Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) announced today that it has not breached its deforestation policy following allegations by WWF that it will not provide “any real conservation benefits”.
Announced in February, APP and Sinar Mas’s deforestation policy stated that it would form “an end to the clearing of natural forest across its entire supply chain in Indonesia, with immediate effect.”
However, according to new analysis released today by Eyes on the Forest (EoF), a coalition of environmental organisations, including WWF, Jikalahari and Walhi Riau, the policy protects “at most 5,000 hectares of natural forest”.
WWF said that this compares to the deforestation of more than 2 million hectares caused by the operation of APP’s Sumatra pulp mills over the past three decades.
Conservation director of WWF-Indonesia, Nazir Foead, said: “When APP published the policy, we thought it could be great news for Indonesia’s forests, biodiversity and citizens”.
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