Assosiasi Pulp & Kertas Indonesia (APKI) released a statement yesterday (25 November) in response to a move by environmental body WWF to assess paper companies' environmental credentials.

APKI chairman HM Mansur has claimed that 40% of the questions in the WWF survey "are inherently biased against Indonesia-based pulp and paper manufacturers".

"FSC, in general, is not applicable to the Indonesian pulp and paper industry because its principles go against the government of Indonesia's economic development plan and spatial planning policy," he said.

The statement added that FSC's policy on pulpwood plantations "arbitrarily prohibits" most of the Indonesian industry from being certified to FSC.

FSC Australia chief executive Michael Spencer told ProPrint that the chain-of-custody body's rules were the same for all participants.

"This is important for the integrity of the FSC assurance," Spencer said.

Spencer added that APKI's statement suggested the only barrier to participation in the FSC system was the FSC rule on conversion.

"A cursory examination of the public record shows there are other issues associated with APP forest management practices," he said.

Spencer said paper companies from both the "developed and developing" world met FSC standards, adding that the organisation would welcome APP as long as it addressed all the issues required to comply with FSC's principles and criteria for responsible forest management.

FSC "disassociated" itself from APP in November 2007 amid claims the paper giant violated FSC principles.

Earlier this month, ProPrint interviewed Aida Greenbury, APP's director of sustainability and stakeholder engagement, in a global webcast. Click here to watch the video. A full transcript is also available.

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