In 2013 Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), Indonesia, committed to use plantation fiber instead of clearing natural forests. In the same year, APP announced the construction of a multi-billion dollar pulp mill in South Sumatra, Indonesia. A report launched this past week (April 20) by 12 NGOs, including Wetlands International (Netherlands), shows that there is a high risk that the supply base of the plantation wood fiber for this mill is insecure. This is largely due to the degradation of peatlands which are drained for pulp-for-paper plantations. Drained peatlands cause increased fire risks, land subsidence, carbon emissions, and floods that cause the loss of land productivity. 

 

 

These peatland plantations constitute 77% of the supply base for the mill. More information about APP's peatland management issues are available in the full Wetlands International article published online.