Dashboard: Forest
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1 Based on metrics template from 561 RSPO UoCs as of 31 December 2025. Includes UoC areas comprising High Conservation Value (HCV), High Carbon Stock (HCS), HCV-HCS and peatlands (unplanted and conserved/rehabilitated) that are set aside and protected under RSPO Standards. These are areas consisting of forests, wildlife habitats and community lands
2 The size of Singapore is approximately 74,900 ha.
Safeguarding Our Tropical Landscapes in the Palm Oil Sector
This aligns with RSPO’s long-term outcome (ToC L6), which envisions sustainable ecosystem management to achieve no deforestation and promote restoration of environmental value.
The development of oil palm cultivation has been intrinsically linked to the transformation of tropical landscapes, particularly in Southeast Asia. Originally growing wild in West and Central Africa, oil palm became a global commodity, with Indonesia and Malaysia emerging as leaders in production. This expansion has led to significant deforestation, particularly during the late 20th century. While deforestation rates in Indonesia and Malaysia have declined in recent years, the pressure for oil palm expansion is now emerging in other tropical forested regions across West and Central Africa, Latin America and Papua New Guinea.
Recognising the need for sustainable practices, the palm oil sector has made strides in governance over the years, starting with the establishment of RSPO in 2004 to promote sustainable production. In the years that followed, additional corporate No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation (NDPE) commitments, landscape-level conservation approaches, enhanced traceability systems, and evolving regulatory requirements such as national legislations on stricter forest protection laws, and sustainability disclosures on nature-related risks have emerged.
These evolving regulations make it increasingly crucial for palm oil producers to demonstrate no deforestation in their operations to maintain legal compliance for continued market access, secure investments and financing through verified sustainable practices, and build trust with increasingly eco-conscious consumers and stakeholders.
Today, forest protection has evolved from an environmental concern to a business imperative for the palm oil sector. Companies that fail to prevent forest conversion risk market exclusion, financial isolation, and reputational damage in an increasingly transparent global marketplace.
How does RSPO Drive Forest Protection in Practice?
Protecting forests requires more than a commitment. It requires clear rules, independent verification, active monitoring, and real accountability. RSPO delivers this through a comprehensive system that applies across all scales of palm oil production, from large corporate growers to smallholders.
Setting the Standard
Preventing deforestation is better than attempting to address it after damage has occurred.
Under both the 2024 RSPO Principles & Criteria (P&C) and the 2024 RSPO Independent Smallholder (ISH) Standard, the conversion of primary forests and peatland is prohibited. All members are required to identify and set aside High Conservation Value (HCV) and High Carbon Stock (HCS) areas prior to any new oil palm planting.
The RSPO New Planting Procedure (NPP) operationalises this requirement. Before any planting can proceed, growers must complete independent assessments covering the above. All assessments are independently verified, and planting can only begin after public notification and RSPO approval.
Fires that destroy forests also do not go undetected. RSPO prohibits the use of fire across its standards for land preparation, waste management, and pest controls, with active risk management measures and stakeholder engagement required.
These rules apply to corporate growers and independent smallholders alike, with each standard tailored to make compliance practical and accessible at different scales of production.
Certification and Oversight
Compliance is never self-declared but is verified through RSPO Certification.
Accredited, independent certification bodies audit RSPO members’ unit of certification (UoC) against RSPO Standards with the RSPO Secretariat providing additional oversight, technical review, and monitoring (including satellite-based fire Hotspot Hub) to further strengthen system integrity. Transparency is further reinforced throughGeoRSPO, an interactive mapping platform developed with the World Resources Institute (WRI) where submission of concession boundaries is a mandatory requirement for RSPO Certification. Overall, it is a system built so that sustainability claims hold up to scrutiny in the field, and in the market.
Accountability for Past Actions
Where land clearance of oil palm occurred after November 2005 without the required assessments, the RSPO Remediation and Compensation Procedure (RaCP) provides a structured pathway to remediate and compensate for HCV-HCS losses before certification is granted.
Grievance Mechanism
The RSPO Complaints System provides all stakeholders with a fair, transparent and accessible channel to raise concerns about members who may be failing to meet their forest protection obligations as per RSPO’s requirements listed above. This ensures accountability extends beyond the audit cycle.
From Forest to Market: Supply Chain Certification
Forest protection measures at the production level are reinforced through 2020 RSPO Supply Chain Certification Standard.
Downstream members including Processors and/or Traders (P&T), Consumer Goods Manufacturers (CGM), and Retailers are required to purchase and use Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO) that meets RSPO’s traceability and sustainability requirements.
Sourcing CSPO directly supports the growers and supply chain actors who comply with RSPO Standards and invest in doing things right. It sustains the commercial conditions that make responsible production viable, and signals market demand for palm oil that is produced without deforestation. For RSPO members across the supply chain, sourcing CSPO is not just a procurement decision, it is a direct act of forest protection.
Impact Evidence & Data
When you source and support RSPO Certified Sustainable Palm Oil, you are contributing to a supply chain that keeps forests standing and holds deforestation accountable.
551,637 hectares (ha)
of High Conservation Value (HCV), High Carbon Stock (HCS) and peat areas protected through RSPO Certified supply chains.
Nearly 7.5 times the size of Singapore
1.38%
of all fire hotspots in Indonesia and Malaysia fell within RSPO-certified concessions and of those alerts, fewer than 1 in 5 (19%) were confirmed fires in 2025.
Certified concessions consistently outperform the wider landscape on fire risk
293,557 ha
of HCV, HCS, and peat areas1 safeguarded from conversion by RSPO’s New Planting Procedure (NPP) since 2015.
At least 1 ha in every 2 ha proposed for new oil palm development
128,408 ha
remediated and compensated by RSPO members globally since 2015, across 72 projects in 18 countries.
Driven by RSPO’s Remediation and Compensation Procedure (RaCP), holding members accountable for land cleared without HCV assessments
Get Involved
Whether you’re an individual or an organisation, you can join the global partnership to make palm oil sustainable.
