The Lossers of The Earth Award 2006
Few months ago, United Nations Envinronmental Programme (UNEP) engaged with Singapore-based APRIL as Corporate Partner for UNEP's Champions of the Earth Awards in 2006. But last week, a WWF report said that APRIL and Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), the Indonesian paper producers, are accelerating the deforestation of Sumatra's jungles in spite of a bid to portray themselves as green.
"Partnering with UNEP for the Champion of The Earth Awards is a further confirmation of our commitment to conservation and and sustainability, as these are the principles we uphold in our business," AJ Devanesan, president director of APRIL said in a statement in April.
In March, Indonesian Ecolabel Institute (LEI) certified APRIL for its fiber plantation in Riau, Sumatra.
"Being the first to achieve LEI certification for plantation forest management affirms that APRIL is a leader in sustainable forest management in the region," Devanesan said in a press statement.
But last week, WWF researchers, as reported by Financial Times, say deforestation in the Sumatran province of Riau, where the groups have pulp mills, has accelerated in recent years, in spite of conservation pledges from APP and APRIL.
In fact, on July 11, WWF even published its press release on APP in its website (www.wwf.or.id). According to the report, APP has been responsible for about 80,000 hectares of natural forest loss every year, equivalent to roughly one-half of the Indonesia province of Riau's annual forest loss since 2002. As of 2005, the company controlled nearly one-fifth, or 520,000 hectares, of the natural forests left on Riau's mainland. All these forests are under threat, as are any additional forests that APP acquires in its quest to fill its wood supply gap and expand pulp production.
WWF didn't publish the same press release on APRIL. You may wonder why. But WWF Monitoring Brief June 2006 elaborated the organization's analysis on APRIL's activities.
Jikalahari (Riau NGO alliance) investigators have found evidence that APRIL's mills accepted wood from legally questionable third party source as late as May 2006. WWF admitted in the report that it calls APRIL to stop sourcing timber from this area until completion of the government legal verification process. You can read the complete monitoring brief at www.wwf.or.id.
TO BE CONTINUED...
READ MORE!!!
"Partnering with UNEP for the Champion of The Earth Awards is a further confirmation of our commitment to conservation and and sustainability, as these are the principles we uphold in our business," AJ Devanesan, president director of APRIL said in a statement in April.
In March, Indonesian Ecolabel Institute (LEI) certified APRIL for its fiber plantation in Riau, Sumatra.
"Being the first to achieve LEI certification for plantation forest management affirms that APRIL is a leader in sustainable forest management in the region," Devanesan said in a press statement.
But last week, WWF researchers, as reported by Financial Times, say deforestation in the Sumatran province of Riau, where the groups have pulp mills, has accelerated in recent years, in spite of conservation pledges from APP and APRIL.
In fact, on July 11, WWF even published its press release on APP in its website (www.wwf.or.id). According to the report, APP has been responsible for about 80,000 hectares of natural forest loss every year, equivalent to roughly one-half of the Indonesia province of Riau's annual forest loss since 2002. As of 2005, the company controlled nearly one-fifth, or 520,000 hectares, of the natural forests left on Riau's mainland. All these forests are under threat, as are any additional forests that APP acquires in its quest to fill its wood supply gap and expand pulp production.
WWF didn't publish the same press release on APRIL. You may wonder why. But WWF Monitoring Brief June 2006 elaborated the organization's analysis on APRIL's activities.
Jikalahari (Riau NGO alliance) investigators have found evidence that APRIL's mills accepted wood from legally questionable third party source as late as May 2006. WWF admitted in the report that it calls APRIL to stop sourcing timber from this area until completion of the government legal verification process. You can read the complete monitoring brief at www.wwf.or.id.
TO BE CONTINUED...
READ MORE!!!
posted by yosef at 8:45 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home