[EOT] Review of the different scenarios in which the RaCP reprieve related to Resolution 18-2d is applicable

Terms of Reference

The RSPO Remediation and Compensation Procedure (RaCP) was endorsed on 12 November 2015 to provide Grower ^[1] members a clear, formal, and transparent procedure to remediate and compensate for land clearance without prior High Conservation Value (HCV) assessment since November 2005. The RaCP is applicable globally for RSPO Members, and to growers who may seek RSPO membership and/or apply for RSPO certification in the future.

The Remediation and Compensation Procedure applies to the following:

• land leased or acquired by an RSPO Member, and to which the majority shareholding rule still applies.
• associated (including schemed) smallholders and all other exclusively contracted out growers of fresh fruit bunch (FFB) being supplied to all units of the member whether they are smallholders or not, since these are defined by the RSPO as part of the supply base of a unit of certification.

Under usual circumstances, the RSPO Growers should be responsible for any land clearance without prior High Conservation Value-High Carbon stock (HCV-HCS) assessment. Considering that the requirement of RaCP would be an insurmountable barrier for scheme smallholders ^[2], the Resolution GA18-2d ^[3] entitled “Resolution to review and amendment of the Remediation and Compensation Procedure (RaCP) process as applied to scheme smallholders” was proposed and adopted at the 18th Annual General Assembly (GA18) of the RSPO [2 December 2021]. The resolution called for 2 actions:

• Reprieve from the RaCP 2015 for scheme smallholders, and;
• Review and amendment of the RaCP application for scheme smallholders.

Therefore, pursuant to the adoption of the Resolution GA18-2d, the RSPO Biodiversity and High Conservation Value Working Group (BHCVWG) and Compensation Task Force 2 are calling for tenders to review the applicability of the RSPO RaCP for the different types of scheme engagement between RSPO Growers and scheme smallholders. This work is important as it will relate to the actual situations on the ground whereby a variety of schemes may exist in different countries. By understanding the different type of scheme engagement between the RSPO Growers and the smallholder (individual or groups), this will help identify situations where the scheme smallholders may have roles in full decision-making and financial control over their land clearing, and therefore should be held to account independently from the RSPO growers and eligible both for this reprieve, and for a separate RaCP process for smallholders.

The outcome and findings of the study will be used to inform the revision of the RSPO RaCP version 2 and the conditions for the reprieve.

Submission Timeline

Your submission should adhere to the below dates:

Click here to download the Terms of Reference (ToR)

[1] Grower is defined by the RSPO as the person or entity that owns and/or manages a palm oil development, irrespective of their membership category.  [2] Scheme smallholders are defined by the RSPO as smallholder farmers, landowners or their delegates who do not have: i) The enforceable decision-making power on the operation of the land and production practices; and/or ii) The freedom to choose how they utilise their land, types of crops to plant, and how they manage them (how they organise, manage and finance the land) (source : RSPO P&C 2018) [3] https://garesolutions.rspo.org/_uploads/fb0b0351d310900852a936f1398422a6.pdf