Indonesian pulp and paper major Asia Pacific Resources International (April) has decided to make peace with green activists, throwing its weight behind the drive to put an end to deforestation.
In response to international pressure group for environment protection Greenpeace's campaign, April has revised its Sustainable Forest Management Plan (SFMP) to put a complete end to any new development on forested land or forested peatland.
The company said in a statement: "Effective immediately, April and its suppliers will only develop areas that are not forested, as identified through independent peer-reviewed High Conservation Value (HCV) and High Carbon Stock (HCS) assessments.
"April will not acquire any new land, or forestry licenses; or receive wood from land licensed to third parties, where after 3 June 2015 the seller has knowingly cleared HCV or HCS forests or forested peatlands."
Deforestation has been a cause of concern in Indonesia as it has been triggering greenhouse gas emissions. Felling of trees to make way for plantation for pulp, paper and palm oil industries across Sumatra and Kalimantan has hit the habitat for endangered wildlife, such as, tigers and orangutan and led to carbon emissions.
The peatlands in Indonesia are home to around 60 billion tons of carbon. This carbon gets released when peatlands are utilized for plantation drives, setting off smoldering fires.
April, an arm of Royal Golden Eagle (RGE) group, has also set up a Peat Expert Working Group for attending to the peatlands. The company said other pulp firms under the umbrella would follow suit in going green.
Greenpeace's forest campaign head in Indonesia Bustar Maitar said: "We commend April for agreeing to end its deforestation, although we will be watching closely to make sure that today's announcement leads to real change on the ground.
"Today's commitment from April and the RGE Group is yet more proof that forest protection is the way forward for plantation companies in Indonesia."
The declaration from April falls in line with what other firms active in pulp and palm oil industries have decided to do. Its sister concerns, Asian Agri and Apical, earlier announced to put an end to deforestation.
"President (Joko Widodo) Jokowi promised to stop plantation companies damaging the environment or harming communities.
"Even though Indonesia's biggest pulpwood and palm oil companies are moving away from deforestation, the destruction on the ground continues. The government must now act to reform the forest sector so it works for people and the environment," Maitar added.
