DOI: 10.5061/dryad.qjq2bvqvj
title: Data from: Addressing the challenges of managing and monitoring biodiversity in High Conservation Value areas and High Carbon Stock forests within oil palm landscapes

description: Corporate commitments to biodiversity protection are difficult to achieve
 due to limited knowledge of effective conservation strategies and
 insufficient attention to the social challenges involved in fulfilling
 these commitments. We explore these concerns in tropical oil palm
 landscapes focusing specifically on the commitment of members of the
 Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) to meeting environmental
 sustainability standards relating to maintaining or enhancing High
 Conservation Values (HCVs) and High Carbon Stock (HCS) forests. Prior to
 developing new plantations, the RSPO requires that baseline assessments be
 conducted by licensed assessors to identify HCV and HCS forest areas for
 protection. Growers then develop management actions to mitigate threats to
 these HCVs and HCS forests and preserve the conservation values and carbon
 stocks within them. We investigated the challenges that growers face in
 achieving these environmental sustainability commitments by carrying out
 online surveys and interviews of plantation managers (18 participants from
 12 palm oil companies in Malaysia and Indonesia). We use findings from our
 survey and interview questions to make recommendations for improvements in
 managing and monitoring biodiversity within oil palm landscapes. Practical
 Implication: Drawing on findings from our surveys and interviews,
 integrated with our knowledge of current policy and practice, we make 15
 recommendations to help support biodiversity conservation, focused around
 four themes: (A) respecting human rights, including the rights to free,
 prior and informed consent (FPIC) and to participation in decision-making
 processes that affect people’s rights; (B) standardising biodiversity
 metrics, with guidance on measuring biodiversity and analysing data on
 species trends, recognising that local biodiversity is highly dynamic; (C)
 building management and monitoring capacity and buy-in from oil palm
 companies through training and sharing of best-practice; and (D) improving
 sustainability processes by incorporating information into monitoring and
 adaptive management systems, and creating open, transparent and
 standardised processes for regular reporting. We hope our recommendations
 will encourage the implementation of evidence-based practices that respect
 rights and incorporate local community perspectives, leading to better
 protection of biodiversity in oil palm landscapes in the long-term.
description: # Data from: Addressing the challenges of managing and monitoring
 biodiversity in High Conservation Value areas and High Carbon Stock
 forests within oil palm landscapes Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.qjq2bvqvj](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.qjq2bvqvj) ##
 Description of the data and file structure This dataset contains
 anonymised survey and interview data collected from Roundtable on
 Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) member oil palm companies in Malaysia and
 Indonesia. The data were gathered as part of a study examining current
 biodiversity management and monitoring practices in RSPO certified and
 member plantations. The dataset includes responses from an online survey
 and summarised notes from semi-structured interviews. All participants
 provided informed consent for the publication of de-identified data in the
 public domain. ### Files and variables #### File:
 Anonymised_Online_Survey_Results_RSPO_Biodiversity_Management.xlsx
 **Description:** This file contains anonymised responses from the online
 survey (Part 1 of the mixed-method study) conducted with sustainability
 staff from 12 Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) member companies
 using Qualtrics software
 ([https://www.qualtrics.com/en-gb/](https://www.qualtrics.com/en-gb/)).
 The survey comprised 30 questions about participants’ roles within their
 companies, the size of management and monitoring teams, and basic
 information on concessions and conservation areas - including whether
 management and monitoring were being conducted in High Conservation Value
 (HCV), High Carbon Stock (HCS), or other conservation areas. The data were
 compiled and cleaned to remove all personal or company-identifying
 information. Column headings correspond to survey questions provided in
 the Supporting Information (Appendix 3) of the associated publication.
 #### File:
 Anonymised_Zoom_Interview_Summaries_RSPO_Biodiversity_Management.xlsx
 **Description:** This file contains anonymised summaries from
 semi-structured Zoom interviews (Part 2 of the mixed-method study)
 conducted with 18 sustainability staff participants from 12 Roundtable on
 Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) member companies in Malaysia and Indonesia.
 The interviews explored company practices related to biodiversity and
 ecosystem management, with 18 questions focused around three main themes:
 (i) management and monitoring development and implementation, (ii)
 monitoring interpretation, data analysis, and adaptive management, and
 (iii) current barriers to effective management and monitoring, and moving
 forwards. Interviews were conducted in English or Indonesian, summarised
 in note format, and verified by participants for accuracy. All personal,
 company, and potentially identifying details have been removed or redacted
 to ensure participant confidentiality. Column headings correspond to
 interview questions provided in the Supporting Information (Appendix 4) of
 the associated publication. ## Human subjects data The study received
 ethical approval from the University of York’s Biology Ethical Committee
 (BEC). Information sheets and consent forms were provided to all 18
 participants from 12 Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) member
 companies who took part in the survey. All interviews were voluntary, and
 participants provided written informed consent prior to participation,
 including consent for the publication of de-identified data in the public
 domain. Participants were informed that they could withdraw from the study
 at any time. All uploaded data have been anonymised, and specific
 identifying details have been removed or redacted to ensure participant
 confidentiality.