Environmentalists have praised Fuji Xerox for
cutting ties with a big paper manufacturer accused of wrongfully logging
Indonesian rainforests.  The Australian arm
of the Japanese company announced this week it will no longer be doing business
with Asia Pacific Resources International (APRIL), which owns one of the
world’s largest paper mills. And according to a study by Forest Watch Indonesia
(FWI), a non-governmental organisation, Indonesia has the fastest rate of
deforestation in the world, losing 15 million hectares of forest cover from
2000 to 2009, an area equivalent to half the size of Malaysia.

The Australian (4 August 2011):

Environmentalists have praised Fuji Xerox for
cutting ties with a big paper manufacturer accused of wrongfully logging
Indonesian rainforests.

Fuji Xerox Australia announced today it will
no longer be doing business with Asia Pacific Resources International (APRIL),
which owns one of the world’s largest paper mills.

Fuji Xerox managing director Nick Kugenthiran
said fresh allegations of APRIL unsustainably clearing forest land in Sumatra
was the final straw after months of doubts.

ABC’s Foreign Correspondent program on
Tuesday aired allegations APRIL is building plantations at an highly
destructive rate, with question marks over the acquisition of permits.

“Over the past eighteen months we have
been concerned with the lack of progress with regard to APRIL’s logging
practices in Indonesia,” he said in a statement.

“Our concerns were grave enough for us
to take steps in June 2011 to review our relationship with APRIL.

“Due to these concerns and further
issues brought to our attention, we have made the decision to cease all
procurement with APRIL.”

Comment was being sought from the company.

Greenpeace and the forestry union also
welcomed the announcement, and urged other retailers, such as Officeworks -
which buys APRIL products – to follow its lead.

“Other Australian companies and
retailers need to take a good hard look at where their pulp and paper products
come from,” Greenpeace’s Reece Turner said.

Both the federal government and its consumer
watchdog has been asked to investigate the illegal logging claims, to which
APRIL has yet to respond.

Source: www.theaustralian.com.au

Straits Times (29 July 2011):

South-east Asia’s forests under threat:
Indonesia

Deforestation rate is world’s fastest;
Kalimantan worst affected

JAKARTA: Indonesia has the fastest rate of
deforestation in the world, losing 15 million ha of forest cover from 2000 to
2009, according to a study by Forest Watch Indonesia (FWI), a non-governmental
organisation.

That area would be equivalent to half the
size of Malaysia.

‘In 2000, Indonesia had 103 million ha of
forest, but only 88 million ha were left in 2009. Therefore, the speed of
deforestation during those years was 1.5 million ha per year,’ FWI executive
director Wirendro Sumargo was quoted as saying on Wednesday by the Jakarta
Post. ‘That is the fastest tropical deforestation rate in the world,’ he added.

The worst area affected, FWI found, was in
Kalimantan, which accounted for slightly more than a third of the total area
lost. Mr Sumargo said that 5.5 million ha of the 15 million ha destroyed were
in that region. ‘The worst condition was in Central Kalimantan, which lost 2
million ha,’ he said.

The study was conducted by analysing Forestry
Ministry data in 2000 and then comparing it to data from satellite photos in
2009. Deforestation was mainly caused by oil palm plantations and pulp
companies, according to the study.

‘The root was our corrupt political and
economic system. Government policy is often inconsistent and less strict, and
it is very easy for many parties to cause deforestation,’ Mr Sumargo said.

A previous study conducted by FWI showed that
from 1985 to 1997, Indonesia lost 21.6 million ha of forest, with the speed of
deforestation at 1.8 million ha a year. The figures tally with a recent United
Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) study which showed Indonesia,
from 2000 to 2005, lost 1.87 million ha every year.

The FAO said Jakarta has had some success
tackling the problem through better conservation awareness and government
policy but warned against complacency.

Norway and Indonesia signed an agreement in
May last year under which Jakarta promised to impose a moratorium on clearing
its forests. In return, Norway vowed to pay US$1 billion (S$1.2 billion), based
on Indonesia’s performance in achieving long-term goals to slow deforestation.
A long list of exemptions, which included extensions of existing permits,
disappointed environmentalists.

Source: www.straitstimes.com