Jakarta, Indonesia – 3rd September 2019 – On the sixth anniversary of its annual tree-planting initiative, Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) Sinar Mas, together with the Government of Indonesia, the International Tropical Timber Organization, Belantara Foundation, Indonesian and Japanese businesses and local communities, planted 10,000 seedlings of local tree species, Jelutong, and local fruit trees species,across 20 hectares of degraded conservation land in Giam Siak Kecil landscape of Riau Province.
The tree planting initiative is part of Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) Sinar Mas' commitment to support the protection and restoration of landscapes in Indonesia. In 2014, Professor Akira Miyawaki, a well-known botanist and expert in plant ecology from the Yokohama National University of Japan, recommended planting trees from native species in order to accelerate the restoration of degraded landscapes. Since then, 42,000 trees from various indigenous species have been planted across 87 hectares of conservation land.
Elim Sritaba, Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) Sinar Mas' Sustainability and Stakeholder Engagement Director, said, “The restoration and conservation of Indonesia’s vital forests are part of our commitments under our Forest Conservation Policy. By bringing together partners from across local and global communities for initiatives like today’s tree planting event, we are better able to create real contribution to Climate Action, one of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.”
This year, the trees have been planted on 20 hectares of degraded conservation area of APP’s pulpwood supplier, PT Arara Abadi, in Giam Siak Kecil landscape. The planting of local tree species will go a long way in rehabilitate the landscape, which is also a known as habitat of the Sumatran tiger and Sumatran elephant.
Local communities participated in the tree planting initiative and will help to protect the area against any further illegal encroachment. These communities would also benefit from the restored forest through non-timber products such as tree sap and fruit in the future.
Makoto Nikkawa, Great Forest Wall Project’s Executive Director said, “These tree planting initiatives are important and meaningful in many ways. Rehabilitate and protecting forests helps local communities in real economic terms by sustaining and supplementing livelihoods. Such local actions also have global consequences, helping combat climate change and fostering harmonious relationships between man and his environment.”
For more information about Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) Sinar Mas' forest conservation efforts, please visit www.fcpmonitoring.com
