WWF Accuses APP Supplier of Clear-Cutting in Tiger Sanctuary

WWF and non-profit coalition Eyes on the Forest have alleged that one of Asia Pulp & Paper’s wood suppliers is clear cutting in a Sumatran tiger sanctuary that APP has publicly supported

In a report, The Truth Behind APP’s Greenwash, the non-profits say that field investigations and satellite image analysis revealed PT Ruas Utama Jaya clear-cutting inside the Senepis Tiger Sanctuary, 14 percent of which lies within APP’s concession.

The report also says APP has broken three self-imposed deadlines to stop using native forest timber, in 2004, 2007 and 2009. Eyes on the Forest says it expects APP to renege on its latest timber sourcing commitment, for 2015.

According to the non-profits, APP’s clear-cutting of forests includes elephant, tiger and orangutan habitat, and the report says the company makes an “immense” climate change impact through draining deep peats to create high-turnover plantations. WWF estimates that APP, part of the Sinar Mas Group, has pulped more than two million hectares of Indonesia’s tropical forests since it started paper production there in 1984.

APP called the report poorly researched and inaccurate, and said the allegation of clear cutting within the Senepis Tiger Sanctuary is false. The company published government maps, which APP says show that the Eyes on the Forest pictures come from RUJ’s legally operated concession outside of the sanctuary.

This year Lego and Mattel have bowed to Greenpeace pressure to stop using APP as a packaging supplier, and Hasbro has also instructed suppliers to stop using APP.

Pictured: Top, what WWF describes as an example of clear-cutting in the sanctuary. Below, a photo that APP shows the sanctuary’s true state.