APP Reports Progress for Peatland Management

 

In the third annual company Forest Conservation Policy (FCP) report, Asia Pulp & Paper Group (APP) of Jakarta, Indonesia, announced this past month the acceleration of their Peatland Best Practice Management Project (PBPMP).

"Looking ahead, we are ready to learn from our experience and to further collaborate with other stakeholders in our landscape, in our country, and beyond, to try to create a better world for future generations."

The FCP, launched in February 2013, is APP’s commitment to immediately end deforestation in its supply chain and bring sustainability to the forefront of the company’s operations. Policy commitments include the ending of natural forest conversion throughout its supply chain, best practice in peatland management, and adopting a collaborative approach to resolving social issues.

Specifically, it includes the dam work to block more than 3,500 perimeter canals to increase water levels in APP suppliers’ concessions located on peatland that has recently been completed, with a total target of 7,000 dams to be built by the end of the first quarter of 2016. This is in addition to the retirement of 7,000 hectares of commercial plantation areas in Riau and South Sumatra, announced by APP in August 2015. In total, APP and its suppliers have allocated approximately 600,000 hectares for forest conservation and ecosystem restoration within its suppliers' concessions.

 

Peatland areas are particularly vulnerable to forest fires and these initiatives to manage and protect them are a critical part of APP’s new Integrated Fire Management (IFM) strategy. The move supports efforts to significantly lower the risk of wildfires in the region.

More information about APP’s FCP progress report is available online.