Plantations, poverty and power - Critical Information Collective

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A recent study by WWF, Remote Sensing Solution GmbH and Hokkaido University found that the forest
destruction in Riau province for conversion to oil palm and pulpwood plantations generates more annual
greenhouse gas emissions than the total emissions in the Netherlands. Riau’s peatlands probably hold
South-east Asia’s largest store of carbon. WWF notes that “[Riau] also has Indonesia’s highest
deforestation rate, substantially driven by the operations of global paper giants Asia Pulp & Paper (APP)
and Asia Pacific Resources International Holdings Limited (APRIL).” 308
WWF’s report found that more than four million hectares of forest has been destroyed in Riau province in
the last 25 years. 309 Driving this destruction are two plantation industries: oil palm and pulpwood. Indah
Kiat alone requires 9.8 million cubic metres of wood a year, to keep its two million tonnes pulp mill
operating. In 2004, according to CIFOR’s Chris Barr, APP’s plantations supplied only between 50 and 60
per cent of Indah Kiat’s raw material needs. 310
APP frequently puts out statements claiming that its operations are harmless: “APP is committed to
purchasing wood fiber for its pulp- making operations from sustainably-managed forestry sources, which
conserve areas of outstanding habitat and which operate in harmony with local communities.” 311
WWF Indonesia attempted to work with APP to ensure that the company surveyed their concessions for
High Conservation Value Forests. But after WWF Indonesia had signed an agreement with the company,
APP’s Anil Raina told researchers from Swedwatch that preserving High Value Conservation Forests in
APP’s concessions would be difficult. “There is a limit to how much we can conserve”, he said. “Then
we would need alternative sources!” 312
APP produced a Sustainability Action Plan, which “shows that APP has integrated some of WWF’s
demands but disappointingly has not addressed some of the conservation organisation’s basic concerns,”
notes WWF Indonesia. Among the issues not addressed was protection of forests with high conservation
value. By mid-2004, the WWF-APP agreement had unravelled and WWF wrote to APP’s major buyers in
Asia, the US and Europe asking them to “immediately review their relationships” with APP. 313
Several companies have stopped buying paper from APP, including Woolworths in Australia 314 and
http://www.newscientist.com/channel/opinion/mg19626321.600-bog-barons-indonesias-carbon-catastrophe.html
308 “Destruction of Sumatra forests driving global climate change and species extinction: WWF”, WWF US press
release, 26 February 2008. http://www.worldwildlife.org/who/media/press/2008/WWFPresitem7039.html
309 “Deforestation, Forest Degradation, Biodiversity Loss and CO 2 Emissions in Riau, Sumatra, Indonesia”, WWF
Indonesia Technical Report, 27 February 2008.
http://www.worldwildlife.org/who/media/press/2008/WWFBinaryitem7625.pdf
310 Christopher Barr (2004) “Risk Analysis and Impact Assessment for Pulp and Plantation Investments: The Case of
Indonesia”, presentation at International Forum on Finance and Investment in China’s Forestry Sector, Center for
International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Beijing, 22-23 September 2004.
311 “APP Refutes Allegations by Eyes on the Forest”, APP Official Statement, 5 July 2007.
312 Mats Valentin and Kristina Bjurling (2004) “Swedish involvement in the Indonesian paper and pulp industry”,
SwedWatch, October 2004, page 14.
313 James Rose (2004) “WWF asks APP’s customers to buy their paper elsewhere”, Ethical Corporation, 23 July 2004.
http://www.ethicalcorp.com/content.aspContentID=2424
314 Helen Morris (2008) “APP defiant despite losing Woolworths contract over environmental allegations”,
printweek.com, 8 August 2008. http://www.printweek.com/paper/news/838307/APP-defiant-despite-losing-Woolworthscontract-environmental-allegations/