Pulp mills put heavy pressure on forests: Study<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The remaining natural forest in Riau Province is on the brink of
\ndestruction as the country's giant pulp producers, Sinar Mas
\nGroup and Raja Garuda Mas Group, plan to clear almost 500,000
\nhectares of natural forest in Sumatra by 2007, according to a
\njoint study compiled by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and
\nthe Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR).<\/p>\n
Christopher Barr, a policy scientist at CIFOR, said in a
\nstatement on Friday that both conglomerates relied heavily on
\nunsustainable sources of fiber, much of which was obtained
\nthrough the clear-cutting of natural forests.<\/p>\n
The study reveals that the industry's seven-fold expansion
\nsince the late 1980s has proceeded far more rapidly than efforts
\nto secure a sustainable supply of raw materials through the
\ndevelopment of industrial pulpwood plantations (HTIs).<\/p>\n
Both conglomerates claim that by 2008 all of their wood will
\ncome from sustainable, managed plantations. But the WWW-CIFOR
\nstudy says that both companies are likely to fall well short of
\nthese \"sustainability\" targets.<\/p>\n
\"Although these producers are now taking steps to bring HTI
\nplantations online, the areas they have planted thus far are
\nlikely to supply no more than 50 percent of the wood the mills
\nneed,\" Barr said.<\/p>\n
The study estimated that of the 120 million cubic meters of
\nwood consumed by the pulp industry during 1988-2000, only ten
\npercent was harvested from HTIs.<\/p>\n
\"Both producers will face significant shortages of legally and
\nsustainably harvested wood for at least the next seven years, and
\nquite possibly well beyond,\" Barr said.<\/p>\n
Indonesian pulp and paper producers are also carrying very
\nlarge amounts of corporate debt, as US$15 billion has been
\ninvested in the industry since the late 1980s.<\/p>\n
All four of the industry's major producers, Sinar Mas, Garuda
\nMas, Barito and Bob Hasan conglomerates, have been forced to
\npledge much of their physical assets to the Indonesian Bank
\nRestructuring Agency (IBRA) to cover their debts.<\/p>\n
The WWW-CIFOR study concludes that IBRA is likely to use
\npublic funds to write off at least 70 percent of these debts.<\/p>\n
CIFOR Director General David Kaimowitz said that by writing
\noff debts held by the forestry conglomerates, IBRA would give
\nthese groups a substantial capital subsidy.<\/p>\n
\"This will place added pressures on Indonesia's forests by
\nencouraging the companies to undervalue the forest resource. It
\nwill also undermine the nation's macroeconomic recovery by
\nencouraging them to engage in high-risk practices,\" Kaimowitz
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere WWF Indonesia director Agus Purnomo said that to
\nimprove the pulp and paper sector, the Ministry of Forestry must
\nfirmly uphold its moratorium on the conversion of natural
\nforests, adding that Indonesian pulp producers should allow an
\nindependent, public audit of their forestry operations and
\ntransparent monitoring of their wood supply program.<\/p>\n
Agus urged IBRA to hold forestry debtors fully accountable for
\ntheir financial obligations and said that no haircuts should be
\ngiven to companies able to pay their debts.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pulp-mills-put-heavy-pressure-on-forests-study-1447893297",
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