PUBLIC CONSULTATION: Feedback on National Risk Assessments

13 August 2020 – Kliwon is a natural rubber smallholder from Jambi Province, Indonesia, whose work with natural rubber started in the 80s. This evening, however, he’s doing something quite different from his usual rubber farming activities. Dressed in a light brown shirt of traditional Indonesian batik, Kliwon’s wiry frame and distinct head of white hair is visible on the computer and mobile phone screens of over 20 other natural rubber smallholders from around the world. He is one of the participants in GPSNR’s first international call for smallholder members to prepare them for the upcoming General Assembly.

At 68, Kliwon is one of the more experienced smallholder members in GPSNR. Today, he is being joined by other smallholders. Some, like H Nasoro Nie, a fresh-faced young lady from Vietnamese province of Dak Lak, are as young as 24, almost one third Kliwon’s age. Despite the difference in years, these smallholders all have something in common. They recognize the increasing importance of a sustainable global natural rubber value chain, and are actively participating in efforts to transform the industry.

It is the first time that the smallholders are meeting each other on an international level. Prior to this, they have been engaged in national level calls, making their presentations to their fellow natural rubber farmers from the same country. More than 20 natural rubber smallholders are present on the call – a handful are unable to join as they live in remote locations where access to the internet is not always a given. Unfortunately, the four smallholders from Myanmar are unable to connect due to heavy flooding in the areas where they live.

As with any meet-and-greet, communication is of paramount importance, and this includes being able to understand and be understood regardless of the language you speak. Here, five foreign languages come into play: Bahasa Indonesia, French, Myanmar, Thai and Vietnamese. Using Zoom’s in-built interpretation feature, the smallholders are able to access special audio channels within the meeting, where they can hear everything that is said, interpreted into their local language. Thanks to sustained funding from Partnerships for Forests (P4F), a UK aid funded program, GPSNR was able to engage interpreters to perform this simultaneous interpretation remotely. The funds were also channeled to the appointment of Transitions, a sustainable development consultancy agency, who is facilitating the international sessions with smallholders.

The call begins with opening remarks by GPSNR Director Stefano Savi, followed by a quick runthrough of the agenda and an overview of the global natural rubber market. 

Then, the smallholders start to introduce themselves. We hear from those from Indonesia, then Thailand, Vietnam, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Brazil. They share about the size of their natural rubber plantations, their activities around rubber farming. Many of them are actively involved in the natural rubber scene in their country, from Baroan Roland, who is the Chairman of the Association of Natural Rubber Producers of Côte d’Ivoire (APROCANCI) to Thailand’s Soontorn Rakrong, who has been involved in initiating dialogue with the Thai government for policy development around fair tenure and land use rights. As one smallholder speaks in their native language, the interpreter interprets, in real-time, their words into English for the rest of the participants. The other interpreters, picking up the English interpretation, convey it to the other smallholders in their respective native languages.

All too soon, two hours fly by. There is just enough time for a short Question and Answer segment. At the end of the night, it’s clear that the smallholders are excited to have more opportunities to get to know each other and further discuss the issues around natural rubber that they all similarly share regardless of geography. —

The 2nd GPSNR Smallholder International Call will take place on 27 August 2020.

It’s been a busy month, to say the least! If you haven’t had the chance to take stock of everything that has happened, here is the update: 

Strategy and Objectives Working Group

After conducting 2 sessions of the Theory of Change (ToC) Workshop last  month, the Strategy and Objectives working group will soon finalise the ToC document and potentially identify new strategies for GPSNR. They are also working on developing a Request for Proposals for the Economic Risk Study. If you are interested in working on this RFP, please let Aidan know (aidan@gpsnr.org)

Smallholder Representation Working Group

After three successful smallholder onboarding workshops for smallholders from Indonesia, India and Cambodia over the last two months, the working group is formally incorporating new smallholders from the three countries as GPSNR members. 28 new smallholders from Indonesia have already been accepted as members. The group will also be conducting onboarding workshops for Sri Lanka, Thailand and Ivory Coast, and is facilitating smallholder EC nominations ahead of the 2021 General Assembly on 14th December.

Policy Toolbox Working Group

As the General Assembly of 2021 comes closer, the group has met numerous times in October to finalize the Reporting Requirements. . 

Capacity Building Working Group

After finalising the agroforestry position paper via the Agroforestry Task Force, the Capacity Building Working Group is busy finalising the Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), a system to monitor impacts of capacity building activities, implementation plans for Ivory Coast and Indonesia as well as developing key deliverables and milestones for the Thailand national sub working group. 

Traceability and Transparency Working Group

This working group is conducting member consultations on the recently developed Traceability Benchmark, and will provide recommendations on the same to the EC based on traceability studies from last year. At the same time, they are developing a TOR for a new working group on risk assessment.

Shared Responsibility Working Group

The group has discussed and explored solutions to identified root causes for each focus area of shared responsibility. It is also continuing to draft activities and a framework for Shared Responsibility for integration into other processes such as the Implementation Guidance, which will include consultations with GPSNR members and WGs to ensure alignment on Shared Responsibility for the platform.