Biodiversity loss, Pulp & paper, APP, commitment, deforestation, Eyes on the Forest, jambi, RHM, sinar mas group, SMG, TMA, WKS,
EoF News (PEKANBARU) -- On 5 September, APP published "Highlights of First Quarterly Progress Report" for its “Sustainability Roadmap 2020”, launched on 5 June 2012. Eyes on the Forest had analyzed the original Roadmap in “SMG/APP: The Pulping Continues”, calling it a roadmap to clear more natural forests in Indonesia. APP’s Roadmap failed to protect any additional natural forest while allowing its pulp mills to continue pulping Indonesia’s tropical forest unabated.
Highlights of First Quarterly Progress Report can be found here
APP’s progress report contains nothing worth mentioning, except that the company advertises one "highlight" as an addition to its previous so-called commitments:
“Two independent pulpwood suppliers in Jambi – Tebo Multi Agro (TMA) and Rimba Hutani Mas (RHM) - have agreed to join APP’s own Wira Karya Sakti (WKS) company in the region, by suspending natural forest clearance with immediate effect while HCV assessments are conducted.”
According to APP’s accompanying Jambi map TMA has one and RHM has three concessions blocks. To the knowledge of Eyes on the Forest:
Eyes on the Forest thus concludes that the announcement of additional Moratorium are actually not protecting any additional natural forest. The little forest remaining is already protected by law and by previous “commitment” of the company. Thus, just as in APP’s original announcement in June, no conservation benefit was generated by APP's announcement this week. APP simply generated another piece of greenwashing for its global sales force.