Indonesian pulp and paper company April Group says it will spend $136.8 million (US$100 million) over the next ten years on conservation and double its peatland restoration program to 150,000 hectares.
The announcement, made at the Indonesian Pavilion at the COP21 climate change summit in Paris, is the latest move by April to boost its sustainability profile after a chequered history that has included a dispute with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
“This commitment illustrates how private sector organizations can support climate goals not just in terms of pledges but by going beyond them and actually putting resources on the table,” said Tony Wenas, MD, April Group Indonesia Operations.
The increased commitment to Riau Ecosystem Restoration (RER) is believed to be the biggest investment by a private sector company in a single eco-restoration project in Indonesia and covers restoration, protection and management.
April said the RER restoration area has been largely protected from burning during the latest fire and haze season, one of the worst to have hit Southeast Asia, “which indicates the effectiveness of April’s landscape approach, supporting the case for further investment.”
April Group’s conservation and restoration activities delivered and committed now account for 400,000 ha – 150,000 in restoration and 250,000 in conservation - of forest in Indonesia, an area close to six times the size of Singapore, while nearly matching its commercial plantation area. This 1-for-1 goal of conservation to plantation is one of the commitments made by the company under its strengthened Sustainable Forest Management Policy (SFMP) announced six months ago, which ensured deforestation was eliminated from its supply chain.
Drawing on the expertise of APRIL Group, FFI and Bidara as well as local communities, RER employs a four-phase model of protection, assessment, restoration and management to rejuvenate previously degraded areas of forest and peatland. This model, complemented by APRIL’s Fire Free Village Programme and water management strategies, ensured that the Kampar Peninsula largely remained free of fire during the recent haze crisis.
The RER programme, established by April in partnership with Fauna & Flora International (FFI) and local NGO Bidara in 2013, protects and restores peatland areas on the Kampar Peninsula in Indonesia’s Riau Province under eco-restoration licenses granted by the Indonesian Government.