Indonesia: NGOs denounce
misleading propaganda of APP
Asia Pulp &
Paper (APP) is a giant pulp and paper company which has long been
deforesting Indonesian forests in Riau province, Sumatra, destroying
Kerumutan’s and Bukit Tigapuluh’s peat forests. Most
of the estimated 25 percent deforestation of the original natural
forest cover has taken place on carbon rich soils.
The damage carried
out by APP has several implications: it destroys the territory
and livelihoods of indigenous communities who have been living
there for centuries; it threatens the survival of some of them;
it leads Sumatran tigers, elephants and orangutans to the verge
of extinction; it causes millions of tons of greenhouse
gas emissions as the forest is cleared and drained peat soils
oxidize, pushing Indonesia into third place (behind China and
the U.S.) of greenhouse gas emitters.
It is difficult
to think that with such a profile APP could earn some credit.
However, the company is trying to promote their corporate responsibility
and paper products through propaganda.
During the 12th
Annual RISI European pulp & paper outlook conference held
in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on March 10, APP attempted to promote
their “corporate responsibility”. Several Indonesian
NGOs reacted calling on buyers and investors of APP “to
reject the company’s misinformation and stop purchasing
or financing the company until it met conditions articulated in
an open letter calling for reforms in Indonesia’s pulp and
paper sector”.
In a joint communiqué
NGOs denounced that a series of TV paid programming (infomercials)
touting APP’s environmental and social accomplishments may
be “an effort to pave the way for the company’s anticipated
initial public offering (IPO) of its Chinese division, and comes
at the same time as new investments in direct sales capacity in
Europe and North American paper markets. In the early 2000’s,
APP defaulted on a debt of more than U.S. $13 billion and became
Asia’s biggest bankruptcy. In the aftermath of the bankruptcy,
significant legal, social and environmental issues associated
with the company’s pulp production, natural forest clearance
and pulpwood sourcing operations emerged”.
WALHI/Friends of the Earth Indonesia, the national environmental
forum in Indonesia which has over 450 member NGOs, blew the whistle
on the misinformation campaign and alerted consumers: “We’re
trying to set the record straight for APP’s customers and
investors who may have been taken in by APP’s misleading
advertisements and glossy brochures,” said Teguh Surya Campaign
Director of WALHI. “APP and its affiliates continue to do
more damage to Indonesia’s forest dependent communities,
wildlife and the world’s climate that any other single corporate
player. Being associated with APP poses major reputational risks
to companies that do business with it”, Teguh said.
Rivani Noor of
the Indonesian national network, Community Alliance for Pulp and
Paper Advocacy (CAPPA) bears witness of APP’s deeds: “Indonesian
NGO’s and the communities we work with have experienced
the devastation caused by APP firsthand, so we can’t be
fooled by infomercials or environmental prizes,” he said.
APP’s record
of destruction and violation of community rights cannot be cleaned
up with propaganda.
CAPPA’s
Rivani Noor declared that “We urge APP to stop the destruction
of natural forests and peatlands, respect community rights and
tenure, resolve existing disputes and retract misleading statements
about their low carbon footprint. This is how APP can go beyond
business as usual and help fulfill Indonesia’s greenhouse
gas emission reduction targets and the transition to an equitable
and low-carbon future for all Indonesians”.
Article based
on the “Open Letter to Customers of and Investors in the
Indonesian Pulp and Paper Sector” (http://www.eyesontheforest.or.id),
and the joint communiqué “Indonesian groups reject
APP’s green claims at RISI Paper Conference”, sent
by Rivani Noor, Coordinator, Community Alliance Pulp and Paper
Advocacy (CAPPA), e-mail: rivani@cappa.or.id
. More on APP’s social and environmental impacts is
documented at: http://www.eyesontheforest.or.id,
http://www.savesumatra.org/index.php/link,
http://www.environmentalpaper.org/indonesiaroundtablesummary.htm,
and photos of APP impacts at: http://www.eyesontheforest.or.id
index
