"The (presidential) regulation is aimed at improving the supervision of (ISPO) certification," Musdhalifah, ministry`s deputy of foods and agriculture, stressed during a talk in Jakarta on Friday.
She explained that a regulation was needed to synchronise all stakeholders, including Agriculture Ministry, Forestry and Environment Ministry, Industry Ministry, and the Trade Ministry. As one of the stakeholders, the Agriculture Ministry should maintain cooperation with the Forestry Ministry, because the latter determines which land is available for palm oil plantation.
These two ministries, according to Musdhalifah, should also be in contact with the Industry Ministry and the Trade Ministry, in order to ensure that the business is sustainable and in accordance with law.
"The Indonesian government is committed to establish sustainable palm oil business," she emphasised, adding that the commodity was one of the country`s vital export products.
On similar lines, Diah Suradireja, senior adviser of the Indonesian Biodiversity Foundation (Kehati), said the group was seeking to back the government to improve palm oil certification in Indonesia. She called on all stakeholders to support the programme.
Meanwhile, Prasetyo Jati, plantation chief of Agriculture Ministry, remarked that not all demands proposed by public consultants or civil society organisations (CSOs) will be accepted. "Not all will be adopted. We will first see which issues are more pertinent to farmers` business. In Indonesia, farmers own some 40 per cent of overall plantation," Jati said.
The number of palm oil plantations in Indonesia has reached 11.7 million, and farmers own 4.7 million of this figure, he reiterated.
According to the initial plan, the Presidential Regulation will oversee environmental and social standards of the palm oil industry. After the regulation is launched, all palm oil products will be certified, and as a result, trade will not be disrupted by environmental issues, Jati added.
Moreover, the sustainable palm oil certification is also a part of Indonesian government`s commitment to ease the greenhouse gas effect and tackle climate change.
Reported by Satyagraha
(Uu. KR-GNT/INE/B0003 )
(UU.KR-GNT/A/KR-BSR/B003)
Reporter: antara
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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