No farmer left behind in sustainable biofuel production Janice Ser Huay Lee a,⇑ , Lucy Rist b , Krystof Obidzinski c , Jaboury Ghazoul a , Lian Pin Koh a a Department of Environmental Sciences, ETH Zurich, CHN G 73.1, Universitätstrasse 16, CH-8092 Zurich, Switzerland b Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, 90187 Umeå, Sweden c Center for International Forestry Research, Jalan CIFOR, Situ Gede, Bogor Barat 16115, Indonesia article info Article history: Received 25 March 2011 Received in revised form 30 June 2011 Accepted 4 July 2011 Available online xxxx Keywords: Sustainability Smallholders Certification Community management Capacity building abstract Societal concerns about the social and environmental impacts of biofuel production are driving producers to adopt better management practices. Existing certification schemes for sustainable biofuel production are, however, biased towards industrial-scale producers that have the financial capital and economies of scale to meet sustainability and certification objectives. Smallholder farmers in developing countries, by contrast, often lack the means and capacity to do so. Some of the challenges faced by smallholders include high certification costs, insufficient institutional capacity, inadequate financial and social incentives, poor group organization and lack of external support. Drawing lessons from existing certification programs, we argue that proponents of sustainable practices and standards must fully appreciate the complex real- ities of smallholder production systems. We provide policy recommendations for ensuring that no farmer is left behind in the quest to increase sustainable biofuel production. Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Sustainable biofuels Global production of biofuels from agricultural feedstocks con- tinues to gain momentum as industrialized nations strive to meet ambitious renewable energy targets (Australian Government, 2010; European Commission, 2011). The contribution of renewable energy sources (solar, wind, geothermal, biofuels) to world energy production is expected to increase from 5% to 18% between 2010 and 2030 (BP, 2011). Biofuel production itself is likely to rise from 1.8 to 6.7 million barrels a day with first generation biofuels, such as palm oil, soy and sugarcane, accounting for much of this increase (BP, 2011). First generation biofuel production is beset with its share of controversies from deforestation, use of freshwa- ter resources, contribution of greenhouse gas emissions and exces- sive use of inputs (Danielsen et al., 2009; Fargione et al., 2008; Martinelli and Filoso, 2008). Despite these controversies, biofuel policies at the national and regional level continue to be passed for countries to reach greenhouse gas reduction targets and secure national energy security. Given their limited domestic production capacity, many industrialized nations are having to ‘‘outsource’’ feedstock production to developing countries (Doornbosch and Steenblik, 2007; Holmes, 2008; McNeely, 2006). This trend has raised significant environmental and social concerns among poli- cymakers and members of the public (German et al., 2010). In response, policy bodies such as the European Union and corporate sourcing standards are demanding for greener products to be produced sustainably by certification bodies such as the Roundta- ble on Sustainable Palm Oil and the Round Table for Responsible Soy. Pressure to meet these certification criteria is growing among developing countries seeking to take advantage of lucrative bio- fuel-export markets (David, 2007; Lawrence, 2010). Yet existing sustainability standards and certification schemes are heavily biased towards industrial-scale producers that have the financial capital and economies of scale to adopt more sustainable practices as opposed to smallholder farmers that often not (Byerlee and Deininger, 2010; Keam and McCormick, 2008). As forecasts into the future point towards a growing demand for sustainably pro- duced biofuels and given that smallholder farmers do contribute substantially to biofuel feedstock production (e.g. 36% of Indone- sia’s oil-palm production (Indonesian Palm Oil Council, 2010)), we argue that the inclusion of smallholders is both an inevitable process and a positive trajectory of sustainable development for the biofuel industry. Hence, proponents of certification schemes for biofuels urgently need to develop mechanisms to fully integrate smallholder farmers into sustainable biofuel production. 1.1. Sustainability standards Certification schemes typically comprise a set of environmental and/or social criteria that are directed by principles of sustainabil- ity as agreed upon by relevant stakeholders. These principles and criteria are driven by the overall goal of maintaining natural resources and the supply of ecosystem goods and services to meet present needs without compromising the ability of future genera- tions to meet their own needs. Such principles include adherence 0006-3207/$ - see front matter Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2011.07.006 ⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +41 44 632 75 59; fax: +41 44 632 15 75. E-mail address: janice.lee@env.ethz.ch (J.S.H. Lee). Biological Conservation xxx (2011) xxx–xxx Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Biological Conservation journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/biocon Please cite this article in press as: Lee, J.S.H., et al. No farmer left behind in sustainable biofuel production. Biol. Conserv. (2011), doi:10.1016/ j.biocon.2011.07.006