Aceh, Indonesia – A groundbreaking step toward forest conservation and responsible palm oil production has been achieved with the official launch of the Aceh Sustainable Palm Oil Working Group (ASPOWG) on August 12-13, 2025. This collaborative initiative, aimed at transforming Aceh’s palm oil industry, brings together global palm oil buyers, traders, local stakeholders, and government officials in an effort to ensure deforestation-free, smallholder-inclusive, and sustainable palm oil production.
The launch of ASPOWG marks a major milestone in a years-long effort to address the environmental and social impacts of unsustainable palm oil production in Aceh, an area home to some of the last remaining intact lowland rainforests in Southeast Asia, including the globally significant Leuser Ecosystem. These forests, rich in biodiversity, have long been threatened by illegal land grabbing, deforestation, and peatland degradation, with palm oil expansion playing a key role.
The newly launched initiative is the result of years of advocacy, pressure, and collaboration. Major palm oil buyers including PepsiCo, Unilever, Mars, Mondelēz, Nestlé, Golden Agri Resources, Musim Mas, Apical and Permata Group have all committed to ensuring their supply chains are deforestation-free and include smallholder farmers, who manage more than half of Aceh’s palm oil areas. With the coordination of Yayasan Inisiatif Dagang Hijau (Yayasan IDH), these companies are now working to support the implementation of the Government of Aceh’s Aceh Sustainable Palm Oil Roadmap, which includes key goals to improve smallholder productivity, prevent deforestation, restore degraded forests, resolve land conflicts with Indigenous communities, and ensure a more transparent supply chain.
Gemma Tillack, RAN’s Forest Policy Director, expressed optimism about the initiative’s potential:
“RAN welcomes the launch of the Aceh Sustainable Palm Oil Working Group as a much-needed, long-overdue step towards halting the devastating effects of palm oil expansion in this vital region. This initiative offers new hope for the Leuser Ecosystem and the communities that depend on it. The key to success will be real, on-the-ground implementation, transparency, and continued pressure from local stakeholders and global consumers to hold companies accountable.”
The ASPOWG is a voluntary platform that will help accelerate the roadmap’s implementation, with a focus on stopping deforestation and illegal palm oil expansion in protected areas such as the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve. The Reserve, which harbors Southeast Asia’s largest and most carbon-rich peatlands, has faced ongoing threats from illegal palm oil plantations, making a collaborative, jurisdictional approach more critical than ever.
While the launch of ASPOWG represents significant progress, challenges remain. Continued industry commitment and real-time monitoring systems to prevent illegal deforestation are essential for protecting the region’s ecosystems and supporting the rights of local and Indigenous communities. The programme management unit (PMU) that has been established will be at the forefront of this work, ensuring the road map’s priorities are met.
ASPOWG signals a new chapter in the effort to protect Aceh’s forests and the Leuser Ecosystem—but the work is far from over. Transparency, accountability, and active participation from global brands, local communities, civil society organizations and consumers will determine the future of Aceh’s sustainable palm oil sector.