GPSNR Policy Framework

What a year! All our working groups successfully overcame the challenges of remote working and time-zone coordination, while moving the needle on sustainability in natural rubber. Here are their updates for December 2021:

Strategy and Objectives Working Group

The group has finalized the Theory of change, which is currently in the process of being designed for public communications. They have also published the Environmental Risk Study, which can be found here.  Currently, the group is working on developing the RFP for the Economic Risk Study, which will be published and worked on in 2022. The group is also working on developing next steps for itself based on the finalized Theory of Change.

Smallholder Representation Working Group

In 2021, the working group onboarded 39 new smallholders at GPSNR. In 2022, they will be focussing on mapping out the possibility of smallholder onboarding workshops in Columbia, Ghana, Liberia and Malaysia, which are countries with a relatively lower representation of smallholders within GPSNR. From January 2022, they will also be busy with developing a Smallholders Policy Framework. 

Policy Toolbox Working Group

The group saw a major milestone in the approval of the reporting requirements at the 2021 General Assembly. In 2022, they will be busy developing guidance for thereporting requirements and a transparency roadmap before the reporting cycle begins in mid-2022. At the same time, the group continues to refine the Implementation Guidance before the General Assembly of 2022. 

Capacity Building Working Group

The group recently hosted a webinar on GPSNR’s Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) before the 2021 General Assembly, and published two RFPs for the assessment of the Knowledge Sharing Platform and GAP coaching for Indonesia respectively. In the next few months, it will focus on kickstarting the Thailand national sub-working group, advancing agroforestry implementation plans for GPSNR as well continuing to advance capacity building implementation in Indonesia and Ivory Coast. 

Traceability and Transparency Working Group

The Traceability and Transparency working group has requested members’ input on the traceability benchmark and will work on refining it based on the feedback received. You can take a look at the draft benchmark here and give your feedback here before 31st December. 

Shared Responsibility Working Group

The working group has discussed and explored solutions to address the root causes identified for each of the three focus areas of Shared Responsibility. It has also identified a consultant to support the development of a shared responsibility framework. In 2022, the group will draft activities and framework for Shared Responsibility for integration into other processes such as the Implementation Guidance and align with other working groups. 

With the input from the workshop in Indonesia, Thailand, Brazil (and soon Cote d’Ivoire and Vietnam), the smallholders representation working group is finalizing the definition of ‘smallholders’ which will be needed to open up a new category of membership. Recognizing the experience and effort that IRSG/SNRi had already invested in this work, Smallholders Representation Working Group invited IRSG to discuss the definition of ‘smallholders’.  

While many countries have their own definition of ‘smallholders’ based on the size of their land, the Smallholders representation Working Group agreed other characteristics of smallholders (such as income provenance, level of dependency on family labour, economic constraints, etc) should also be considered. 

As the definition of ‘smallholders’ are affiliated to the work scope Strategy 2 – Capacity Building Working Group, the Smallholders Representation Working Group members are working closely with Strategy 2 – Capacity Building Working Group members to ensure that there is alignment in definition between smallholders in the natural rubber supply chain and smallholders that will become GPSNR member.

In the meantime, a successful third workshop in Brazil concluded this week, with a series of learnings for GPSNR on the organisation of farmers in the region, and their expectations from the future collaboration with the Platform. The workshop also achieved good progress on the identification of potential candidates for membership in GPSNR, both by single farmers and producers associations.