National Initiatives
for Sustainable & Climate Smart
Oil Palm Smallholders
(NISCOPS)
About the project
Millions of smallholders and workers earn their livelihoods in the palm oil sector, a sector that significantly contributes to food security, employment, gross domestic product (GDP) and trade balance in many producing countries. The global expansion of this sector is associated with significant sustainability challenges. The impact of palm oil production on changes to land use and greenhouse gas emissions is giving rise to tensions between exporting and importing countries. Further polarisation of this debate or a radical boycott of palm oil does not solve the problem. The Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH) and Solidaridad believe there is a solution. Together, they have designed a new way to enable countries producing palm oil to notably contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement, whilst also improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers and workers. This includes scaling solutions for two potential risks related to the EU regulation on Deforestation-free commodities, namely segregation of the palm-oil supply chain at the expense of smallholder farmers in countries deemed to be high risk, and further leakage of deforestation to other consuming markets. With support from the Government of the Netherlands, five National Initiatives for Sustainable Climate Smart Oil Palm Smallholders (NISCOPS) are being implemented in cooperation with the governments of Indonesia, Malaysia, Colombia, Ghana and Nigeria.
Countries of Implementation
- Indonesia
- Malaysia
- Colombia
- Ghana
- Nigeria
Overarching Aim
To demonstrate that the palm oil sector can contribute to the SDGs and climate ambitions of the Paris Agreement, whilst also improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers and workers. Palm oil-producing landscapes will become more economically robust and socially just, while protecting and restoring valuable natural resources. This, in turn, will lead to the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agriculture and land-use change. NISCOPS will strengthen existing partnerships and build new partnerships with national and subnational governments, reporting transparently on progress in each producing country.
Partners

