APP supports restoration of forest in Indonesia

The commitment, said to take the company well beyond its legal conservation requirements, is approximately equivalent to the total area of plantation from which the company sourced pulp fibre in 2013.

APP launched its Forest Conservation Policy (FCP) in 2013, creating an immediate and permanent cessation of natural forest clearance across its supply chain. The group has since been working closely with stakeholders to implement the policy, with support from The Forest Trust. The company has also been carrying out consultation on how to prioritize restoration of important areas, following the wide ranging biodiversity assessments in its concessions.

Aida Greenbury, APP’s managing director of sustainability, said: ‘After over a year of implementing our FCP, it has become clear that the key to success of any efforts to halt deforestation in Indonesia is a landscape level approach to forest restoration and conservation.

‘Land cannot be conserved or restored in isolation, the sustainability of the entire landscape must be taken into account and many stakeholders must be involved. We hope that by working with Indonesian and international stakeholders, as well as organizations such as WWF, The Forest Trust and Ekologika, our efforts will be much more effective.’

Greenbury continued: ‘We believe that by assessing entire landscapes and creating clear tailor made objectives and strategies, the maximum possible level of conservation will be achieved, not just for natural forest in our concessions, but for areas around them as well.’

APP will work with an NGO coalition to preserve the natural forest in the 30 Hills landscape (Bukit Tigapuluh) in Jambi, Sumatra – a vital habitat for tiger and elephant populations. This will include increased protection of the corridor road from illegal activities, work on protecting the threatened elephant herd in the Tebo Multi Agro concession, and assessment of the viability of creating an animal corridor in the WKS concession which would connect important forest habitat blocks.

APP is currently in consultation with WWF and other stakeholders, to develop plans for identified priority landscapes in which APP and its suppliers have commercial forestry-based operations, which will then be implemented by the company in close collaboration with other relevant players in the landscape, while observing the principles of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC).

The focus for each landscape is:

• Bukit Tigapuluh, Jambi – provide wildlife corridors and additional buffer areas and restrict access to enhance the function of Bukit Tigapuluh National Park, while involving the local community.
• Senepis, Riau – support conservation of the Sumatran tiger and peat swamp forest.
• Giam Siak Kecil, Riau – secure, protect and restore the core natural forest within the Giam Siak Kecil Biosphere Reserve to provide habitat for many endangered species including Sumatran tiger and Sumatran elephants. Also, ensure sustainable conservation of peat swamp forest, while supporting the livelihood of the local communities.
• Kampar Peninsula, Riau – support large landscape protection of peat swamp forest using a multi-stakeholder approach that involves other concession holders.
• Kerumutan, Riau – support expansion and connectivity of protected forest areas.
• Muba Berbak Sembilang, Jambi and South Sumatra – protect the existing natural forest and assess the possibility of expanding the current protected forest, i.e. by restoring key areas to natural ecosystems and focussing on the protection of Sumatran Tiger and other key species. Additional support will be provided to the national parks.
• OKI, South Sumatra – create a wildlife corridor to expand the habitat of Sumatran elephants.
• Kubu Raya, West Kalimantan – maintain the integrity of orang-utan habitat and also assess the possibility of expanding the existing mangrove forest to support the conservation of swamp crocodiles.
• Kutai, East Kalimantan – support the existing national park, providing buffer and corridor for orang-utan habitat.

Over the coming months, this commitment will be developed into a more detail time-bound plan that will form part of the company’s Integrated Sustainable Forest Management Plans (ISFMPs), which are currently being developed by APP, High Conservation Value (HCV), High Carbon Stock (HCS) and social experts as well as a peatland management team.

APP will also develop an independently administered trust fund with other stakeholders to manage and finance these conservation measures in order to ensure their sustainability and viability into the future. The trust fund will receive start-up funding from APP. Additional funding will be raised on an ongoing basis to successfully manage these conservation landscapes.

To manage the new  strategy, APP will create a multi-stakeholder platform, including a wide range of national and international NGOs and other institutions to guide the implementation of these conservation and restoration commitments. This will be unveiled in due course.