APP Announces Social, Environmental Initiatives
Asia Pulp & Paper Group (APP), Jakarta, Indonesia, has announced a series of social and environmental initiatives to help kick off the United Nations Year of the Forest and to support Indonesia's two-year moratorium on new forest conversions.
Indonesia's commitment on Reducing Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) will see a suspension on new forest and peat licenses granted. APP says it believes this is an important opportunity for the Indonesian forestry industry and affected stakeholders to have the chance to improve spatial planning and sustainable forestry best practices nationwide. During this timeframe, APP will move ahead with a planned series of activities and programs aimed at assessing and enhancing its sustainable practices, including:
- An independent study on the impact of plantation development and greenhouse gas emissions on all soil types
- Enhancing key conservation areas, including creation of valuable wildlife corridors
- Research and pilot programs involving the protection of key Indonesian endangered species, including the Sumatran Tiger, Javan Rhino, and Orangutan
- A pilot program to develop a bio-village in the Giam Siak Kecil Biosphere reserve in Riau Province;
- Developing a verifiable carbon conservation model at Kqampar Carbon Reserve, the world's first pulpwood plantation REDD+ project
- Development of eco-friendly housing with Habitat for Humanity Indonesia for a poverty stricken community in Central Java
- Expansion of legality, chain of custody, and sustainable forest certification management programs to meet 2020 vision
- Expansion of CDM programs
A commitment by APP and its pulpwood suppliers to plant 1 million trees a day as part of its afforestation program.
TAPPI
http://www.tappi.org/