WWF Indonesia
Kantor Taman A9, Unit A-1,Jl. Mega Kuningan Lot 8-9/A9,
Kawasan Mega Kuningan
Jakarta 12950
Indonesia

Tel: +62 21 576 1070
Fax: +62 21 576 1080
nfoead@wwf.or.id
www.wwf.or.id

13 July 2004

To Whom It May Concern

This letter addresses the 3 July 2004 response by Asia Pulp and Paper Co. Ltd. (APP) totwo reports recently published by WWF Indonesia.
WWF concluded that APP’s operation in Indonesia is not always in accordance withIndonesian laws and regulations. In its reports, WWF provided irrefutable evidencethat the Asia Pulp and Paper Co. Ltd. (APP) bought pulp wood illegally cut in theproposed Tesso Nilo National Park. Recent satellite images provide evidence of thedevastation these forest clearing activities have caused in the Tesso Nilo forest, one of
the most diverse on earth.
APP's response to WWF is a carefully crafted document filled with misinformation.
WWF has corrected some of these pieces of misinformation in Appendix 1: Analysis ofAPP Response to WWF Indonesia’s Reports on the Company's Involvement in IllegalLogging.
Here are some highlights from that Appendix:
1. When WWF concluded that APP purchased illegal logs harvested inside theproposed Tesso Nilo National Park in April 2004, APP agreed that the alleged
logging truck 'BM 8885 AT' picked up illegal wood and delivered wood to the APPmill, but claimed that the truck delivered the illegal wood to “some third party”,
picked up a legal load elsewhere, and eventually delivered the legal load to the APP
mill.
Actually, WWF Indonesia's Forest Crime Unit had physically followed the truck all
the way from the proposed national park to the APP mill. The truck was neverunloaded until it entered the APP mill (see point 5 in Appendix 1 for more details).
2. When WWF concluded that APP's wood supplier Mapala Rabda had illegallylogged inside the Bukit Batu Wildlife Sanctuary, APP informed its readers thatan independent “multi-stakeholder team” had found that the company had logged
outside the reconstructed boundaries of the Bukit Batu Wildlife Reserve.
Actually, APP did not inform its readers that the company never gave the multistakeholder team the official maps that the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry hadproduced in 1999 and 2003. APP gave the team only an unofficial "reconstructed
In Indonesia registered as:
Yayasan WWF Indonesia

Registered as:

Chairman – Board of Trustees:
Kemal Stamboel

WWF-Fondo Mondiale per la Natura

Chairman – Executive Board:

WWF-Fonds Mondial pour la Nature

D. Ashari

WWF-Welt Natur Fonds

WWF-World Wide Fund For Nature
WWF-Fondo Mundial para la Naturaleza

Also known as World Wildlife Fundmap" that the company had produced in 1998. According to official government
maps, APP's suppliers illegally cleared the natural forest inside the Bukit Batu
Wildlife Reserve (see point 1 in Appendix 1 for more details).
3. APP writes that it is disappointed that WWF is unwilling to maintain a constructive
working relationship.
Actually, against the advice of many other organizations, WWF gave APP thebenefit of the doubt, and negotiated with the company in good faith for several
years to produce and implement a Sustainability Action Plan. Throughout thesenegotiations APP kept clearing Sumatra's natural forests at great speed. When thecompany, with great delay finally produced an Action Plan it fell far short of theterms agreed upon between the two parties in a Letter of Intent. When subsequent
negotiations on an update to the Action Plan failed, WWF decided to stop all
negotiations with the company. WWF has difficulties to trust this company. WWF
is no longer able to give APP the benefit of the doubt or negotiate in good faith.
It was the kind of misinformation listed above and the quality of the so-called
Sustainability Action Plan that led WWF to produce a position statement on APP(Appendix 2) that spells out in detail how the organization believes this company
operates. The statement also suggests how entities dealing with APP could contribute to
the protection of some of the world's most valuable forests despite the activities of thecompany.
Throughout its negotiations with APP, WWF had encouraged the company's buyers tohonour their contracts with the company and to advise APP that today's international
pulp and paper market requires suppliers to be environmentally conscious. WWF is nolonger able to recommend this path of action. Today, WWF calls on all business
partners of APP to immediately review their relationship with the company.
Then as now, WWF advises all business partners of APP to carefully distinguish
APP from the Indonesian wood products industry in general. Latter's businesspractices have greatly damaged the reputation of the whole Indonesian wood products
industry. Those companies willing to contribute to the protection of the country's forests
and willing to obey the country's laws, rules and regulations should be given a chance tosell to the international market place.
WWF is not alone in its frustrations about the operations of the Asia Pulp and Paper Co.
Ltd. On 28 and 29 June 2004, Indonesian newspapers Kompas and Riau Pos reported
that the Government of Riau is preparing to sue four companies closely associatedwith Asia Pulp and Paper Co. Ltd. and its parent company, the Sinar Mas Group,for clearing their concessions by burning. This is prohibited by law. The companies
named in the law suit are considered responsible for creating the haze that covered-2-

South East Asia in mid 2003 and cost Indonesia and its neighbours untold millions inhealth care costs (Appendix 3).
Sincerely,

Nazir Foead
Director, Species Program
WWF Indonesia

Attachments
Appendix 1: Analysis of APP Response to WWF Indonesia’s Reports on theCompany's Involvement in Illegal Logging.
Appendix 2: WWF Concerns over the Origin of Fiber for the Mills of the Asia Pulpand Paper Company in Sumatra, Indonesia.
Appendix 3: Government Plans to Sue Asia Pulp and Paper Over Forest Fires.

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