Oil Palm & Forest Conversion

WWF-Malaysia's Activities with the Oil Palm Sector

Dato' Dr. Mikaail Kavanagh AbdullahRoundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil Kuala Lumpur, 21-22 August 2003

Presentation Outline

1. WWF Malaysia: Who We Are & What We Do

2. WWF Malaysia & Oil Palm Sector3. Interaction & Engagement of Oil Palm

Sector4. Project Updates5. The Next Steps

WWF-Malaysia• Trust founded in 1972 as a charitable trust

in Malaysia with full tax exemptions for donors and organisation

• Core business: Biodiversity conservation, sustainable development

• Works in partnership with stakeholders to address environmental problems

• Credible NGO in Malaysia consulted by government, industry and public

• HQ in Petaling Jaya with regional office in Kota Kinabalu

Core Priorities and Themes

Why Oil Palm is an Issue• Concern over role of oil

palm sector in deforestation

• Palm oil is an important economic pillar for Malaysia

• WWF-M believes it is acting in the interest of all parties to mitigate unconstructive actions (like boycotts) by solutions oriented approach

Oil Palm related activities• A part of protecting Malaysia's

forests– HCVF and land use planning– Lower Kinabatangan Floodplain

• Saving charismatic animal species

– Asian Rhino and Elephant Action Strategy (AREAS)

– Tiger-human conflict resolution• Other priorities

– Freshwater habitat conservation– Better business and industry

practices

Progress to Date

Working on different fronts to achieve conservation:

1. Better Management Practices implementation

2. Tiger-Human Conflict resolution3. Partners for Wetlands Programme,

Kinabatangan, Sabah (land-use / forest restoration project)

Making Business Linkages

• Engaging Malaysian Palm Oil Association– Promoting dialogue and joint solutions

• Green business as a competitive edge– Better Management Practices to increase

productivity and gain market access– Safeguarding reputation and market share

• Learning from plantation companies– Developing industry benchmarks– Understanding industry's role in sustainable

development• Ensuring a level playing field

Making Business Linkages

“Shooting” the Tiger in Terengganu & Kelantan

Land Use in the Lower Kinabatangan River, Sabah

Better Management Practices Suite of BMPs•Landscape level:

– Planning; HCVF– Mitigating human wildlife

conflicts• Plantation

– Restoration/ reforestation

– Zero-burn– Integrated Pest Mgmt.– Waste minimisation &

recycling

Moving Ahead - Future Plans• Testing BMPs with progressive

companies - promoting green productivity

• Identifying benchmarks for sustainable palm oil with stakeholders that contribute to the Roundtable process

• Recent criticisms have focussed on WWF's supposed role in a 'smear campaign' against palm oil

• Unfortunate that efforts not seen in same light

• Increased emphasis on communicating• Focus still on win-win partnerships

Moving Ahead - Future Plans

Thank You