Villagers' participation in Riaupulp's community forestry project
Villagers' participation in Riaupulp's community forestry project
Thousands of villagers in Riau province benefit from PT Riau
Andalan Pulp and Paper's (Riaupulp) community forestry project,
under which they allow the company to plant acacia trees on their
land on a revenue-sharing basis.
The project is part of the company's community development
program, which has been formulated in cooperation with the
provincial and regency administrations, universities, non-
governmental organizations and community leaders.
Elyas, the director of Riaupulp's programs for the empowerment
of Riau's society, says that the villagers have signed long-term
agreements with the company. Under the agreements, the company
will develop their plots of land into acacia plantations and
provide financial support to maintain the trees.
"When the trees are harvested at six or seven years, the
company will buy the wood at market prices," he says. "The
revenue from the harvest will be divided with 40 percent going to
the land owners and 60 percent to the company."
Riaupulp, a subsidiary of the Singapore-based Asia Pacific
Resources International Holdings Ltd. (APRIL), will use the wood
for its pulp mill in Riau's Kerinci regency with a designed
capacity of two million air-dry tons per annum. The mill is
equipped with a paper plant with an annual capacity of 350,000
tons.
Elyas says that by offering community members the opportunity
to take part in the community forestry project, the company
enables them to enhance the productivity of their land and
supports their welfare.
Most of the land in the province consists of red yellow
podzolic or peat soil, which is not favorable for food and fruit
crops. Podzolic is not only poor in minerals and organisms but
also too compacted, so that it is difficult for water to permeate
it. Meanwhile, peat soil contains too much acid and is
structurally too weak for plantations.
Considering the condition of the soil, Riaupulp plants acacia
mangium in dry areas and acacia crassicarpa in peat areas. Both
trees produce wood that is suitable for the company's pulp mill.
The mill's output is mostly exported to Asian and European
countries.
"As Riaupulp is very much a part of Riau, the company is
committed to having the communities grow together with it, not
only economically but also in bringing about change that will
improve the social well-being and quality of life of the people
in the communities, in which it does business," Elyas says.
He says the total area of the villagers' land secured for
acacia tree farm development has reached 19,600 hectares. On some
of the land seedlings and seeds have been planted, while other
land is in the process of preparation, such as land clearing and
the construction of infrastructure such as roads and bridges.
He explains that some of the villagers' land is located only
20 kilometers from the pulp and paper mills, while other plots of
land are as far away as 225 kilometers.
The villagers' land will be merely a part of a targeted
350,000-hectare land area that Riaupulp will develop into acacia
plantations to sustainably support the raw material needs of its
pulp and paper mills. Most of the land area will be derived from
the firm's own HTI concessions area and the remainder from joint
venture or partnership with other HTI concession areas.
During last year alone, the company's planting activities
reached 27,700 hectares on its own concession and another 20,000
hectares on joint-operation concession areas and community
forestry sites, thereby bringing its total established
plantations to about 200,000 hectares. The established plantation
areas are expected to reach 300,000 hectares -- the minimum
acreage needed to provide sustainable wood source for the pulp
mill.
As of the end of 2002, the total cumulative area planted was
over 170,000 hectares. While the development of sustainable
plantations are in progress, the company utilizes wood coming
from the clearing of land areas zoned by the provincial
administration for agricultural development.
Elyas says that besides the community forestry project, the
company's community development programs also include an
integrated farming system with zero waste, which has involved
more than 2,600 farmers from 71 villages in six regencies in
Riau. With technical and financial assistance from the company,
the participating farmers will be assisted in cattle breeding, in
cultivating farmland for horticulture and food crops and in
developing fishponds.
The community development programs also involve local
community members in the company's business activities, he says.
"We hope that our community development programs will help
facilitate local residents to have permanent jobs and, therefore,
increase their welfare," Elyas says. "Thus it will be unnecessary
for any of them to get involved in illegal logging."
He says more than 100,000 people in Riau province are now
directly and indirectly dependent on Riaupulp's activities. This
reflects the company greater sense of responsibility and
initiative in social, economic and environmental accomplishments
for long-term sustainability of its business and the local
communities.
Caption:
HARVEST TIME: Villagers involved in PT Riau Andalan Pulp and
Paper's (Riaupulp) community forestry project harvest their
acacia trees.