Jakarta – Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) is failing to stop deforestation and illegal activities in its concession areas by other parties, even in locations already identified by the company as having high conservation value and carbon stocks, a Rainforest Alliance audit report has said.
"APP has halted its own forest clearing and embarked on a wide array of assessments in its concessions; but, not much has changed on the ground," World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Indonesia forest commodity leader, Aditya Bayunanda, said on Thursday.
In a new forest conservation policy announced two years ago, APP pledged to halt forest clearing; however, its forests are still disappearing.
The Rainforest Alliance audit released on Thursday confirmed the findings by the WWF and local NGOs that forest clearing in APP's concessions continued despite its conservation policy.
"Forests continue to disappear, peat soils continue to be drained and social conflicts remain unresolved. The company has even failed to protect forests they are legally require to conserve," Bayunanda said.
The alliance audit further confirmed that other than stopping new canal development, APP had taken no action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the draining of over a million hectares of peatland under company control. The WWF said it was also very concerned about the lack of progress made by the company to resolve hundreds of cases of social conflict.
In 2014, APP announced it would restore and conserve 1 million hectares of tropical ecosystems beyond legal requirements. The WWF praised the announcement, saying that it was the right measure to address the company's legacy of deforestation of an estimated 2 million hectares of tropical forest.
Very little progress, such as on where forests will be restored or conserved and with what financing, has resulted from the announcement, however.
APP is reported to have invited the Rainforest Alliance to audit the progress of its new forest conservation policy.
The WWF has urged APP to act quickly and decisively to address the audit findings. The NGO says it will also carefully study the audit findings and advise APP customers accordingly.
"Today, APP promised change and WWF will monitor its next steps to see how serious it is about saving forests," said WWF Indonesia forest program director Rod Taylor. (ebf)
Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/02/05/app-fails-halt-forest-clearing-wwf.html