MALAYSIAN AGENCIES TIED TO PALM OIL

Chairman Speech at the 12th AGM of MPOA [Malaysia Palm Oil Association]

During this speech the chairman of the MPOA said, "On the RSPO front, we continue to face many hurdles. The off-take of certified [sustainable] palm oil (CSPO) has not been encouraging and premiums are dwindling. During the 7th General Assembly of the RSPO, MPOA together with other associations raised three (3) resolutions, (a) To restructure the Governing Body, (b) To formalize the procedures to amend the Principles and Criteria (c) To promote the procurement and use of RSPO certified palm oil. The other issue being raised by RSPO, the EU and the US relates to carbon emission by the industry. Palm oil has to reduce its carbon intensity levels in order to compete with other oilseeds. In addition, oil palm cultivation is not allowed to use the available carbon stock from forests and peat-lands, thus preventing the expansion of the oil palm industry completely."

Read the full speech here:
http://www.mpoa.org.my/v2/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=280:chairmans-speech-at-the-12th-agm-of-mpoa&catid=42:mpoa-news&Itemid=50

Malaysian Palm Oil Council [MPOC] Launches Online Website to Counter NGO Propaganda

In March of this year (2011), the MPOC launched "The Oil Palm" website to share the truth about palm oil and its role in society and for a healthy planet. CEO Tan Sri Datuk Dr Yusof Basiron said, “The Malaysian palm oil industry employs more than 570,000 people, more than 40 percent of which are small farmers. The industry is a leader in protecting the environment. Malaysia has set aside over 50 percent of its land for primary forest conservation and uses only 23 percent of land for agriculture. Yet these positive contributions to society often go unnoticed, or worse, denigrated by environmental NGOs. The Oil Palm website will help ensure their campaign of misinformation does not go unchallenged.”

theoilpalm.org

mpoc.org.my

   

The Malaysian Government has been on board with the RSPO since 2008!

An article from PalmOilHQ (from 2008) states that, "The [Malaysian] government will allocate RM50 million to provide a Roundtable Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) Fund to support community programmes and conservation programmes."

Read the full article here:
http://www.palmoilhq.com/PalmOilNews/malaysian-government-allocates-rm50-million-for-roundtable-sustainable-palm-oil/

Countries and companies are taking action to support sustainable palm oil practices. It is our responsibility, as consumers, to keep that momentum going and make smarter purchases. Keep looking for sustainable palm oil products and you will be doing your part. Spread the word and you will be contributing more. Pressure big companies to switch to sustainable palm oil sources - and you are going above and beyond. You can make a difference!

Keep up to date on the latest of what Malaysia is doing by visiting the sites for the MPOA & MPOC:
mpoa.org.my
mpoc.org.my
theoilpalm.org