On Tuesday, October 6, 2020, the Anti-Forest Mafia Coalition published a report highlighting deforestation and peatland degradation in the PT Adindo Hutani Lestari (Adindo) concession in North Kalimantan. Adindo is an industrial timber plantation company that supplies wood raw materials to the pulp and paper company of the APRIL group.
Based on analysis using satellite imagery, the Anti-Forest Mafia Coalition has documented significant deforestation, including forest clearing on peatlands inside concession areas. Between 3 June 2015 and 31 August 2020, Adindo destroyed 7,291 hectares of natural forest, 3,790 hectares of which was peatland. Based on an assessment by the forest organization Tropenbos International in 2014, the peatland that was destroyed was an area of High Conservation Value (HCV).
Since June 2015, the APRIL group, which is the second largest pulp and paper producer in Indonesia, and its parent company, the Royal Golden Eagle (RGE) Group, have implemented a “zero deforestation” policy in their work area and supply chain. APRIL is also committed to “no new development on forested peatlands” in its work areas and supply partners.
This finding is a major violation of APRIL and the RGE Group’s commitment to halt new development on forested peatlands—and more broadly, it tarnishes the integrity of the promises APRIL and RGE have made.
Read the full report “And the Reckless Act of Deforestation Continues” from the Anti-Forest Mafia Coalition.
