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 In an announcement today, the Asia Pulp & Paper Company, at the request of a supplier, will be accepting pulp from a company that is cutting down 50,000 hectares of tropical rainforest on the island of Sumatra. This clearcut is right beside the Bukit Tigapuluh National Park, a local release location for the orangutans.
In recent times, this area has had 100 rehabilitated orphan orangutans released there. The rehabilitated orphans had their mothers killed illegally by local workers on nearby rice plantations. "It took scientists decades to discover how to successfully reintroduce critically endangered orangutans from captivity into the wild," said Peter Pratje of the Frankfurt Zoological Society. "It could take APP just months to destroy an important part of their new habitat."
"Because
of the business APP is in, and the fact that we operate in an
environmentally sensitive part of the world, we understand that we may
be an easy public relations target," the company said in a statement.
"Despite that, we urge stakeholders to be responsible and considered in
their approach to long term sustainable development in Indonesia."
Many
times boycotts of products of the offending company would put economic
pressure on the company to change their ways and/or to back down on
their current path. Another reason to purchase 100% post consumer
paper products and to not purchase biodiesel made from palm oil,
another reason for cutting down Indonesian rainforest.
An
investigation of the company in 2005 concluded that "APP's business
model is a tactically aggressive one: it turns huge profits by quickly
stripping forests bare, exploiting age-old forests and indigenous
peoples, and leaving town before the environmental consequences are
felt. By the time communities and governments lodge complaints and
lawsuits, APP has divested itself of local interests and assets."
It had been found illegally logging in China in 2005 while a subsidiary of the firm was found illegally logging in Cambodia. The Forest Stewardship Council cut ties to the company in November 2007 citing the company's earlier history of bad practices and legally questionable logging in Sumatra and Indonesia. They urged strongly "APP to join the ranks of responsible businesses and conduct its operations within the law. Until that time, the world's paper buyers and investors should stop doing business with APP." In January 2008, the office retailer Staples ended their 11 year relationship with APP, which had formerly supplied between 5 and 9% of the paper sold at the chain "due to their clear lack of progress in improving their environmental performance". Other companies including Office Depot and Wall-Mart had cut ties previously on environmental grounds. If you wish to send a letter to the Asia Pulp & Paper Company, here is their address: 69 Loyang Dr.
508958 Singapore Phone: +65-6477-6118
Fax: +65-6477-6116
http://www.asiapulppaper.com You can express your interest in protecting the orangutan and other endangered species on Sumatra. You can also recommend that they not take the pulp made from the trees on Sumatra and to begin to move away from exploiting virgin fiber and begin to use post consumer sources for their papers productsOnly registered users can write comments.
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