The UNDP has selected The Palm Scribe as one of two Asian media organizations to attend its Good Growth Conference in Peru.
Bhimanto Suwastoyo, the content manager for The Palm Scribe is one of eight journalists selected globally to learn more about how journalists can help to place sustainability at the heart of commodity supply chains.
He, together with Sapariah Saturi, from Mongabay Indonesia, will participate in a two-day journalism training followed by four days of immersive learning visits in the Peruvian Amazon to learn first-hand about commodity-based community transformation, commodity supply chains and forest people wisdom. They will also attend the Good Growth Conference in Lima on May 13, 2019.
“We at the Palm Scribe are honored to be selected for the conference and training,” said Bhimanto, adding that “It is a reflection of the important work that the Palm Scribe does in helping to develop a sustainable palm oil industry in Indonesia”.
“This is a great opportunity for us to broaden our perspectives on how sustainability is achieved by different cultures, geographies, commodities, and sectors,” he said, adding that what is learned in Peru and from the international delegates in Peru would certainly add a richer dimension to how The Palm Scribe will be treating issues and coverage of the palm oil industry in Indonesia.
The program is put together by the Good Growth Partnership that was launched at the United Nations’ New York headquarters in 2017 and funded by the Global Environment Facility. It is led by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and implemented in collaboration with Conservation International, the International Finance Corporation, UN Environment, and World Wildlife Fund.
The partnership works across production, financing, and demand with a number of governments, civil society, and major private sector players to reduce deforestation and enable sustainable development in three global commodity supply chains: soy, beef, and palm oil.
The three commodities are considered to be among the biggest current drivers of tropical deforestation, causing losses to habitats and biodiversity, rising carbon dioxide levels, and the degradation of essential ecosystem services such as clean water and fresh air.
“For that reason, it has never been more important to forge new ways of doing business that enable ‘good growth’ without the associated environmental consequences of unsustainable agricultural production and deforestation,” the organizer said on the conference’s official website.
The Palm Scribe will publish sustainability-related articles after the training is completed.