Certifying sustainability in oil palm cultivation

Marcel Djama

• Publisher: Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781838794804
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Sustainable Agriculture
• Index: Technology & Engineering

In recent years, transnational private regulations, aimed at implementing sustainable development principles, have emerged across several commodity sectors. To address the growing environmental and social concerns raised by oil palm expansion, the sector has adopted voluntary sustainability standards led by industry and civil society, as well as national standards and regulations implemented by the main producing countries. This chapter presents these sustainability initiatives as well as addresses some important limitations on them, due to the increasing complexity of the regulatory framework, the market segmentation associated with a growing demand for non-certified palm oil from emerging countries and the unresolved issues of smallholders' inclusion in certification. The chapter suggests a way forward for sustainability certification, which includes strengthening global cooperation and including smallholders in the process, and looks ahead to future research in this area.

Table of contents

• 1 Introduction
• 2 Key themes in sustainability certification research
• 3 Challenges and limitations of sustainability initiatives in palm oil cultivation
• 4 The way forward for sustainability certification
• 5 Future trends and conclusion
• 6 Where to look for further information
• 7 References