vacancy

ETC Foundation is currently inviting applications for the position of MEET BIS Project Manager based in Hanoi, Vietnam.

every drop counts: rain and live earth run for water

A rainwater harvesting project of BSP-Nepal, one of RAIN's partners in Nepal, has been selected for the Live Earth Run for Water on the 18th of April in Amsterdam. Do you want to know more about Live Earth and the Run for Water in Amsterdam? Visit www.liveearth.org and most of all: sign up and Run for Water!

 

growing demand for sustainable palm oil

On 11 December 2009 Unilever announced suspension of its contracts with one of Indonesia’s largest palm oil companies. Reportedly valued € 30 million per annum, the contracts will be put on hold until the supplier can prove that its plantations are not contributing to the destruction of high conservation value forests and are not encroaching on peat lands.

© Aidenvironment

In the process leading up to this decision, Unilever asked Aidenvironment Asia to verify the validity of allegations made by Greenpeace in its Burning Up Borneo report that several suppliers of palm oil continued to clear tropical forests and peat lands.

The verification work was undertaken in consultation with all parties and included field visits in the presence of supplier company staff. The study shows that specific allegations made by Greenpeace were founded on unreliable baseline maps and that the quantitative claims made in the report therefore did not stick.

Nonetheless, the verification study confirmed that between 2000 and 2007, Unilever’s suppliers which operate plantations in Central Kalimantan did contribute to the opening up of (deep) peatland, deforestation of orang utan habitat and that inadequate measures were in place to prevent land fires on the plantation estate.

The study also found that both suppliers and auditors insufficiently complied with the requirements laid down by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). But the findings were not all bleak: the verification work showed that differentiation between supplier performance on sustainability and transparency was emerging and that several companies had started proactive implementation of RSPO standards.

towards a european ban on the illegal timber trade

Illegal logging is one of the major threats to forests worldwide. Since the first research into illegal logging almost twenty years ago, a European proposal has been formulated that prohibits the trade in illegal timber. This proposal will be discussed by the European ministers of agriculture. In anticipation of this discussion Greenpeace has published a report that sketches the developments in the illegal timber trade over the years and concludes with a strong appeal to the Agriculture and Fisheries Council to accept the proposal. Aidenvironment conducted the research for this report.

first outputs gm soy debate

Aidenvironment recently acted as moderator for an international multi-stakeholder debate on genetic modification of soy. One of the goals of this GM Soy Debate is to provide an agreed knowledge base as a potentially useful starting point for discussion of public policy or political decisions that are made in the interest of society in general. One of the first outputs is a scientific research report by Plant Research International B.V. of Wageningen University. The main findings of this study are summarized in a public report entitled Agro-ecological impacts of genetically modified soy production in Argentina and Brazil: An analysis of twelve claims about GM Soy. For further information on the GM Soy Debate initiative and future projects www.gmsoydebate.global-connections.nl 

lenteborrel 2009

With over 60 attendees, three interesting speakers and lively discussions afterwards, the first Aidenvironment Lenteborrel on 4 June was an inspiring event.

Held at the Hortus Botanicus in Amsterdam, the focus of the afternoon was "Human rights in the supply chain: practical experience with social sustainability”. Guest speakers Arjan Hamburger, Netherlands human rights ambassador, Bart Jan Krouwel, corporate social responsibility consultant, and Jesse Kuijper, founder of the Borneo Initiative and former president of FSC Netherlands, shared their experience with international standards for social sustainability and human rights and offered practical suggestions for their development and implementation.

There is growing interest worldwide in human rights and social sustainability and the development of international standards in this area depends to a large extent on the cooperation between governments, the private sector and civil society. Human rights are a priority in the domestic and foreign policy of the Dutch government. The Dutch government supports the “Protect, Respect, Remedy” framework for business and human rights devised by John Ruggie, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretariat-General. This approach underlines the need for knowledge exchange and cooperation between the three sectors. (For more information see http://www.un.org/en/rights).

An example of such cooperation is The Borneo Initiative. This independent, non-profit organization was established in 2008 to promote the responsible management of forests in Indonesia. Its aim is to accelerate sustainable forestry management in Indonesia through LEI-FSC certification, engaging all major stakeholders in the process. (For more information see www.borneoinitiative.org).

Discussions covered a range of issues such as the impact of the climate debate on deforestation, the relationship between illegal logging and FSC, the bottlenecks in human rights and policy-making in the Netherlands and in Europe, and the role of NGOs and local organizations. The exchange of expertise and experience continued over drinks and a buffet dinner in the grounds of the Hortus Botanicus.

For further information on human rights, please contact Marina D’Engelbronner, dengelbronner@aidenvironment.org

new executive director

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Peter de Haan as new executive director of Aidenvironment as of January 1, 2009. Peter introduces himself in the April issue of the Journal (issue 1).

performance management and learning system (pmls)

The Performance Management and Learning System (PMLS) is an organization-wide approach recently devised by Aidenvironment to monitor and evaluate the outputs of programs and projects. The PMLS takes intentional changes in the outside world as its starting point and examines the impact of programs and projects on the outside world.

It is an example of the research Aidenvironment conducts on specific themes and the new methods and instruments it develops to optimize its work and the service it provides to its clients.

launch wwf living planet report 2008

On 28 October, the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) presented the first Dutch edition of its Living Planet Report 2008. Aidenvironment helped research, write and co-edit the report. The report shows that the world’s biodiversity is declining rapidly and that mankind is consuming natural resources faster than the Earth can replenish them. The Dutch also live beyond their means; if every nation were to have a consumption pattern like the Dutch we would need an extra planet. The main commodities responsible for the Dutch ‘ecological footprint’ are palm oil, soy, coffee, timber, paper, fish and tropical shrimp. WWF calls for immediate implementation by the Dutch government of already existing policies.

The report can be downloaded from
http://assets.wnf.nl/downloads/living planet_report.pdf (Dutch report) and http://assets.wnf.nl/downloads/lpr_2008.pdf (international report).
For further information, please contact Ingrid Visseren-Hamakers, visseren@aidenvironment.org

creating common sense on gm soy!

Aidenvironment is currently the moderator of an exiting international multi-stakeholder debate about genetic modification of soy. The project is carried out within the Development Policy Review network in cooperation with Wageningen University and Research Centre. Join the debate at www.gmsoydebate.global-connections.nl