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.