GPSNR Working Groups Update: May 2022

With less than a month to go to GPSNR’s General Assembly (GA) 2020, the Secretariat has published an Information Booklet for all GPSNR members, containing key details around the event, including proposed resolutions and a list of candidates running for the Executive Committee Elections. 

This year’s GA will be convened virtually on 23 September 2020. GPSNR Ordinary Members will go to the polls two weeks before the event, to cast their votes on proposed resolutions which include, amongst others, the formation of a new membership category for natural rubber smallholders, and a policy framework for natural rubber production and sourcing for GPSNR member companies. Each membership category will also elect representatives to fill upcoming vacancies in the Executive Committee.

Members may access the GA Info Booklet via the mailer that was sent out on Friday, 21 August 2020. Any members encountering issues with the mailer and links may reach out to the Secretariat (info@gpsnr.org) for assistance.

One of the key strategies identified by GPSNR to achieve our vision of a fair, equitable and environmentally sound natural rubber value chain is to ensure that there is capacity amongst smallholders and industrial plantations to adopt best practices in natural rubber production.  

In 2020, the Capacity Building Working Group, through various stakeholder interviews and Working Group discussions, proposed a set of country-specific capacity building activities for four countries as a start: Côte d’Ivoire, Indonesia, Myanmar and Thailand. In developing these strategies, the Working Group sought to first identify threats to the sustainable production of natural rubber within the different local contexts, as well as the underlying causes for these threats. From this initial research, the working group developed proposed capacity building actions, along with main objectives and rationales for each chosen action. The approach adopted by the Working Group in designing these actions is to allow for immediate engagement and implementation on the ground. 

Following the Executive Committee’s endorsement of the Working Group’s capacity building proposals, the Working Group will be conducting a sharing session for all GPSNR members, during which more details about each national capacity building strategy will be presented.

Recruiting Members to Capacity Building National Sub-Groups

Now that the capacity building strategies are in place, the Working Group is inviting interested GPSNR members to join the soon-to-be-created National Sub-Groups that will be mandated to oversee, guide and implement the national capacity building strategies and to promote GPSNR policies and initiatives.  

The development of the National Sub-Groups recognizes existing local capacity building initiatives in the rubber sector and their independence of GPSNR and aims to cooperate with local efforts and stakeholders to achieve mutually agreed outcomes.