for more on Stepwise Support Programme or our upcoming training courses.