Indonesian papermaking giant April has responded to the current climate change summit in Paris by committing a further US$100m to forest conservation and restoration.
The company will double its peatland restoration activities, which will set it on course to achieve a one for one hectares plantation and conservation ratio, the new funding will take it up to 83 per cent.
April, one of the world’s biggest paper manufacturers – and a supplier to Australasian merchants – and along with local rival APP has recently emerged from a decade of duress from environmental groups by tackling issues head on, gaining plaudits form the various green NGOs along the way.
The increased commitment to Riau Ecosystem Restoration (RER), possibly the biggest investment by a private sector company in a single eco-restoration project in Indonesia, covers assessment, restoration and protection, and management and partnerships.
Tony Wenas, managing director for April Group Indonesia Operations, says,“This commitment illustrates how private sector organizations can support climate goals not just in terms of pledges but by going beyond them and actually putting resources on the table.”
$100m extra: Peatland restoration in Indonesia
April Group’s conservation and restoration activities delivered and committed now account for 400,000 ha – 150,000 in restoration and 250,000 in conservation – of forest in Indonesia, an area close to six times the size of Singapore, while nearly matching its commercial plantation area.
The RER restoration area has been largely protected from burning during the last fire and haze season, one of the worst to have hit Southeast Asia, which indicates the effectiveness of APRIL’s landscape approach, supporting the case for further investment.
The 1-for-1 goal of conservation to plantation is one of the commitments made by the company under its strengthened Sustainable Forest Management Policy (SFMP) announced six months ago, which ensured deforestation was eliminated from its supply chain.
The RER programme, which was established by April Group in partnership with Fauna & Flora International (FFI) and local NGO Bidara in 2013, protects and restores important peatland areas on the Kampar Peninsula in Indonesia’s Riau Province under eco-restoration licenses granted by the Indonesian Government.
Dr.Tony Whitten, Asia-Pacific Regional director at Fauna & Flora International, says, “The partners involved in the RER project hope that it will be a living, working blueprint — an evolving example of what other public and private sector organisations can achieve more broadly through strong partnerships and bold vision.”
Indonesia’s peatland areas comprise some of the most sensitive ecosystems in the world, while the Kampar Peninsula landscape makes up one of the largest peatland areas in Southeast Asia. Kampar’s tropical forests, rich in biodiversity, support endangered wildlife species including the Sumatran tiger and sun bear.
Drawing on the expertise of April Group, FFI and Bidara as well as local communities, RER employs a four-phase model of protection, assessment, restoration and management to rejuvenate previously degraded areas of forest and peatland. This model, complemented by April’s Fire Free Village Programme and water management strategies, ensured that the Kampar Peninsula largely remained free of fire during the recent haze crisis.
