World first as APP retires 7000ha of land

Paper manufacturing giant Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) has retired 7000 hectares of commercial plantations in Indonesia after a research agency identified it requiring immediate rehabilitation. Paper Force, the Australian arm of APP, says the retirement of the tropical areas is to protect threatened carbon-rich peatlands, saying it is the first time this has happened for conservation purposes worldwide.

Fitrian Ardiansyah,  Sarwono Kusumaatmadja, Head of National Advisory Board from Climate Change ·         Erna Witoelar, former Indonesian Minister of Human Settlements and Regional Development and UN Special Ambassador for MDGs ·         Aida Greenbury, Managing Director, Sustainability & Stakeholder Engagement, APP Indonesia. ·         Dra. Yulwiriati Moesa, Head of the Environment Office, Riau Province ·         Dr. Al Hooijer, Lead Researcher, Deltares ·         Stig Traavik, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway to Indonesia ·         Najib Asmani, Special Advisor on Environment and Climate Change to the South Sumateran Governor ·         Bustar Maitar, Global Head, Indonesia Forest Campaign, Greenpeace International

L-R: Fitrian Ardiansyah, Sarwono Kusumaatmadja, Erna Witoelar, Aida Greenbury, Yulwiriati Moesa, Riau Province, Al Hooijer, Stig Traavik, Najib Asmani, Bustar Maitar

APP says peatland development in Indonesia represents one of the single largest terrestrial sources of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in the world. Retiring these plantation areas will help support the government of Indonesia’s target of a 26 per cent reduction in emissions by 2020. Aida Greenbury, APP managing director sustainability, says: “The decision to retire these areas of commercial plantation is an important milestone in the delivery of our Forest Conservation Policy and we believe it is an unprecedented commitment. “The retirement of active plantations is not an easy decision for any business to take, but we believe that taking urgent steps to protect remaining areas of peatland forest, as well as reducing and avoiding climate emissions from peatlands, must be a priority. While there is still a long way to go, and we have much to learn, this announcement represents a major breakthrough.” She says as APP shows leadership in this is area, the paper manufacturer can’t bear the entire burden of forest conservation. Greenbury says, “The reality of protecting peat landscapes is that no one company like APP can do it alone. APP’s goal of supporting the conservation of forest and peat landscapes needs to be a shared objective, and one supported by meaningful actions from both the government and other plantation companies. “This should include addressing the systemic barriers to forest and peatland protection, supporting forest restoration and ensuring development opportunities for communities.”

Acacia plantation_RZD

Aljosja Hooijer, programme leader at independent research institute Deltares, says: “APP has a unique opportunity to support peatland forest conservation and emission reduction. The progress announced is a first step in a process towards the development of a new model to define best management practices in peatlands. “The pioneering approach to collecting LiDAR data has allowed the technology to be deployed at an unprecedented scale economically, and will advance the science of peat and peat management not only in Indonesia, but also globally.” The land marked for retirement is spread across five individual acacia plantation areas in Riau and South Sumatra which have been identified as requiring immediate rehabilitation following recommendations from the applied research institute Deltares.

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