EYES ON THE FOREST NEWS
Forest to Paper, Forest to Palm Oil and No Place to Live for Riau’s Elephants
Pekanbaru, Indonesia, April 18, 2006

Libo Forest Block in Riau, Sumatra, Indonesia
In February and March 2006, two major incidents of conflict between humans and elephants wereconnected to the Libo Forest Block in Riau, Sumatra, Indonesia:• On 28 February, six elephants were found dead in an illegal oil palm plantation inMahato village, on the border between Riau and North Sumatra Province. Mahatovillage is about one kilometer from the Mahato Protection Forest, all of which has been
converted into settlements and plantations since being declared a protected area in 1994.
The elephants are thought to have been poisoned, apparently in retaliation for raiding
crops (see photos at: WWF 03 March 2006 News Highlight).
• Since 22 February, possibly up to 50 elephants have repeatedly raided Balai Rajavillage. The Balai Raja Duri Wildlife Sanctuary near this village, declared in 1986 (SKMenhut Number: 173/Kpts-II/1986), has seen most of its 16,000 hectares of forests
converted into fields and settlements. Only 260 hectares remain today. On 20 March,ten elephants from this herd were found by WWF chained to trees without enough food,water and medical care (see photos at: WWF 24 March 2006 News Highlight). One ofthem died on 14 April.
These cases have been reported by many local, national and international media (see MediaCollection). Many related documents and photos are available at Riau’s Elephants: The 2006
Tragedy on WWF Indonesia Tesso Nilo Programme’s website.
Eyes on the Forest News (18 April 2006) Forest to Paper, Forest to Palm Oil and No Place to Live for Riau’s Elephants.

Elephants have been driven out of the Libo Forest Block by questionable logging operations
many times over the past few years:• 17 elephants were poisoned in June 2002, in the same general area where 6 elephants
were poisoned in February this year.
• Over 90 elephants raided paddy fields south of the forest in the same year.
• 16 people have been killed in and around Libo Block since 2000.
• 201 elephants have been captured and often died in the process throughout the provinceand especially in and around Libo Block since 2000.
(For more data on human elephant conflicts, see “Elephants” map at EoF InteractiveMaps)
These cases of human-elephant conflict and killings appear to be connected to highly
questionable, uncontrolled forest clearing in Riau's Libo Forest, one of the few remaining retreatsof the Sumatran elephant in central Sumatra (see Elephant Range 2003 in Map 1).
The Libo Forest Block includes Sumatran lowland moist and peat forest, both of which arethreatened in Sumatra. Yet Libo’s forests are being converted every day.
Up to half of Libo Forest has peat soil with depth of 2-4 meter or more (Wetlands International &CIDA 2003). Map 2 shows 2005 forest cover related to soil depth. According to the Presidential
Decree No. 32/1990 and the Ministry of Forestry Decree No. SK. 101/Menhut-II/2004, naturalforest areas located in peat moss forest areas upstream of rivers and swamps with a depth of morethan 3 meters should be maintained. Yet Libo’s forests over such peat lands are being converted
every day.
Part of Libo Forest Block was declared Protection Forest (Hutan Lindung) in the currently active
Riau Land Use Plan (RTRWP 1994, see Map 1) and thus should not be converted. Yet Libo’s
Protection Forest is being converted every day.
The Libo Forest Block has been shrinking fast. Until 1988, it used to be a part of a large extent offorest, connected to Giam Siak Kecil and Senepis Forest Blocks and forests in North Sumatra.
There was enough room for elephants and other wildlife to roam freely. However, by 2005 Libo
had been reduced to a small forest block of barely 190,000 ha. Still conversion continues and it’snatural forests are being replaced by oil palm and pulpwood plantations. Between 2003 and 2005,
on average 15,000 ha of forest were lost per year. All the wood goes to local pulp and saw mills.
The companies who have recently been driving the conversion of Libo Block are listed in theTable 1. (also see Map 1).
It is apparent that many conversion licenses were only applied for to get access to the natural
wood on the land, applicants knew only too well that it would be impossible to successfully growoil palms on the peat land soil.
Since 2005, Eyes on the Forest has observed many cases of conversions for pulpwood and oilpalm plantations in Libo Forest Block and confirmed the final buyer for the wood (Map 2).
In its latest March 2006 Investigative Report, Eyes on the Forest confirms that natural forest
inside a concession (PT. Bina Daya Bintara) under management by Asia Pacific Resources
International Holdings, Ltd. (APRIL) has been logged by contractors since August 2005 andthe wood has been supplied to Asia Pulp & Paper's (APP) PT. Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper mill.
Eyes on the Forest News (18 April 2006) Forest to Paper, Forest to Palm Oil and No Place to Live for Riau’s Elephants.

