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Balancing sustainable production, forest conservation, resilient livelihoods, and good labour practices
The group of forest complexes known as the Southern Central Forest Spine (SCFS) is host to critical wildlife corridors for tigers, elephants, and other flora and fauna species. Significant land conversion to palm oil plantations since the 1980s has resulted in a fragmented forest ecosystem. These broken forest links contribute to the increase in cases of human-wildlife conflicts.
Being a labour-intensive industry, systematic and deep-rooted issues often affect plantation workers, of which approximately 70% are migrant workers. Indications of forced labour are not uncommon, and severe labour shortages further complicate the challenge. Over 6,000 farmers in SCFS are faced with diverse challenges such as low productivity and low resilience to changing market prices, among others.
98 out of 108 palm oil mills sourcing from the focal area have been engaged on NDPE, of which 39 mills have submitted self assessments and are working on action plans to address NDPE issues.
Completed preliminary spatial mapping to identify palm oil mills to engage with in order to achieve fresh fruit bunches (FFB) traceability. 42 mills have started collecting traceability data.
Being a strategic bottleneck in the global supply chain, 16 out of 18 palm oil refineries operating in the landscape have adopted NDPE policies.
Civil society
Engaging local actors, providing capacity building and training and facilitating multi-stakeholder collaboration.
Government
Providing the human resources and operational framework to support the protection of forests and protected areas.
The private sector
Implementing NDPE commitments in their supply chains & participating in landscape-level transformation activities.
SCFS Landscape Coordinator
Field Officer - Farmer Resilience
Beyond the landscape coordination and field teams, several other colleagues from Malaysia provide support to the landscape.
Southern CFS is one of the key ecosystems where Earthworm Foundation works through its landscapes approach.
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