Pilot project could lead to a new source of bio-fuel and will provide community incomes and reduce pressure on the rainforest
Jakarta, 4th July 2016 – Asia Pulp & Paper Group (APP) announced its support for a new community-led bio-fuel pilot initiative that could at scale, help to reduce the use of fossil fuels in Indonesia, increase the availability of renewable bio-fuels, provide incomes for local communities and help to reduce the vulnerability of Indonesia’s forest to fire, degradation and deforestation.
The initiative was launched at an event on the 29th of June in West Kalimantan by the Governor of West Kalimantan, Cornelis M.H, the coordinator of the Governors’ Climate and Forests Task Force (GCF) in Indonesia. The Goverrnor of West Kalimantan also holds the position as the President of the indigenous Dayak community in Indonesia.
The pilot, the result of the jurisdictionally-based partnership to support green growth between APP, the Governor of West Kalimantan and the Belantara Foundation will find suitable land to be planted with Kemiri Sunan, as a community plantation or as a restoration area. The Reutealis trisperma, also known as Philippine tung or Kemiri Sunan in Indonesia is rapidly emerging as a potential source of bio-fuel, to supply Indonesia’s B15 / B20 biodiesel programme and key export markets for bio-fuels such as the European Union as global demand continues to increase. This pilot will initially focus upon its development as a community crop through smallholder farmer co-operatives.
Kemiri Sunan’s high yield of up to 10 tons of oil per hectare, make it an attractive source of bio-fuel, with waste used to produce fertilizer, animal feed and biogas.
The trees can be intercropped with perennial crops and the projects will be run by smallholder farmer co-operatives, providing a new source of income to farmers in the region.
The trees develop broad canopies and deep root systems, helping to reduce soil erosion and water evaporation, whilst promoting water retention. By planting in degraded areas, the project is anticipated to improve local incomes whilst at the same time reducing GHG emissions and the vulnerability of the landscape to forest fire.
"Green development that benefits both the environment and society has always been a goal under our Forest Conservation Policy commitment," said Aida Greenbury, APP's Managing Director of Sustainability. "We are committed to continuing our support and cooperation with the Government of the West Kalimantan province to support the realisation of a green and prosperous West Kalimantan Province.”
Agus P. Sari, CEO of the Belantara Foundation stated: "The development of Kemiri Sunan in the context of the management of a sustainable landscape, will address several goals – improved productivity of land, income generation, community and environmental sustainability, including the supply of renewable energy."
The pilot builds on wider initiatives by APP to promote sustainable development across Indonesia. This work includes a partnership with IDH, the Belantara Foundation, other NGOs and three forestry companies to promote landscape management across the Kebu-Ketapang landscape in West Kalimantan. It also supports work by APP to reduce the fire vulnerability of the landscapes where it operates, which has involved the construction of more than 5,000 water-retaining dams across APP's supply chain in Indonesia. The pilot is part of APP’s landscape commitment through the Belantara Foundation and its wider $10 million commitment to 500 villages to fund an Integrated Forestry & Farming System (IFFS) that focuses on raising the incomes of local communities whilst reducing the pressure to open up new areas of forest for development.
"We need to embrace our community, the guardian of our forests, in our green growth programs," added the Governor of West Kalimantan, Cornelis M.H.
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For more information, please contact:
Renaldy T Salim
Head of Communications, Global Communications Unit
Asia Pulp & Paper
M : (62) 81311223659
Notes to Editor:
About Asia Pulp and Paper
Asia Pulp & Paper Group (APP) is a trade name for a group of pulp and paper manufacturing companies. APP is responsible for delivering quality products to meet the growing global demand for tissue, packaging and paper. On any given day, our products find their way into the hands of consumers in various branded forms all over the world.
Maintaining the integrity of our supply chain is crucial to APP’s operations. APP launched its Sustainability Roadmap Vision 2020 in June 2012 and its Forest Conservation Policy in February 2013, to further improve its environmental performance, biodiversity conservation, and protection of community rights. Key objectives of this roadmap are to ensure that its pulpwood suppliers adopt High Conservation Value (HCV) and High Carbon Stock (HCS) protection, peatland protection, and be 100% Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) certified by 2020.
In April 2014, APP launched its commitment to support the protection and restoration of one million hectares of forest in Indonesia. In line with that commitment, by 2015 APP and its suppliers have allocated approximately 600,000 hectares for conservation within its suppliers’ concessions and for ecosystem restoration.
Learn more about APP’s path to operational excellence by reading our Sustainability Reports and Forest Conservation Policy on: www.asiapulppaper.com
About the Belantara Foundation
The Belantara Foundation has been formed by Asia Pulp & Paper Group (APP) to secure and manage funding to support wide-ranging landscape scale conservation projects in Sumatra and Kalimantan, Indonesia. It aims to help ensure a careful balance is found in the region between sustainable economic development, the livelihoods of people in local communities and environmental conservation. This involves overseeing natural forest restoration and endangered species protection, protecting endangered animals, and studies to strengthen sustainable landscape management, as well as engaging in community empowerment and local economic development, especially for those that rely heavily on natural resources.
About the Governors’ Climate and Forests Task Force (GCF)
The GCF was established in November 2008 and now includes 29 governors from across the world. From Indonesia, Aceh, West Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, Papua and West Papua are members. The GCF seeks to advance jurisdictional programs designed to promote low emissions rural development and reduced emissions from deforestation and land use (REDD+) and link these activities with emerging greenhouse gas (GHG) compliance regimes and other pay-for-performance opportunities.
