Historique
Palm oil and its derivatives are part of thousands of products across the globe today. One can find it in biodiesel, soap, doughnuts as well as soap, to mention only a few. Since 1990, palm oil consumption has quintupled worldwide. The demand in Asia, where palm oil is used in cooking oil, accounts for a $44 billion industry. Indonesia is the world’s largest producer of palm oil, with a forecasted annual growth in production of 10%. Early 2013, exports from Indonesia hit a five-year high.
In 2012, the total plantation area for palm oil production in Indonesia was estimated to account for approximately 7.65 million hectares generating 22 million tons of palm oil. Indonesia aims to double its current palm oil production to 40 million tons by 2020. Estimates vary how much land this will require vary widely, ranging from 5-20 million additional hectares. This expansion threatens remaining tropical forest and peat land.
However, there are opportunities for production increases through productivity gains and use of degraded lands. The need to balance growth and economic potential and maintaining healthy ecosystems and communities is fundamental to secure the future of both forests in Indonesia and improved livelihoods through economic growth.
The government recently established a national certification scheme called ISPO, which requires producers to comply with existing regulations for palm oil production, environmental management, responsibility to workers and social communities. UNDP supports the operationalization and optimization of ISPO, as it covers all producers in Indonesia to ensure compliance with the Indonesian legal system. RSPO (Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil) is also important in that it provides best practice standards. Therefore collaboration between these two schemes is crucial for the sustainable future of the Indonesian palm oil sector.
The Sustainable Palm Oil Initiative (SPO)
SPO is a major public private partnership that supports the sustainable production of palm oil while minimizing adverse social and environmental impacts. SPO aims to promote sustainable palm oil by reducing deforestation and providing support to a structural change in the sector. The five year programme is active from 2014 until 2018.
Based on the baseline assessment and extensive stakeholder consultations carried out in 2011-2013, the programme aims to contribute to sustainable palm oil production through a focus on the following strategic areas:
A. Ensure palm oil stakeholder in Indonesia are well coordinated through National Palm Oil Platform:
1. Facilitate coordination of palm oil stakeholders through
- Government involvement to drive institutionalization and sustainability
- Private sector engagement
- NGO, local communities, smallholder organizations
2. Provide access to government policy making (recommendations to ISPO and other underlying regulations)
B. Strengthen smallholders to improve sustainable livelihoods and agricultural practices
1. Provide training to smallholders on productivity, environment, fairer prices, management and ISPO certification
2. Strengthen local government agricultural extension worker systems to ensure sustainability and scaling up of
successful solutions
3. Work with smallholder cooperatives and larger plantations to reduce expansion into forests
C. Reduce deforestation:
1. Accelerate land swaps and use of degraded land for palm oil production through legal/policy development, leading to
reduced use of fertile forest lands.
2. Mainstream High Conservation Value (HCV) and High Carbon Stock (HCS) into spatial planning
3. Strengthen the case for legally protecting HCV/HCS lands within concessions
4. Measure/Manage GreenHouse Gas emissions
D. Improve land tenure and mediation mechanism:
1. Provide support to independent palm oil smallholders to obtain legal land status, which is key to certification under
RSPO (Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil) and ISPO
2. Strengthen local conflict mediation systems – leading to more effective use of land in the area
E. Operationalize the national certification scheme to foster a sustainable palm oil sector
1. Support ISPO operationalization and optimizing of guidelines so ISPO can effectively address socio-economic and
environmental problems
2. Support the development of a third party auditing system for ISPO to ensure international credibility
UNDP would like to hire an intern to support the development of the SPO Initiative on programmatic and operational fronts. Guided by the head of the Environment Unit UNDP Indonesia, the intern will work closely with other SPO team members (national project manager, environment expert, smallholder expert, platform coordinator and communication officer) to contribute to the full operationalization of the national palm oil platform, palm oil vs. deforestation debate, sustainable commodity certification schemes, and private public partnerships to support smallholders.
Devoirs et responsabilités
Responsibilities of intern(s) include following:
A. Environmental policy
1. Collect and analyze existing reports and publications on sustainable palm oil, including on deforestation from
agricultural expansion, barriers to utilize degraded land etc.
2. Support the development of a framework on the costs and benefits for palm oil businesses to adopt sustainable
practices
B. Platform and communications
1. Support outreach activities with sustainable palm oil stakeholders at national and sub-national levels (government,
buyer and producer companies, small scale palm oil operations)
2. Support the communications officer to produce periodic updates (website, factsheets) and drafting of op-eds and
other substantial documents
3. Provide necessary backstopping support for operation of SPO platform, in particular for corporate
participants/members, including communication, invitations, agenda setting and meeting minutes
4. Support the implementation of the SPO corporate engagement strategy
C. Palm oil smallholders
1. Support the smallholder extension manager to develop joint public private extensions models, including work plans to
pilot activities at the district level (includes potential travel to the field)
2. Develop pilot project concepts, business plans, necessary factual information for engaging with corporate partners
D. Certification schemes
1. Support the national project manager to accelerate SPO’s work on better coordinating RSPO and ISPO, particularly in
the context of the joint ISPO RSPO study
2. Support the smallholder extension manager to ensure the ISPO smallholder guidelines are translated into usable
form and training carried out in the field
Details are open for further discussions with candidates based on their experience, qualification and interest.
Compétences
Corporate Competencies:
1. Demonstrate commitment to UNDP mission, vision and values
2. Display cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
Functional Competencies:
1. Effective communications skills;
2. Excellent computer skills;
3. Focuses on impact and result for the client;
4. Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
5. Ability to remain calm, in control and good humored even under pressure and tight deadlines;
6. Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
7. Responds positively to critical feedback and differing points of view;
8. Solicits feedback about the impact of his/her own behavior;
9. Proficient computer skills and knowledge of automated systems;
10. Strong organizational, communication and interpersonal skills with ability to work under pressure within an international
settings;
11. Ability to perform a variety of administrative tasks.
Qualifications et expériences requises
The following qualifications are required:
1. The candidate must be enrolled in the final year of a graduate degree programme, or in a higher degree programme. For those who have graduated, if selected must start the internship within one year of graduation.
2. Should be a student during internship
3. Preferably a few years working experiences in corporate environment
4. Experience in developing and implementing new business/philanthropic ideas
5. Experience in the usage of computer and office software packages and data-based software
6. Have passion and interest in working on development and private sector joint programme collaboration
7. Language requirement:
a. Native level English language, spoken and written
b. Preferably proficient in Bahasa Indonesia
Financial Issues
Interns are not financially remunerated by UNDP.
All costs connected with an intern's participation in the Programme must be borne by:
a) The nominating institution, related institution or government, which may provide the required financial assistance to its
students;
b) The student, who will have to obtain financing for subsistence and make his/her own arrangements for travel (including
to and from the office), visas, accommodation, etc.
Note
According to internal guideline, interns will not be financially compensated by UNDP. All the costs associated with his/her internship (including living expense, accommodation, travel, visa and insurance) must be covered by nominating institution, and/or other sponsoring institutions, and/or the applicant. In addition, UNDP will not be responsible for any kind of injury, illness, death or loss of intern(s).