Indonesia cries foul over green claims

Critical of how its environmental record is portrayed in the media, the Indonesian government hosts a forum in Sydney in an attempt to balance the narrative about its forestry industry.

Over three hours and lunch at the Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney, the Indonesian Government ran the gamut of propaganda and PR to push back against what they consider to be unfair reports of their enviro record.

According to Indonesian trade minister, Dr Deddy Saleh, paper bans are sometimes paired with incomplete information from NGOs and governments. "We think this treatment is unfair. That’s why we are trying to counter [mis-information] about the compliance of our product to regulations and commitment to the environment.”

Discussions from the top table ran the gamut of its national forestry standards (LEI) versus international groups (FSC) and disputes with environmental NGOs. At no point was there any mention of the Sumatran tiger incident that brought Indonesian paper manufacturer APRIL into the spotlight and caused it to lose Fuji Xerox and Office Works as customers.

APRIL is currently in damage control as it meets with paper merchants and print industry players to convey its side of the story. Also feeling the pinch is rival APP as retail chain IGA boycotts its tissue paper products, a move orchestrated by Greenpeace.

Pushing forward the country's environmental initiatives, Hadi Daryanto (pictured), secretary general to the Ministry of Forestry, outlined the plans for the forest industry’s future, including a 26% greenhouse gas reduction target by 2020. Indonesian paper exported to Australia has risen 2.46% year-on-year to 2011.



Panel speakers addressing the forum included Dr Saleh and the Ministry of Forestry’s secretary general, Hadi Daryanto alongside Australian Forestry Standards CEO Kayt Watts and Bernard Cassell, ex-CEO of paper merchant group CPI.