An independent monitoring on legal wood certification in Riau province urged the government and certification agencies to be responsible for passing Timber Legality of Assurance System (TLAS) certificates to forest management units as some of timber companies targeted by anti-corruption commission for further probe on graft scandals.
A local official in Riau Province this week accused a timber supplier affiliated to Asia Pacific Resources International Limited (APRIL), obtaining a document of environmental impact analysis (Amdal) which could be fake as it was registered in the name of another company.
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As rain rarely pours Riau Province many fires hotspots found recently including in timber concessions and protected areas. At least 613 hotspots detected within three weeks in this month as the total of hotspots in the province are 1573.
A coalition of Indonesia’s NGOs called Anti-Forest Mafia Coalition urged global pulp buyers last week to beware of allegedly corruption-tainted pulp products following an analysis of timber companies’ involvement in graft cases that jailed government officials in Riau province.
Non-governmental organization coalition called Anti-Forest Mafia Coalition lodged a petition to Indonesia’s Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Tuesday to urge it name those involved in graft cases suspects.
The Ministry of Environment vowed to bring 14 timber companies in Riau province which allegedly involved in environmental destruction to the court of justice following two meetings among related government agencies, a weekly magazine disclosed.
Sinar Mas Group’s Asia Pulp & Paper (SMG/APP) attempted to give itself a clean bill of health last week by covering up its forest destruction in an ‘assured’ long winded report. But there is no place to hide for this company. Satellites images have been capturing and documenting every single hectare that the company has destroyed for years.
PEKANBARU (EoF News)—Minister of Forestry Malam Sambat Kaban blamed detained Pelalawan District Head Azmun Jaafar over allegedly issuing 15 logging licenses to companies and insisted his decision to grant verification for pulp and paper companies in Riau, media reported yesterday (8/4/2008).
Pekanbaru (EoF News)-- Following his raid to an Asia Pulp Paper's subsidiary concession in Indragiri Hilir two weeks ago, Chief of Riau Police Brig.-Gen. Sutjiptadi pledged to conduct aerial observation as he believed the forestry companies clearcut the forests in remote area. At a discussion held by Walhi Riau in Pekanbaru Tuesday, the Chief of Riau Police said that he and his team has confiscated felled logs from natural forest in the concession of PT Citra Sumber Sejahtera, a partner pulpwood company of Asia Pacific Resources International Holdings Limited (APRIL).
Pekanbaru (EoF News) -- Riau Police have insisted to probe all out illegal logging cases involving large forestry companies amid worries warned by the provincial legislators as the action would harm investment opportunity in the province.
Chief of Riau Police Brig-Gen Sutjiptadi told Forum of Riau Community Leaders (FKPMR) in Pekanbaru last weekend that his side had detained 140 suspects of illegal logging along 2007.
Tesso Nilo, a proposed sanctuary for endangered Sumatran elephants, is under threat, as series of observation conducted by Forest Crime Unit of WWF-Indonesia Riau office has concluded recently.
The two companies, long scorned by green groups, have been working for years to put out a more environmentally friendly message.
These and many previous cases of human-elephant conflict and killings appear to be connected to highly questionable, uncontrolled forest clearing in Riau's Libo Forest Block, one of the few remaining retreats of the Sumatran elephant in central Sumatra.
Human Elephant Conflict and Forest Clearing in Libo Block, Riau Province Pekanbaru, Indonesia (EoF News, March 10, 2006) - Six elephants were found dead last week in an oil palm plantation at the border of Riau and North Sumatra, apparently poisoned. At least 17 elephants have repeatedly raided Balai Raja village in Riau's Bengkalis District.