Ms. Fawziah Selamat, Deputy Director (Sustainability), Singapore Institute of International Affairs was quoted in an article by Eco-Business on the value of certification schemes in the agroforestry sector.
Certification—a cost without a reward?
“There is still a large disconnect between calls for palm oil supplies to be certified and actual demand for such products, which slows down the pace of change,” says Fawziah Selamat, deputy director of sustainability of the Singapore Institute for International Affairs. Buyers need to not only demand certified palm oil, but demonstrate that they are willing to pay for it.
Fawziah adds that in order to speed up the shift to sustainable palm oil and ensure certification is relevant for palm oil producers, the benefits of sustainability should be made clear besides appealing to companies’ sense of goodwill. This includes economic payoffs such as how certification can boost yields and provide a more stable supply chain.
“Showing that certified plantations are more efficient could prove to be a stronger rallying point for certification if current calls for environmental sustainability are not moving the needle,” says Fawziah.
Full Article: Is certification enough to protect Southeast Asia’s forests? [Eco-Business, 9 May 2018]
Photo credit: “Aerial view of oil palm plantation” by Nanang Sujana/CIFOR
