Indonesia

Conservation Debate I: A Question of Credibility

William Laurance et al | October 27, 2010

Indonesian pulp and paper firm Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) has signed a deal to protect 15,640 hectares of peat forest in Sumatra in exchange for carbon payments, reports Reuters.

Pelalawan, Riau (ANTARA News) - Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan has asked Indonesian non-governmental organization activists not discredit their own country abroad and thus disrupt the country`s business development.

"We ask for the NGOs` cooperation to jointly settle any problem that arises. Do not denigrate your own country abroad," he said after inspecting an acacia nursery of PT Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper in Pelalawan, Riau, Sumatra on Thursday.

THE DEPARTMENT of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has signed an agreement with German Technical Cooperation (Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit, or GTZ) to improve forestry policies and implement Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) mea

Stepping up its fight against illegal logging, the government began the implementation early this month of a ban on exports of illegally harvested wood and wood products.

The government made it mandatory for forestry companies to obtain official certificates to show that timber has been legally sourced without damaging forests. The policy has been deemed necessary since according to official statistics illegal logging activities have been destroying more than 1 million hectares of forests each year.