Sawit Watch (SW)
Working towards a more sustainable and socially responsible palm oil sector
Sawit Watch, the palm oil sector watchdog
Indonesia is the world's largest producer and exporter of palm oil. Some 20 million workers and farmers earn their living from it. Palm oil is so big because you can use it for all sorts of things. Palm oil makes your chocolate spread easier to spread and is used in detergents, biodiesel, perfume and cookies. Result? The plantations take up an area of more than 6 times the size of Belgium, and thus contribute to large-scale deforestation of the green lung of Asia.
Small steps towards a more sustainable sector
Sawit Watch closely follows the palm oil industry. Thanks to their efforts, there was a moratorium on the expansion of plantations for years, which somewhat limited deforestation. This is good for the environment, trees are saved, and for people, millions of families depend on it in one way or another as a source of income and food.
The organization not only wants to stop the expansion of the plantations, currently the counter is at 20 million ha, but also to make the sector more sustainable and social. In addition to the tropical forest, there is 14 million ha of valuable peatland to protect and SW also strives for the respect and improvement of labor rights by the companies.
Bye bye palm oil in Europe
Thanks to numerous reports on the questionable working conditions on the plantations and through lobbying at the Roundtable on Sustainable Palmoil (RSPO), which brings together all the major players in the sector, work is being done to improve working conditions. The main demands are: permanent contracts, higher wages, protective clothing for workers who come into contact with pesticides, full payment of holiday pay.
The ongoing criticism of blending palm oil in biodiesel also caused the European Commission to adjust its policy on biofuel: palm oil will be phased out as a fuel in the coming years. And last year the EU approved a law that should make the import of various agricultural products, including palm oil, deforestation-free. Everything is now being prepared to make the traceability of the oil more transparent.
