Sustainable Oil Palm week in Brazil

There is an increasing interest in the production of oil palm in the Brazilian Amazon. While the current extent of oil palm plantations in Brazil is only around 150.000 hectares, this area is set to increase rapidly within the next years. Most of the current oil palm development is concentrated in the state of Pará in Northern Brazil. While the expansion of oil palm has the potential to provide important economic benefits for the region, it has to be managed carefully in order to avoid negative environmental and social impacts.

Sustainability certification, such as the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), is a practical tool for ensuring that the production is carried out in a sustainable manner. However, there is currently a lack of experience and technical knowledge about sustainable oil palm production and certification among the government officials, civil society and private sector of the region.

The Proforest Initiative and Imazon together with the Green Municipalities Programme of the state of Pará are organizing a Technical Week on Sustainable Palm to build capacity, share information and promote discussion on sustainable oil palm production and certification. The event will be held in Belém, Pará and will have the participation of oil palm producers, government officials, civil society and other interested stakeholders.

The week will start with an open session on the 22nd of October, held in Belém, Pará. The objective of this session will be to provide an introduction to the key aspects of sustainable oil palm production and promote discussion on potential challenges and solutions for sustainable oil palm production in the region.

For more information:

• see the preliminary agenda for the open session on the 22nd (in Portuguese), or
• contact Isabella Freire Vitali (Proforest): americalatina@proforest.net or Laura Orioli (Imazon): laura@imazon.org.br