Producers and buyers explore Verified Sourcing Area
In the Province of Aceh, we aim to protect the remaining natural forest on private, state and community land with a specific focus on the world-acclaimed Leuser ecosystem. IDH connected large palm oil buyers such as Pepsico and Unilever that have a reputational interest in delinking palm oil from deforestation and are looking for cost effective solutions, to the government of Aceh Tamiang. The government, the palm oil companies and IDH are exploring how to create a Verified Sourcing Area (VSA) in Aceh Tamiang.
Speech by the head of district during the launch of the PPI Compact and VSA readiness pilot in Aceh on December 12 2019
IDH together with Government of Aceh is developing a Green Growth Plan (GGP), to define a roadmap for producing sustainable commodities whilst protecting natural forests. Together with Aceh governments, palm oil producers (including PT Semadam, PT Mopoli, PT Socfin, PTPN 1 and PT Bahroeny) and CSOs, IDH aims to improve sustainable agricultural production on 13,000 ha, conserve 230,000 ha of HCV/HCS forest and enhance the livelihoods of 1,000 smallholder farmers and 500 community members, based on VSA approach. This will help palm oil companies to supply their buyers (like Unilever and PepsiCo) cost effectively with 100% responsible palm oil.
Since 2017, IDH has been working closely with the provincial and district governments to support green growth strategy and implementation project in Aceh Tamiang and Aceh Timur. As a result, in 2018 the regional medium-term development plan (RPJMD) of Aceh Tamiang has been completed. This document is very critical to map the development planning in the district that balances economic and environmental sustainability.
Total land cover
5.8 million ha
Total forest cover
3.2 million ha of which 2.6 million is in Leuser or Ulu Masen ecosystems
Aceh Timur
546,000 ha
Aceh Tamiang
215,000 ha
Forest loss 1996 – 2013
320,000 ha
Landscape features
highlands, mountains, tropical rainforest, Leuser ecosystem, rich in biodiversity
Main commodities
palm oil, rubber, forestry products, rice
Main causes of forest loss
deforestation for agriculture
We work with the provincial and district level governments to create green growth strategies and an enabling legal framework & enforcement.
Further, we convene palm oil, rubber and other companies, government and communities around Leuser ecosystem to develop, implement, and monitor a participatory land-use and management plan with positive impact on community livelihoods, business performance, and forest protection.
In Aceh Timur and Aceh Tamiang, we collaborate closely with the district governments to develop PPI compacts. We create financial benefits for sustainable production (such as increased yields and market access); forest protection (for example by making investments in production conditional to protection results); and smallholder inclusion in value chains.
IDH works at the market end, especially in Europe, to drive the uptake of the sustainably produced commodities in the landscape. Our market convening work also creates a stronger business case for the companies on the ground to produce more sustainably.
To drive the uptake of more sustainable palm oil in Europe, IDH and MVO (the Dutch Oils and Fats Industry) established the European Sustainable Palm Oil, or ESPO, project in 2015. The project was initiated to stimulate the uptake of more sustainable palm oil in Europe, and its objective is to achieve ‘100% sustainable palm oil in Europe by 2020’. ESPO works in close collaboration with various National Palm Oil Initiatives on sustainable palm oil, the RSPO and umbrella EU associations, such as Caobisco (confectionary), Fediol (refineries) and Imace (margarines), and connects to the green sourcing areas.
Outside of Europe, IDH has also set up the Palm Oil (Markets) Program in India that works to mainstream the uptake of sustainable palm oil. India is the largest consuming market of Indonesian palm oil, and consumes 13.5% of the total global production – making it one of the largest markets for the commodity. This gives India agency, as it is well positioned to demand palm oil produced in a responsible manner without deforestation risk. It is also well placed to further strengthen South-South Cooperation while providing regional stewardship for the trade of responsibly sourced commodities including palm oil.
In India, IDH’s Palm Oil Program contributes to the SDG 12 for Responsible Consumption and Production. We do this by:
Convening large palm oil buyers operating in India to build reporting and disclosure
Remaining inclusive and standard-neutral
Working towards influencing demand in the short term and encouraging responsibly sourced supply in the long term
Monitoring the uptake of responsibly sourced/sustainable palm oil
The Leuser ecosystem is one of the only places in the world where orangutans, elephants, tigers, sun bears and rhinos co-exist in the wild. In the buffer zone of the Leuser Ecosystem in Aceh Tamiang, local smallholders and communities are restoring degraded lands by planting fruit trees, vegetables and hardwood trees. This contributes to increased biodiversity while providing alternative income sources for the smallholders.
