Eric visited the oil palm production areas located in the Mpohor district of the Western region of Ghana. He interviewed oil palm and food crop farmers to understand the impact of certification on farmer livelihoods and food security. He focused on three groups of farmers located in six local communities. These included 100 certified oil palm farmers belonging to the smallholder scheme of Benso Oil Palm Plantation (BOPP), certified through the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). He also interviewed 100 non-certified oil palm farmers and 100 food crop farmers operating in the same area.
Vinamra visited three Forest Management Units (FMUs) in Sarawak, Malaysia, namely the Mujong-Melinau FMU (44,300 ha), Kapit FMU (149,765 ha) and the Raplex FMU (63,993 ha). He undertook interviews and focus group discussions in many longhouses to understand the effects of different logging practices on the environment and the livelihoods of local indigenous Iban communities. Furthermore, he attended the Social Impact Assessment Training for FMUs organized by Sarawak Forestry (Kapit FMU, 18-21 September) and the MTCC 20th Anniversary Conference (Kuala Lumpur, 24 September) during which he met with key stakeholders from the Ministry of Primary Industries, the Global Forestry Service, and the Malaysian Timber Certification Council.
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