Water resource management in palm oil production

Posted by admin on July 2, 2013 in Cases | 0 comments

Question: Which new ‘hybrid’ (coercive/non-coercive) accountability mechanisms can enable the mobilization of European policies on trade in palm oil and renewable energy to leverage improved water management in the palm oil industry in South East Asia?

Ecological components: Increased global demand for palm oil drives expansion of the industry, despite absence of consolidated scientific data and disputes over actual impacts on water resources, including severe community grievances.

Institutions: Practices are uncoordinated and suffer from lack of effective IWRM or river basin management. Actors are searching for new practices to link local, national and international institutions to foster more conducive governance.

Practice and facilitation: Multi-stakeholder platforms such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) have emerged, but still suffer from lack of institutional support. New mechanisms are needed to leverage such stakeholder platforms.