HCV 5&6 monitoring has mostly been ignored. However the benefit of ensuring that these values are maintained stretches far into the conservation of the other, environmental, HCVs.

 

Social HCVs have mostly been ignored, with little to no practical guidance provided to oil palm companies on how to manage and/or monitor these vital values. This has led not only to the loss of these values for local communities, but also to numerous instances of social conflict that also results in the degradation and destruction of environmental HCVs.

 

As part of a previous BACP grant, The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) developed and field-tested a unique HCV Impact Monitoring System and trained staff of two oil palm companies on its implementation. As part of further development, ZSL formed a collaboration with the Forest Peoples Programme (FPP) to develop and consult on a new protocol which focused in detail on the monitoring of social HCVs. 

 

The protocol is the first of its kind that attempts to provide such practical and detailed monitoring guidance for the industry. It links together good practices for community engagement with detailed tables of indicators which to monitor through questionnaires as well as through the use of participatory mapping and joint community and company patrols. Given the importance of engagement with a wide range of stakeholders on such a contentious issue, ZSL and FPP undertook two consultation workshops in Indonesia and in Cameroon where the oil palm industry increasing operates. The consultations were well attended with over 50 people attending and providing needed input into the development process.    

 

The draft HCV 5&6 monitoring protocol is now available online on www.sustainablepalmoil.org and is free to download for those that wish to learn more about how to develop and conduct monitoring of social HCVs. However, this is not the end of the story. ZSL and FPP are continuing our collaboration to take the monitoring of social HCVs closer to implementation on the ground. In 2014, we aim to engage with two companies in Indonesia and two companies in Liberia to field test the protocols, to develop training on its implementation and to train two companies on its use. Through this, we hope that we will bring the aim of including the much needed monitoring of social HCVs not only closer to realization, but also to making it the norm.