Press Releases

Update: The First Six Months of the High Carbon Stock Forest Conservation Pilot Project

1. Preamble
2. Progress of pilot criteria
3. The High Carbon Stock (HCS) implementation process
4. Feedback from stakeholders
5. Summary and next steps

1. Preamble

On 13 March 2013, Golden Agri-Resources Ltd (GAR) together with its subsidiary PT SMART Tbk
(SMART) announced the implementation of an HCS forest conservation pilot project at PT Kartika Prima Cipta (PT KPC), West Kalimantan, Indonesia. The purpose of the pilot is to establish a framework for successful HCS conservation by the broader palm oil industry. The pilot acts as a catalyst to foster further multi-stakeholder dialogue on solutions to conserve HCS forests. During the pilot, GAR and SMART in collaboration with global non-profit The Forest Trust (TFT) and with Greenpeace, continue to engage with the Government of Indonesia, civil society organisations, local and indigenous communities, key growers and other stakeholders in the Indonesian palm oil industry to address the following key success factors:

1. Community buy-in, which would require palm oil companies to fulfil their plasma commitments to smallholders by compensating them for not being able to plant on HCS land. In addition to a compensation plan for HCS land, there would need to be a plan for the community to be involved in protecting HCS land.
2. Government of Indonesia buy-in, whereby the government would take an active role in formulating policies to further promote HCS conservation. These would include amending the policy on abandoned land and implementing a land swap policy to facilitate the exchange of HCS land for alternative planting sites. The government would also map no-go HCS zones to indicate land on which there is to be a moratorium on clearing and planting.
3. Industry buy-in, whereby at least ten key growers would adopt the HCS forest conservation strategy and implement their respective pilot projects before GAR rolls out the next phase of its HCS forest conservation. In addition, industry bodies such as the Indonesia Palm Oil Association (GAPKI) would adopt an HCS conservation policy.

This multi-stakeholder engagement process aims to rally all stakeholders to identify HCS areas, develop an enabling legal framework for HCS conservation, and implement measures to conserve HCS.

Download the full report