FONAP Network Project
Cooperation with Wild Asia
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When
April 2025 to December 2025 (pilot phase)
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Who
Cooperation with Wild Asia, a social enterprise based in Malaysia
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Where
Research areas: Malaysia, Indonesia, Guatemala
Collective Intel for Good:
Collective Intel for Human Rights Due Diligence
Initiated in April 2025, the FONAP member project “Collective Intel for Good” brings together knowledge, practical experience and collaborative partnerships to identify and address human rights risks in palm oil production. Led by FONAP member Wild Asia, the project focuses on three of the world’s largest palm oil-producing countries, with the aim of gaining a deeper, practice-oriented understanding of systemic social challenges.
Giving local voices a platform
The project’s core objective is to make visible the lived realities of smallholders, plantation workers and Indigenous communities—groups that are often most affected by human rights violations, yet rarely have the opportunity to be heard. Through local consultations, documentation of abuse cases and contextual analyses, the project aims to bridge the gap between challenges in countries of origin and responsibility along the supply chain.
Closing knowledge gaps
Social risks such as land conflicts, exploitative working conditions, gender-based violence and the displacement of communities remain widespread in key production regions. The complexity and lack of transparency in palm oil supply chains often mean that this information reaches companies, regulators and civil society actors along the supply chain only with delay—or not at all. The project recognises that existing risk mitigation strategies are often insufficient—they are too far removed from realities on the ground, too theoretical, or developed without incorporating the perspectives of those most affected.
Towards actionable due diligence
By fostering collective intelligence—shared knowledge built through collaboration, trust and a dialogue with affected communities that still needs to be established—this project supports FONAP members in better understanding where and how action is needed. “Collective Intel for Good” promotes dialogue between companies. It creates an exchange on their role in mitigating these risks, and on how responsible sourcing can go beyond mere compliance and include genuine accountability as well as dialogue with frontline actors.
Together, we aim to further develop human rights due diligence into a more inclusive, better-informed and more effective practice—one grounded in the realities of those at the heart of palm oil production.
The pilot phase of this member project is scheduled for nine months and will be accompanied by a thorough evaluation to assess impact and next steps. Through greater transparency and accountability across the entire palm oil supply chain, FONAP and its partners aim to drive sustainable, effective improvements in human rights in the sector.