Throughout 2005 Eyes on the Forest Investigations in 2005 have found APP to source naturalforest wood from logging operations in the Libo Forest three times (Map 2, also see Human
Elephant Conflict and Forest Clearing in Libo Block, Riau Province):• March 2005 Investigative Report: APP purchased natural forest wood from a supplier
who was logging inside the Libo Block without any proper logging permit from thegovernment, in violation of Forestry Law No. 41 Tahun 1999.
• July 2005 Investigative Report: APP purchased natural forest wood from a supplier whowas logging in an oil palm concession of PT. Rokan Era Subur, which is inside the LiboBlock. The logging operation of PT. Rokan Era Subur held a Timber Utilization Permits(IPK) issued by Head of Rokan Hulu District (No. 8/Forestry-VIII/2004). The logging
was conducted by contractor CV. Tessa Indah.
• September 2005 Investigative Report: APP purchased natural forest wood from PT.
Bina Daya Bintara concession, harvested by CV. Sentral Mandiri Perkasa, holding IPK
issued by Head of Rokan Hulu District (No. 09/Dishut/IX/2004). It is not known
whether PT. Bina Daya Bintara concession is associated with APRIL or APP.
WWF is calling on Government to immediately stop all forest conversion, illegal logging andencroachment in Riau (see WWF press releases on 6 March, 13 March and 24 March) In the PRof 6 March, jointly published by WWF and the Indonesian Forest Protection and Nature
Conservation Agency (PHKA), PHKA explicitly called for an immediate stop to the clearing ofall natural forests remaining in Riau.
Eyes on the Forest, a joint project by 28 NGOs in Riau, including WWF asks APRIL, APP and
12 oil palm companies to:• Immediately stop logging in their concessions in Libo Block and/or sourcing of any
wood from Libo Block.
• Have the impact of their operations in Libo Block on elephants independently assessed.
• Have the impact of their operations in Libo Block on all other conservation values
independently assessed.
• Protect all high conservation value forests identified during the assessments.
• Comply with all relevant laws and regulations.
On April 13, APRIL replied to Eyes on the Forest that the company “made a corporate decision
to immediately halt logging in Bina Daya until a better understanding is established on theimpact of our operations on elephant habitat and the escalation of human elephant conflict.” EoF
thanks APRIL for this very fast reaction to a dramatic situation and hopes that Government andother companies, especially APP, will react as fast also to save Riau’s elephant habitat. Unless
we act immediately, the elephants in Riau will continue suffering and dying a slow death. The
day when the last viable elephant population in Central Sumatra has gone extinct might not be far.
And tigers will not be long behind. The same tragedy is unfolding for Sumatran tigers - we justdon’t see them and their dead bodies as easily.

Eyes on the Forest News (18 April 2006) Forest to Paper, Forest to Palm Oil and No Place to Live for Riau’s Elephants.

Table 1. Industrial Timber Plantations and Oil Palm Plantations Overlapping with the Libo Forest BlockIndustrial Timber Plantations# inConcession Holder Name
Map 1
1 Koperasi Atan
2 Koperasi Harapan Mulya Sejahtera
3 PT. Arara Abadi - Beringin4 PT. Balai Kayang Mandiri
5 PT. Bina Daya Bintara
6 PT. Bina Daya Bintara
7 PT. Bina Daya Bintara
8 PT. Insan Sastra Abadi
9 PT. Peputra Siak Makmur
10 PT. Perawang Sukses Perkasa Industri
11 PT. Rimba Rokan Lestari
12 PT. Rimba Rokan Perkasa
13 PT. Titian Tata Pelita

AssociatedPulp Mill
Not Known
Not Known
APP
Not Known
Not Known
APRIL
Not Known
Not Known
Not Known
APP
Not Known
Not Known
APRIL

Size (ha)3,166
19,173
16,624
6,578
1,915
6,193
18,02225,925
15,2697,520
19,701
24,39016,647

Oil Palm Plantations# inConcession Holder NameGroupSize (ha)Map 1
1 PT. Aditya Palma Nusantara (SK Pencadangan)
Duta Palma
7,580
2 PT. Darmali Jaya Lestari
Unknown
5,400
3 PT. Ekadura Indonesia
Astra
11,1234 PT. Eluan Mahkota
Duta Palma
5,933
5 PT. Murni Samsam
WILMAR
967
6 PT. Rokan Adi Makmur
ROKAN
8,000
7 PT. Rikan Adi Raya
ROKAN
12,086
8 PT. Rokan Era Subur
ROKAN
12,737
9 PT. Rantau Bais Famili
Unknown200
10 PT. Sumber Jaya Indah Nusa CoyNon Group9,517
11 PT. Tumpuan
Unknown
8,00012 PT. Tunggal Mitra Plantation
Guthrie/Minamas
13,836(Data sources: Dinas Kehutanan, Dinas Perkebunan, APRIL, APP publications)

Elephant Range
2003
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes

Natural Forests on
Peat depth 2-4m
No
NoYes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
Yes
No

Natural Forests on
Peat depth >4m
No
Yes
No
No
No
No
Yes
No
No
No
No
No

Protection Forest(RTRWP1994)
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
No

Elephant Range
2003
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
NoNo
No
Yes
Yes
Yes

Natural Forests on
Peat depth 2-4m
No
No
NoNo
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
NoNo
No
Yes

Natural Forests on
Peat depth >4m
NoNo
Yes
NoYes
Yes
NoNo
Yes
No
No
No

Protection Forest(RTRWP1994)
No
Yes
No
No
No
No
Yes
NoNo
Yes
No
Yes

Eyes on the Forest News (18 April 2006) Forest to Paper, Forest to Palm Oil and No Place to Live for Riau’s Elephants.

Natural Forests
No more forest
No more forest
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes

Natural Forests
Yes
Yes
Yes
No more forest
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No more forest
YesMap 1. Libo Forest Block: Elephant Range 2003, Forest Cover 2005 and Peat Depth, Protection Forest (RTRWP 1994), Industrial
Timber and Oil Palm Plantations.
Eyes on the Forest News (18 April 2006) Forest to Paper, Forest to Palm Oil and No Place to Live for Riau’s Elephants.

Map 2. Four Chains of Custody of Wood from Libo Forest Block to APP.
Eyes on the Forest News (18 April 2006) Forest to Paper, Forest to Palm Oil and No Place to Live for Riau’s Elephants.