Green groups want paper giant to stop using drained peat in Indonesia
International and Indonesian NGOs are calling on the country’s largest paper company to stop using drained peat swamps for industrial agriculture. The practice, which relies on drying out the waterlogged soil so that acacia trees can be planted, has enabled vast new swaths of land to be opened for pulpwood production. But it also renders the soil vulnerable to haze-causing fires which each year sweep through the archipelago country, affecting the health of millions and sending greenhouse gas emissions skyrocketing. The environmental groups want Asia Pulp & Paper not only to stop draining peatlands but also to phase out existing estates on peat, and then to rewett and restore those areas so that no more fires occur. Such a move by APP would amount to a drastic restructuring of its entire business. The paper giant has planted more than 600,000 hectares of peat, an area seven times the size of Singapore, according to a report by Wetlands International. That’s roughly a quarter of its entire land bank.
