APP, WWF signs forest deal<\/p>\n
Dow Jones, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Asia Pulp & Paper Co. (APP) on Tuesday agreed to set aside
\npart of its forest concessions in Sumatra as conservation areas,
\nand tighten up procedures to stop the supply of illegal logs to
\nits mill.<\/p>\n
The Sinar Mas Group, which owns APP and a number of forestry
\ncompanies, signed an agreement with the World Wide Fund for
\nNature to help protect what remains of Sumatra's most
\necologically important rainforest.<\/p>\n
The WWF has said that widespread illegal logging to feed APP's
\nmill in Riau province, on the eastern side of Sumatra island, has
\nadded to the devastation of the rainforest.<\/p>\n
APP's efforts to restructure its debt this year have sparked
\nfears among ecologists the company will need to run its mill at
\nfull capacity to help repay creditors. Sinar Mas has been slow to
\nset up sustainable plantations to supply the mill, meaning it has
\nrelied heavily on cutting down natural forest.<\/p>\n
Under Tuesday's agreement, Sinar Mas will stop logging part of
\nits government-allocated concessions in Riau. The area under the
\nmoratorium totals 165,000 hectares, or twice the size of
\nSingapore, a statement issued jointly by the WWF and Sinar Mas
\nsaid. That will leave the company with a similar amount of
\nnatural forest which it can still cut down for wood supply.<\/p>\n
"This is an important step in APP and SMG's continuing efforts
\nin the area of environmental sustainability and social
\nresponsibility," said Mubariq Ahmed, the WWF's Indonesia
\ndirector.<\/p>\n
APP vowed to improve its procedures for monitoring the wood
\nwhich it buys from third parties. APP has said that it can't be
\n100 percent sure that all the wood it gets from outside its own
\nconcessions comes from legal sources. The WWF has complained that
\nillegal logging is putting at risk its Tesso Nilo conservation
\narea - which is home to Sumatran elephants and one of the world's
\nmost diverse range of plant species.<\/p>\n
The company agreed to draw up a plan to show how it will meet
\nits annual wood supply needs starting in 2004. Although APP has
\nincreased the size of its plantations in recent years, it doesn't
\nexpect them to become self-sustaining until the second half of
\nthis decade. The company has discussed buying wood chips from
\nother sources, such as Australia, to make up any supply
\nshortfall.<\/p>\n
The agreement also includes a provision to help clear up land
\ndisputes with local communities that claim they were kicked off
\ntheir ancestral land when APP began expanding in the 1990s.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/app-wwf-signs-forest-deal-1447893297",
"image": ""
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