InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA — Free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) principle was the main focus in palm oil sustainable standard namely in Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). The principle prioritized the people’s rights to agree freely without any pressure but get enough and available information before the people’s area were used to the industrial activities. But some environmental and civil organizations were worried about the potential weakening in the principles in the latest revision of RSPO standards.

Rahma of GEMAWAN said that FPIC would be significant to protect the people’s rights that lived around palm oil plantations. She said the FPIC would not a formal standard only but also the realization of respect of human rights. she thought, the disobedience on FPIC would raise continuous conflicts between palm oil plantation companies and the people, as it happened in West Kalimantan.

“FPIC would be very significant because it would enable the people to approve or reject the industries to operate in the people’s circumstances. But many companies socialized or even ignored FPIC. “These showed that the principle was not taken as the obligation,” she said in a webinar “Pelemahan FPIC dalam Standar Sertifikasi Komoditas Sawit: Implikasi bagi Masyarakat dan Industri Sawit Indonesia” that oleh Sawit Watch conducted, Tuesday.

Norman Jiwan of Lembaga Bentang Alam Hijau (LemBAH) said that FPIC should not depend on certification mechanism, just like in RSPO. He thought palm oil plantation companies out of RSPO members should also implement FPIC well, if only they would have the strong commitment to respect the indigenous people’s rights.

“The good and closer sample that is the same with FPIC implementation happens in the Regency of Kapuas and Sambas. The companies voluntarily returned the land to the indigenous people and even let revise their business rights. Some areas change the status to be the people’s area certificate,” he said, as in the official statement, as InfoSAWIT quoted, Monday (28/10/2024).

But he also emphasized to maintain FPIC in RSPO standard revision. He thought, weakening it would be worse for palm oil industrial credibility that would realize sustainability. “FPIC should be maintained and reinforce to be the sustainable standard in RSPO,” he said.

Mansuetus Darto, Chairman of National Board of Serikat Petani Kelapa Sawit (SPKS) was sorry for the latest RSPO standard revision. FPIC was once weakened and should be considered from many land cockroaches that civil organizations reported to RSPO but the cases always got no solutions. He thought, this would potentially damage RSPO credibility and be bad for public trusts.

“It would be bad to weaken FPIC because it would be the main base to protect the people from land cockroach practices. We do hope FPIC that was once weakened would be regulated as it was in 2018 RSPO standards,” he said.

He also mentioned that in the last revision, FPIC was re-regulated and hoped this would be the standard that would be officially inaugurated in RSPO General Assembly on 13 November 2024. “Let us monitor that the principle would always exist in the latest RSPO standards,” he said.

Marcus Colchester, Senior Policy Advisor of Forest Peoples Programme said that weakening FPIC was a surprise and it would be against to the human righgs and the best practices in industrial sectors. He said that since 2005, FPIC has become the main principle in RSPO namely to prevent the land cockroach. In the latest draft that once got consultation, FPIC was once deleted as the condition to every available plantation.

“We fought to put FPIC back in the latest revision and it is now regulated in the latest draft revision. This is the good news for the people that got the impacts from palm oil industries,” he said.

In the same chance, Executive Director of Sawit Watch, Achmad Surambo urged RSPO to firmly sue every party that would weaken FPIC for some certain interests. He thought, if it really happens, RSPO should investigate and identify every individual or group behind the effort.

“If it just happens, the images of RSPO as the sustainable palm oil certification institution would be bad. We take every civil organization, element to keep monitoring it to maintain RSPO credibility,” he said,

He also suggested the people to actively monitoring FPIC implementation in the field. He thought, RSPO as the global scale standard should be serious to maintain the people’s rights so palm oil industries would be taken as the positive ones in national and international – scale.

FPIC implementation would be the significant element to realize the balance between economic profits in palm oil industries and respect for the local and indigenous people’s rights. RSPO standard revision is still in process and would be inaugurated in the general assembly. This would be the important moment for every stakeholder to make sure that FPIC would really be implemented in the field but would not be on paper – formality.

Prior as in the official page of RSPO, the non-profit organization emphasized that it would not weaken FPIC condition in its latest standard. It would be always committed to fully protect the local and indigenous people’s rights through PFIC strongly and firmly. The process would confirm that the people would get the complete information and deliver their agreement before any progress/development happens in their circumstances.

“We are trying to contact every party that the article informed abot to get further clarification and make the misunderstanding straight about the latest RSPO standard revision,” RSPO noted, as InfoSAWIT quoted, Monday (28/10/2024).

RSPO would be proud of the new standard that the members developed. It reflected their same commitment on sustainability, communities’ rights, and environmental protection. The standards were fully approved by Boards of RSPO and should be the good progress to go forward and confirm the sustainable palm oil industrial development through the standards implemented and audited.

One main focus in the new standard was about to reinforce the commitment on human rights. RSPO would be always committed to cooperate with the members, including the producers, social organizations, to reinforce FPIC condition in the field namely in the regions that would face conflict inheritance.

RSPO closed its statement by emphasizing its dedication to promote sustainable palm oil production by respecting the people’s rights, environment, and economic welfare. The organization did welcome the further dialogue with every stakeholder to confirm the standard implementation in high integrity and transparency. (T2)