An independent monitoring on legal wood certification in Riau province urged the government and certification agencies to be responsible for passing Timber Legality of Assurance System (TLAS) certificates to forest management units as some of timber companies targeted by anti-corruption commission for further probe on graft scandals.
Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) claims of independent sustainability certification for its operations aren’t supported by the certification schemes and assessors it has nominated, a WWF survey has found.
PEKANBARU -- SmartWood, an independent forest management certifier, has suspended the interim certification of Asia Paper Resources International Limited (APRIL) pulp products. The paper giant failed to meet the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)’s minimum standard for "controlled wood" certification.
The recent certification of an Asia Pulp & Paper (APP)/Sinar Mas pulp plantation by the Indonesian Ecolabelling Institute (LEI) suggests that the LEI standards need to be strengthened, as APP products are not sustainable, a group of non-governmental organizations in Indonesia warned global paper buyers today.
Pekanbaru (EoF News)-- Forestry certification assessment agency, LEI (Indonesia Ecolabel Agency), pledged to monitor tightly certification process in the controversial concession of PT Riau Andalan Pulp & Paper’s (Asia Pacific Resources International Holdings Limited/APRIL) in Kampar Peninsula, the rich peatland forest landscape.
Coalition of environmental NGOs in Riau, including Riau Forest Rescue Network Jikalahari, Walhi Riau, Hakiki, Amar and Yayasan Elang issued a letter of protest to the Board of Constituents Member of LEI on April 4 regarding the certification of Sustainable Plantation Management to PT. RAPP.
Indonesia has enacted laws on environmental protection and has issued a myriad of regulations and rulings to protect forests, in addition to the creation of non-tariff barriers to prevent the trading of illegally cut wood. Yet deforestation continues. Inter-island trade and export of illegally felled timber remains rampant.