The Prospects for Sustainable Rubber in the Mekong Region: An Assessment of Emerging Initiatives

Research, reporting and campaigns by scholars and civil society organisations have highlighted the social and environmental problems of rubber expansion in the Mekong region and the need for change in the industry. In the rubber industry, global and regional companies, governmental institutions and civil society organisations have collaborated to develop initiatives to address the key sustainability problems that plague the production of the crop. These initiatives come at a convenient time for industry actors as plantation expansion has slowed and thus the most significant social and environmental risks are in the past. This report covers the three most prominent initiatives from the past five years that are active in the Mekong Region: (1) a set of guidelines called the Guidance for Sustainable Natural Rubber, formulated by the China Chamber of Commerce of Metals, Minerals & Chemicals Importers & Exporters (CCCMC); (2) the Voluntary Guidelines on Mitigating Socio-Environmental Risks for Vietnamese Outward Investors in Agriculture in the Mekong Subregion (VGIA), established by a group of Vietnamese companies and institutions; and (3) a platform initiated by multinational tire companies called the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR). Sustainable natural rubber (SNR) initiatives have significant potential for changing social-environmental practices and the goal of sustainability in the rubber sector is worth pursuing. Despite such potential, SNR initiatives also face serious limitations that raise important questions about their future development and implementation. It has yet to be seen whether these initiatives produce substantive changes to social and environmental practices on rubber plantations. This report makes key recommendations for the SNR initiatives and for civil society groups working on them.

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