Oil palm, livestock and cocoa: An integrated landscape management approach.

General

In the South Caribbean Coastal Autonomous Region of Nicaragua, we have convened 49 producers, private companies, civil society organisations, and government agencies in the Paisajes Sostenibles (PaSos) platform to work towards sustainable landscape management, so as to enhance the fragile RACCS ecosystem. The palm oil companies that participated in the PaSos platform jointly identified High Conservation Value Areas (HCVAs) and developed action plans to protect these HCVAs in a cost effective manner. Incentives were developed to support the process towards jurisdictional RSPO certification. By the end of 2020, as a result of the RSPO National Interpretation process, the regional government, as well as the companies involved have shown interest in certifying the entire RACCS under the jurisdictional certification scheme of RSPO. In addition, the national government has shown interest in reviewing and adjusting the Nicaraguan Compulsory Technical Standard of Sustainable Palm Oil (NTON). We also worked with two companies to develop and implement a smallholder-inclusive business model. This model offers a mechanism through which smallholders receive a better price, while it reduces the chances of potential land conflicts between smallholders and companies, and supports smallholders’ livelihood diversification. In addition, we co-initiated the “Livestock Zero Deforestation” platform through which, together with private sector actors and CSOs, we aim to work towards a “deforestation-free label” for dairy and beef, and promote the diversification of livestock farms with cocoa and agroforestry.