A European campaign
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The rapid expansion market of paper products linked to deforestation in Indonesia into the European is supporting the further expansion of pulp plantations into Indonesia’s last tropical forests and peatlands. EEPN is promoting a European-wide campaign to stop the expansion of such products into the European market and to protect Indonesia’s rainforests and forest communities rights. Read more... |
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Global climate offender
Indonesia’s peat forests are critical to stopping climate change. As much as 50 billion tonnes of carbon is locked up in Indonesia's peat bogs - the equivalent of eight years of fossil-fuel emissions[1]. But these peat forests are being rapidly logged, cleared and burned, producing huge emissions.[2]
In order to create pulpwood plantations, oil palm plantations and other developments on peat-lands, the water must first be drained. This causes the dried peat to decompose, burn or subside to a level that plantation management can become often impossible after a few rotations, and the land then becomes waterlogged. Drained peat releases massive amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. This contributes significantly to the position of Indonesia as the world's third largest global greenhouse gas emitter, behind the U.S. and China[3].
APP announced that its carbon footprint is close to neutral per ton of paper.[4] Rainforest Action Network re-calculated APP’s carbon emissions by including the carbon emissions from deforestation and peat land decomposition associated with the Indonesian fibres supply of APP’s pulp and paper mills, and according to their calculations, APP’s 2006 total emissions were higher than those of 165 countries around the world.[5] In 2010, Sinar Mas affiliated APP wood suppliers were granted even more permits to drain peat soil and clear natural forests in their concessions. About 90% of this natural forest land is located on peat soil and often where the peat is more than 4 meters in depth[6] therefore making their actions illegal under Indonesian legislation.[7]
[1] Indonesian Wildfires Spark Global Warming Fears, Fred Pearce, New Scientist, November 2002, see:
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn3024
[2] Carbon Sequestration and Trace Gas Emissions in Slash-and-Burn and Alternative Land Uses in the
Humid Tropics, Alternatives to Slash And Burn Working Group, October 1999, see: http://www.asb.cgiar.org/pdfwebdocs/Climate%20Change%20WG%20reports/Climate%20Change%20WG%20report.pdf
[3] According to recent estimates published by various governments, Indonesia’s emissions (2005) are higher than Brazil’s (2005), Russia’s (2005) and India’s (2005), but lower than USA’s (2005) and China’s (2004): Brazilian Ministry of Science and Technology (MCT) (2009) ‘Inventário Brasileiro das emissões e remoções antrópicas de gases de efeito estufa, Informações gerais e valores preliminares (30 novembro de 2009)’, Ministry of Science and Technology 30 November 2009 (www.mct.gov.br/upd_blob/0207/207624.pdf); UNFCCC (2009) ‘Summary of GHG Emissions for Russian Federation’, GHG emissions, with Land Use Land Use Change and Forestry, LULUCF, (http://unfccc.int/files/ghg_emissions_data/application/pdf/rus_ghg_profile.pdf); Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests (2009) ‘Results of Five Climate Modelling Studies, GHG Emissions Profile’, Ministry of Environment and Forests, September 2009 (http://moef.nic.in/downloads/home/GHG-report.pdf); US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (2010) Inventory of US Greenhouse Emissions and Sinks 1990-2008, U.S. EPA # 430-R-10-006, April 2010, http://epa.gov/climatechange/ emissions/downloads10/US-GHG-Inventory-2010_ ExecutiveSummary.pdf; Government of China (2007), Press conference on climate change program, Government of China’s official web portal (http://english.gov.cn/2007- 06/04/content_636052.htm).
Indonesia’s deforestation-related emissions – including peatland – were 1.88 Gt CO2 in 2005: National Climate Change Council (NCCC) (2009) ‘Indonesia GHG abatement cost curve’, Media interaction, National Climate Change Council (DNPI), 27 August 2009. An additional 0.36 Gt CO2 are peat emissions that were classified as ‘non-commercial’ and should be included in Indonesia’s total , as they result from ongoing peatland emissions (‘Restoration of 5 million ha of non-commercially used peatland could result in a further reduction of 360 MtCO2’): NCCC (2009) ‘Indonesia Greenhouse Gas Emission Cost Curve’, Fact Sheet, National Climate Change Council (DNPI), 27 August 2009.
[5] RAN and Jatan, Asia Pulp & Paper's Hidden Emissions | Rainforest Action Network, November 2010, http://ran.org/sites/default/files/app_hidden_emissions.pdf
[6] Eyes on the Forests, Application and approval of 18 new RKT licenses to train peat and clear natural forests in direct violation of climate and biodiversity pledges by companies and government, December 2010, http://eyesontheforest.or.id/attach/EoF%20(30Nov10)%20Riau%20RKT%202010%20natural%20forest%20and%20peat%20conversion%20EN%20FINAL.pdf
Tools & Solutions
 What's in your paper? Learn about solutions |
 Shrink paper: addressing the over-consumption |
 The paper calculator, to quantify the benefits of better paper choices. |
 The European Environmental Paper Network (EEPN) |