THE DEVELOPMENT OF LOCAL ECOLOGICAL CRITERIA FOR SUSTAINABLE OIL PALM PLANTATION IN BELITUNG ISLAND (A CASE STUDY IN NYURUK AND TANJUNG RUSA)

Abstract

The Development of palm oil in Indonesia has been associated with its environmental impact. Concerns such as deforestation, biodiversity, and greenhouse gas emission which will lead to climate change had triggered the stakeholders' urgency in initiating the sustainable palm oil certification scheme, namely RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil). This certification scheme included numerous criteria that have to be fulfilled by the palm oil companies. However, the scheme is not incorporating the local ecological concerns as part of the assessment criteria, whereas, if they are applied, will contribute to better monitoring process towards the sustainability. In order to cover this issue, it is necessary to characterize the criteria based on each plantation site's characteristics. Using the ecosystem approach principle, this case study emphasizes the prioritization of the ecological criteria. The case study was conducted in Nyuruk and Tanjung Rusa, Belitung. The High Conservation Value (HCV) criteria have been used as guidance in formulizing the proposed ecological criteria based on ecological condition of Belitung. Afterwards, the perception of palm oil stakeholders gathered to mediate the prioritization of the criteria. As results, the conservation of water resources and forest; the wildlife conservation and firing prevention; and endangered ecosystem conservation, key habitat, and ecological corridor for the species were considered as having high priority. Moreover, both the landscape and topography considerations; and the flood prevention in the plantation area were considered as having low priority. To conclude, we recommend incorporating the reviewed local ecological criteria in the existing sustainable palm oil certification scheme.