Dear Members,
We are pleased to announce plans to launch the Hotspot Hub this summer. This new digital tool helps us to combat one of the toughest problems facing the industry: forest fires.
If you live in Southeast Asia, you may have already felt a change in the weather - in other words, the dry season is coming. This usually means an increase in the number of forest fires. With the pandemic taking a devastating toll on livelihoods, there is a risk that some farmers will resort to land clearance by burning to make up for financial shortfalls. Open burning can spark wildfires which rage out of control, producing toxic haze at a time when we can ill afford to put our environment and communities under more pressure.
We are launching the Hotspot Hub to bring greater transparency and accountability to this issue. The interactive and innovative platform provides near real-time information on potential fires within both RSPO certified and non-certified concessions, and the actions already taken by members to respond to the situation.
The data so far reveals that only 0.4% of total hotspots detected in Southeast Asia in 2019 were within RSPO concessions. Moreover, no RSPO Independent Smallholders had an instance of persistent fire on their properties.
These are remarkable achievements. They are a testament to your hard work and commitment to fight forest fires and uphold the standards set in the RSPO Principles and Criteria (P&C)
We want to tell this story; but we can only do so with accurate data. This means giving consent within the Fire Reporting Form for us to publish your data on the Hotspot Hub.
To date, 35% of growers in Southeast Asia have provided consent compared with 84% of members in Latin America and Africa. Let's change this picture and tell our impact story: certification works.
For any questions or concerns, you may reach out to RSPO's GIS Unit (maps@rspo.org) and take action to share your data on the Hotspot Hub.
