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IFC Agrees to Halt Palm Oil Funding Following Global Critique

In response to pressure from a global coalition of NGOs, plantation smallholders, and indigenous rights organizations, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has suspended all funding to the palm oil sector pending a review of business procedures within the sector. The Jakarta Post and Reuters reported that on Wednesday September 9, World Bank President Robert Zoellick halted palm oil financing upon the release of an audit by the Compliance Advisor Ombudsperson (CAO) which found the Wilmar Group, one of the world’s largest processers of palm oil, in violation of Indonesian law and IFC environmental and social standards. Wilmar currently operates more than 200,000 hectares of palm oil plantations in Indonesia and Malaysia.

 

On August 28, World Bank President Robert Zoellick stated that in response to the audit, the IFC “recognizes the deficiencies identified…and that there are lessons to be learned for future investments in the palm oil sector”, and announced an intensive, six-month review process to develop improved strategy for future IFC engagement in the palm oil sector. Zoellick noted that the IFC’s action plan would consider broader legal and institutional barriers to sustainable business practice within Indonesia, and stressed that the IFC is “…committed to ensuring that positive development outcomes – including environmental and social sustainability – remain at the core of IFC’s development business.” IFC will consult closely with organizations such as the Forest Peoples Programme and others which were instrumental in filing the initial 2007 complaint.



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Posted By Naomi Basik at 2:35pm on September 17, 2009

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