A decade after Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) made a landmark dedication to cease clearing pure forests, Greenpeace – the environmental marketing campaign group that helped forge the Indonesian firm’s historic pledge in 2013 – has launched a damning report on APP’s observe file at preserving its guarantees.
Greenpeace’s Forest guarantees pulped report, printed on Tuesday, mentioned that regardless of some early progress made by the Sinar Mas-owned paper large in implementing its forest conservation coverage (FCP) coverage, akin to committing to preserve 500,000 hectares of forest and rehabilitate broken peatlands, its dedication has “unravelled” since 2017.
The non-profit’s report signifies that regardless of its dedication to cease deforestation in its concessions and amongst its suppliers, APP has been linked to 46,000 to 75,000 hectares of forest loss over the previous 10 years. The report added that a number of breaches of the guarantees the corporate made in its FCP have been discovered after investigations and evaluation.
APP has refuted Greenpeace’s allegations and mentioned there was no deforestation in its provide chain since 2013. “Why would APP interact in deforestation when it is among the most scrutinised forestry companies in Indonesia? the agency mentioned in a press release. “What profit would APP achieve by setting fires inside its personal pulpwood concessions?”
Again in 2013, Greenpeace had partnered with APP to attract up its FCP, which noticed the corporate pledging to cease chopping forests and draining peatlands to develop plantations. Earlier than that, evaluation by a non-profit discovered that APP had cleared an estimated 2 million hectares of climate-critical rainforest because the mid-Nineteen Eighties. The coverage, launched after years of stress from activists marketing campaign teams, was hailed as a game-changer for the tropical pulp and paper sector.
Greenpeace, which since made the choice to finish its cooperation with APP in 2018, referred to as for APP to supply verifiable proof that it’s assembly the guarantees made in its FCP and associated commitments within the report. This contains instantly imposing no deforestation with suppliers and restoring any areas cleared because the enactment of the coverage and reversing modifications that goes in opposition to the commitments.
A number of the most climate-critical incidences highlighted within the report have occurred in South Sumatra, a red-zone for peatland burning and transboundary haze air air pollution, the place APP opened a large new pulp mill in 2016. An investigation by Greenpeace in 2020 discovered that roughly 3,500 hectares of peatlands had been cleared in APP’s concessions or these of its suppliers over the earlier two years, drainage canals dug into the peatland and peatlands burnt.
Peatland growth in preparation for plantations in APP’s PT Tri Pupajaya concession in South Sumatra, October 2023, featured in Greenpeace’s Forest Guarantees Pulped report. Picture: Greenpeace
APP mentioned that it has not transformed any peatland since 2013 and the allegation is “principally the results of conflicting maps, definitions, and timelines.”
The corporate has additionally been closely implicated in transboundary haze air air pollution, as APP operates on peatlands that are susceptible to burning after they’re drained to develop plantations. Some 174,000 hectares of peatland areas burnt inside APP concessions in 2015 – one of many worst ever years for peatland fires and smog in Southeast Asia.
To date this 12 months, 12,749 hectares of peatlands have burned in APP’s concessions, in response to Greenpeace. APP has not responded to Greenpeace’s current allegations concerning fires, though the corporate has mentioned beforehand that most of the fires have been began outdoors of its concessions.
APP dedicated to retire and rehabilitate 7,000 ha of peatland plantation as a part of its No Deforestation, No Peat and No Exploitation (NDPE) dedication in 2013. Greenpeace has questioned the corporate’s progress on that entrance. APP has claimed it has retired 26,883 ha of plantations on peatland, however Greenpeace factors out that the corporate has lacked transparency on the place these areas are, and the world retired is a “tiny portion” of the 1.2 million hectares of peatland within the agency’s concessions.
APP mentioned that, along with the retired peatland, it has began restoration work on 81,245 ha, and earmarked an extra 7,300 ha for retirement sooner or later. The corporate famous that “forests don’t simply materialise as soon as restoration work begins” and full restoration can take at the least 60 years.
The corporate has additionally pledged to resolve the conflicts it’s concerned in with native communities. APP claims that 63.3 per cent of social conflicts have been resolved, however Greenpeace notes that the agency doesn’t disclose the overall variety of conflicts, nor does it publically observe them, report what the problems are, and their decision.
In response to this, APP mentioned it doesn’t make battle instances public due to their complicated nature and since they usually contain “self-interested events”, akin to unlawful logging, who “revenue from muddying waters and prolonging conflicts.” The corporate added that its battle decision charge is “effectively forward of the curve”.
Extra lately, APP modified its FCP deforestation closing date – the change is highlighted within the firm’s 2022 sustainability report – permitting it to supply from suppliers which have deforested up till December 2020, far after the unique cut-off of February 2013, Greenpeace mentioned. The transfer adopted a leisure in coverage for accepting recognized deforesters in provide chains from the Forestry Stewardships Council (FSC), the forestry trade’s lead eco certifier. APP has been making an attempt to regain the FSC certification it misplaced in 2007 after proof was discovered of damaging forestry practices.
Greenpeace referred to as the change in closing date a “large watering-down” of the corporate’s no-deforestation dedication. APP mentioned the change in closing date does permit the corporate to settle for new suppliers which have deforested post-2013 and earlier than 2020, however the change “just isn’t a weakening” of the dedication.
The street forward
Past offering verifiable proof that it’s assembly its guarantees, Greenpeace mentioned APP additionally wants to point out clear progress on battle decision and peatland rehabilitation. This may be finished by offering downloadable digital maps in geo-data format displaying the place its conservation areas and peatland areas are positioned, and the place the remaining areas of excessive conservation worth forest are inside its concessions.
