WWF Monitoring Brief October 2006: Asia Pulp & Paper (APP)

On 7 August, APP placed a full page advertisement “APP’s Commitment: Conservation beyond Compliance” in the New York and London TimesTPD5DPT. On 15 August, APP published a “Stakeholder Update” distributed to hundreds of its customers. APP portrayed itself as a forest and wildlife protecting company. However, in reality, APP’s performance does not match its claims. APP refuses to commit to “conservation beyond compliance” and continues to destroy High Conservation Value Forests (HCVFs) and threatens the Sumatran tigers, elephants and other wildlife that rely on them.     In this Monitoring Brief, WWF reveals some of the false statements in the APP advertisements and explains the links between APP operations and natural forest loss in the Province of Riau.     While this brief focuses on APP’s operations in the Province of Riau, where WWF and other NGO have dozens of observers on the ground, readers should keep in mind that APP not only destroys Riau’s forests but also those in other provinces in Indonesia. One such province is Jambi where APP has been producing pulp for many years and is currently acquiring large additional concessions. Other potential areas of destruction are the provinces of South Sumatra, West Kalimantan and East Kalimantan, as well as other countries where APP is sourcing wood chips. Many forests earmarked for clearing and destruction by APP have high conservation values.