TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Trade Deputy Minister Bayu Krisnamurthi said palm oil was a paramount commodity to the Indonesian economy. The government, he added, was determined to implement the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil [ISPO].

“Indonesia has already got the Indonesian Palm Oil [ISPO], a governmental regulation that must be applied to all palm oil industries and palm oil farmers so they produce sustainable Indonesian palm oil through certification,” he said on Friday, March 21, 2014.

Bayu said the implementation of the ISPO was a gesture of the government’s support towards the significance of the production of sustainable palm oil. Prior to implementing the ISPO, the government had already adopted other certification systems, including the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil [RSPO], which had been effective since 2004.

The European Union, who demands sustainable plantation management, is the largest consumer of Indonesian palm oil. Palm oil plantations had thus far been accused of being the main cause of deforestation, biodiversity decline, and increased greenhouse gas emissions. This condition was exacerbated by the lack of necessary information and people’s knowledge on the significance of palm oil for health.

“We have to provide accurate information to tackle those allegations, so we can push for an EU-Indonesia joint research in the country,” Bayu said.

PINGIT ARIA