Supporting local regulation for sustainable oil palm in East Kalimantan

This project primarily focuses on how local regulations for sustainable oil palm can be supported in East Kalimantan.

Indonesia is the world’s largest producer of crude palm oil (CPO). By 2014, ten million hectares of plantation had been developed and CPO production had reached 30 million tons per annum.

The growth of the oil palm sector is increasingly important for economic development in Indonesia, particularly in rural areas. At the same time, the growth of this sector has been associated with environmental damage such as deforestation, degradation and fire.

The Indonesian Government has taken several steps to reduce environmental externalities associated with oil palm plantation development (for example, the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil System (ISPO), a moratorium on forest and peatland conversion, and peatland protection regulations). In addition, parallel initiatives are being undertaken at the sub-national level.

This project aims to assess these initiatives and identify how they can be better supported to mitigate environmental externalities associated with the development of oil palm plantations.