APP clearcuts forest where a Sumatran tiger dies by snare

EoF News / 29 February 2012
Arara Abadi, a main supplier of APP, clearcuts tiger habitat forest in Tesso Nilo complex.

EoF News (PEKANBARU) – Asia Pulp and Paper is still clearcutting tropical rainforest as realities found by Eyes on the Forest investigation in the company’s subsidiary, PT Arara Abadi of district Nilo, in Tesso Nilo forest block, Sumatra’s Riau Province.

Eyes on the Forest published yesterday an investigative report conducted in October 2011 inside concession of PT Arara Abadi of Nilo district, an APP subsidiary and main supplier in the province.

EoF found at least 250 hectares of natural forest that has just been clearcut by APP’s subsidiary, PT Arara Abadi, where no heavy machines found there at the time when investigation conducted.  

The license for this concession is a part of permit granted to the company amounting to 299,975 hectares based on Minister of Forestry Decree Number 743/Kpts-II/1996, dated 25 November 1996. Data obtained from Riau Forestry Service says the concession of PT Arara Abadi distrik Nilo is around 26,438 hectares.

The APP subsdiary has converted natural forest to pulpwood plantation (industrial timber plantation/HTI) since end of 1990s. It means that this concession has harvested acacia trees for 2-3 times since it was first clearcut.

In early July 2011 a Sumatran tiger found dead after being trapped by snare for six days in land that part of PT Arara Abadi’s concession where it was found starving and in a worse condition.

WWF Indonesia said that PT Arara Abadi, APP’s subsidiary, failed to protect the concession from illegal activities such as installment of traps to capture animals which also jeopardized critically endangered species just like sumatran tiger. PT Arara Abadi have recognized the presence of the Sumatran tiger as well as snares installed by villagers to trap animals, but the pulp supplier failed to secure the concession.

Eyes on the Forest calls on the Sinar Mas Group’s Asia Pulp & Paper company to stop clearing natural forest in Sumatra, all other Indonesian islands and throughout the world today.

Eyes on the Forest calls on customers and other business partners to not trust SMG/APP’s public relations claims. Sumatra’s forests and species are at the 11th hour. Responsible paper and pulp purchasers should not contribute to their demise. Join the growing list of other responsible companies that have stopped sourcing from APP.

Download EoF investigative report 28 Feb 2012