Paper giant to withdraw from Indonesia rainforest destruction

www.chinaview.cn 13 Nov 09;

JAKARTA, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Finnish global paper giant UPM-Kymmene planned to stop purchasing pulp from Asia Pacific Resources International Holding Limited (APRIL), which has involved in rainforest destruction in Riau province of Indonesia, Green peace said here Friday.

The decision comes following a move by dozens of Green peace activists from around the world who chained themselves to escavators in a logged peat land forest the province, demanding the United States to take more actions to end deforestation. The activists are now being detained by the police.

Greenpeace campaigner for Southeast Asia Bustar Maitar said that UPM, which supplies products like photocopy paper to global markets including the United States, China, Europe and Australia, admitted that APRIL's pulp "comes from a very delicate environment."

"It is reported that the firm would begin to cancel its contract with APRIL," Maitar told Xinhua over phone.

"The plan indicated a very positive move by UPM to help protect Indonesia's rainforests and carbon rich peatlands, the destruction of which leads to climate change, mass species extinction and causing poverty in forest dependent communities," he added.

"If international companies start distancing themselves from this environmental disaster, the call to end global deforestation here and around the globe will only get louder and louder."

Greenpeace estimates the contract to be equal to over 4 percent of APRIL's total pulp production, worth over 55 million U.S. dollars annually.

The campaigner said that APRIL had involved in forest destruction as the firm still had not licencing completely and operating at the peatland area in which its depth was more than 3 meters.

Besides, the firm had started operation before completing assessment of the location of the highly conservative forest.

"This is illegal under Indonesian law," said Maitar.