Rainforest in Sumatra. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler.
Less than a week after Greenpeace released evidence that protected tree species were being illegally logged and pulped at an Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) mill in Sumatra, a major certifier, the Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), has lodged a complaint and asked for an investigation. In addition to PEFC’s move, the National Geographic Society (NGS), which was found to be sourcing from APP recently, has publicly broken ties with the company, and Greenpeace has handed over its evidence to Indonesian police who told the group there would be an investigation.
Last Thursday Greenpeace released a detailed report outlining a year-long investigation that found companies supplying APP were cutting and pulping ramin trees, which are legally protected under Indonesian law as well as under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). The revelations comes after years of tussling between green groups, like WWF and Greenpeace, and APP. Conservation NGOs have targeted the paper brand for relying on rainforest and peatland destruction for its paper products, thereby endangering wildlife including Critically Endangered tigers and orangutans, emitting significant amounts of carbon, and clashing with local people.
“Greenpeace has caught Asia Pulp and Paper red-handed—this investigation shows its main pulp mill is regularly riddled with illegal ramin. This makes a mockery of their public claim to have a ‘zero tolerance’ for illegal timber,” Bustar Maitar, Head of the Forests Campaign for Greenpeace Indonesia, said last week.
Now, one of APP’s major certifiers, PEFC, has announced it is lodging an official complaint against the certification issued by SGS, a multinational corporation that does certification work, to PT Indah Kiat Pulp and Paper, an APP supplier. In a statement PEFC says the complaint asks SGS to “urgently investigate” the “use of controversial or illegally harvested timber in certified material.”
PEFC has come under fire from green groups for certifying APP in the past. The world’s other major forestry certifier, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), dropped APP in 2007 after a damning report in the Wall Street Journal.
Last month, SGS told WWF that its certification of APP’s suppliers did not imply any level of sustainability, only an adherence to the law. But now even that basic certification appears to be in question.
Fallout from the Greenpeace report also hit the National Geographic Society (NGS), one of the world’s biggest and most well-known non-profits. Greenpeace found APP fiber in a National Geographic coffee-table book. In response, National Geographic publicly stated it has not sourced from APP for “several years,” but did not specify when sourcing stopped. The book in question, Global Birding, was published in late 2010.
“We do not use APP products in our current books. While there may be a few books in our inventory that were printed on APP paper, we no longer use materials supplied by this company and have not for several years,” a spokesperson for National Geographic told mongabay.com. For its part, Greenpeace says it is “convinced” National Geographic will not source from APP again.
It remains unclear whether National Geographic’s actions apply to its overseas operations, including its titles in Indonesia.
Other companies using fiber from APP in the report included Xerox, Wal-Mart China, Barnes and Noble, and Danone among others.
Finally, Greenpeace has sent the evidence from its investigation to the Indonesian police.
“After receiving the evidence the Deputy Director of Special Crimes told me that this case would indeed be categorized as an illegal logging activity and that the police would be coordinating with the Ministry of Forestry to investigate the matter further,” Greenpeace wrote in a blog.
Related articles
Investigation links APP to illegal logging of protected trees
(03/01/2012) A year-long undercover investigation has found evidence of Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) companies cutting and pulping legally protected ramin trees, a practice that violates both Indonesian and international law. Found largely in Sumatra’s peatswamp forests, the logging of ramin trees (in the genus Gonystylus) has been banned in Indonesia since 2001; the trees are also listed under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and thus require special permits to export. The new allegations come after APP, an umbrella paper brand, has lost several customers due to its continued reliance on pulp from rainforest and peatland forests in Sumatra.
National Geographic linked to rainforest destruction
(03/01/2012) A new report by Greenpeace has found a direct link between National Geographic Society (NGS) products and rainforest destruction in Indonesia that threatens tigers and orangutans. An analysis on National Geographic books found Sumatran rainforest fiber from Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), a brand whose suppliers have been linked to rainforest destruction in Sumatra, and, in the most recent Greenpeace report, alleged illegal logging of protected rainforest trees. One of the world’s largest non-profit science and educational organizations, National Geographic is known worldwide for its magazines, documentaries, and award-winning photos. The organization also has a long-standing history of championing environmental and conservation issues. However, National Geographic says it has not sourced APP paper for “several years.”
Paper giant hammered on forest certification claims
(02/15/2012) Beleaguered paper giant Asia Pulp & Paper was sharply criticized Wednesday for its claims that its operations are certified sustainable by independent auditors. WWF said its survey of certifiers and certification schemes shows that none apply to ‘the most controversial operations’ of APP’s suppliers: clearing of rainforests and peatlands that are home to endangered tigers, elephants, and orangutans. In responding to complaints from environmentalists that its operations are responsible for large-scale destruction of native forests, APP often touts various certification standards which it says demonstrate its commitment to sustainability. Yet the new WWF survey found that these standards don’t apply across all of the paper giant’s operations — APP’s suppliers in Indonesia continue to harvest and convert natural forests. Nor do the certification standards necessarily prove that APP’s forest management practices are ‘sustainable’.
Some toilet paper production destroys Indonesian rainforests, endangering tigers and elephants
(02/09/2012) American consumers are unwittingly contributing to the destruction of endangered rainforests in Sumatra by purchasing certain brands of toilet paper, asserts a new report published by the environmental group WWF. The report, Don’t Flush Tiger Forests: Toilet Paper, U.S. Supermarkets, and the Destruction of Indonesia’s Last Tiger Habitats, takes aim at two tissue brands that source fiber from Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), a paper products giant long criticized by environmentalists and scientists for its forestry practices on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The brands — Paseo and Livi — are among the fastest growing, in terms of sales, in the United States.
Indonesia to require loggers prove their concessions free of overlapping claims
(02/02/2012) Applicants for forest concessions in Indonesia will soon be required to prove there aren’t overlapping claims on their holdings, reports The Jakarta Globe. The move, which offers the potential to reduce land disputes between forest developers and local communities, could complicate investments in the forestry sector in Indonesia.
Credits
