A recent study commissioned by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) Biodiversity and High Conservation Value (HCV) Working Group investigated the challenges to effective HCV management and monitoring (M&M) in oil palm plantations.
Effective management and monitoring is important to ensure the protection of HCV areas, because they can contain significant levels of biodiversity, rare species, and/or carry important cultural value for human communities. The report provides recommendations for establishing best management practices (BMPs) for HCV M&M.
HCV forest © Mike Senior/Proforest
The report notes that, while 31 out of 50 palm oil companies assessed on SPOTT have public commitments to undertaking HCV assessments prior to any new planting, only two companies make their M&M plans publicly available for all their estates.
Improved disclosure of M&M plans could improve transparency and accountability, as well as giving investors and downstream companies confidence that companies are implementing their commitments.
The project partners were the HCV Resource Network, Daemeter Consulting, Forest Peoples Programme (FPP), Proforest and the Zoological Society of London (ZSL). Read the full report on the HCV Resource Network.
