Key topics discussed during one-day TOPSA online training include:

High Conservation Values (HCVs)

HCVs are things that are valuable to life, society, traditions, culture and the environment which are worth conserving, such as conservation areas, rare and endangered species of wildlife, endemic animals, etc.

Keeping them intact is essential to minimising the effects on human life. Conservation of HCV can be carried out at the individual level and can be performed individually as well as by farmers’ groups and companies.

In addition, good HCV management requires an on-site HCV assessment, threat assessment, and monitoring as well as proposing a way to mitigate threats and monitoring and evaluating the success of the operation.

Ecosystem and risk area management

The content that participants will learn on this topic includes the impact of palm plantation on the environment and ecosystem, river bank erosion including soil and water conservation measures.

This will help the participants know the importance of ecosystems in the oil palm plantation area,  understand the relationship between ecosystems and palm plantations and find ways to preserve and protect ecosystems as well as being able to manage the buffer zone, riparian zone and sloped areas.

Greenhouse Gas

The content of this topic includes a basic knowledge of Greenhouse Gas, the impact of global warming, the methods on how to reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions from oil palm plantations as well as the 9R principle to reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions which are

1. Reuse is knowing how to recycle used items that can be reused.
2. Repair is fixing damaged items and appliances to be able to be reused.
3. Reduce is lessening the amount of materials and goods you consume or something unnecessary and maintain what is used to last.
4. Recycle is recirculation of discarded or unused items, resume production and utilise its advantage.
5. Refill is using items that can fill the product in the original container.
6. Return is using old items that can be exchanged for parts or all of them for new ones.
7. Replace is choosing products that are environmentally friendly, for example, use paper boxes instead of foam boxes.
8. Refuse is avoidance to use items to reduce consumption.
9. Rethink is new thinking, which is to change the thinking process to be more innovative and do not destroy the environment.