The Rainforest Preservation Agreement Between The World Wildlife Fund For Nature (WWF) And Asia Pacific Resources International Holdings Ltd. (April)

1. “Rainforest Reprieve: The
Rainforest Preservation
Agreement Between The World
Wildlife Fund For Nature (WWF)
And Asia Pacific Resources
International Holdings Ltd.
(April).”
ISA 2010: New Orleans
Charles Laffiteau
University of Texas at Dallas &
Dublin City University

2. Rainforest Reprieve
“What are the essential
elements of private contract
agreements between
environmental NGOs and
Multi-National Corporations
(MNCs) that contribute to
their success?”

3. Rainforest Reprieve
Utilize case studies involving the
World Wildlife Fund for Nature’s
(WWF) agreements to preserve
High Conservation Value (HCV)
rainforests in Indonesia

4. Rainforest Reprieve

5. Rainforest Reprieve
A less than successful WWF
environmental accord with Asia
Pulp and Paper (APP) is
examined in addition to the
current agreement between
the WWF and Asia Pacific
Resources International
Holdings Ltd. (April).

6. Rainforest Reprieve
Why private NGO-MNC contracts?
Necessitated by the absence of
government institutions with either
the means and or the political will
to prevent environmental damage
caused by illegal logging of HCV
tropical rainforests

7. Rainforest Reprieve
Deforestation is the fastest
growing and third largest
contributor (18% of total
carbon emissions) to global
carbon emissions

8. Rainforest Reprieve
Between 1990 and 2005, the global
rate of deforestation averaged
about 13 million hectares (130
000 km2) a year.

9. Rainforest Reprieve
Economic drivers of deforestation:
*South America: large scale
commercial production of meat and
soybeans (for livestock feed &
biofuel).
*South East Asia: mix of large scale
farming of oil-palm (for biofuel),
coffee, pulp & paper production and
construction timber.

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“Future atmospheric carbon-
dioxide concentrations and
consequent climate change
depend to a large extent on
the future course of the
terrestrial uptake.”
Hurt et al, 2002, p. 1357

12. Rainforest Reprieve
It has been estimated that as
much 40% of the wood used
by Indonesia’s pulp and
paper mills has been cut
illegally and the Indonesian
government has been
powerless to prevent it.
Global Forest Watch, 2000

13. Rainforest Reprieve
“Logging, milling, and trading of
illegal timber from National parks
and adjacent areas are carried out
systematically and in the open, with
little or no interference from
Forestry Department officials or the
police”
FWI/GFW, 2002, P.34

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A World Bank study finds that
unless illegal logging is stopped
and legal logging practices in
Indonesia improve, there will
be no higher quality tropical
forest left on the island of
Sumatra by 2011.

16. Rainforest Reprieve
Given the Indonesian
government’s inability to stop
illegal logging, in 2000, WWF
initiated discussions with 2nd
largest Indonesian pulp and
paper MNC, April.

17. Rainforest Reprieve
Early talks proceeded slowly
and broke off in 2001 when
the WWF discovered that April
had begun clear cutting in
Tesso Nilo leading to a boycott
and media negative publicity.

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19. Rainforest Reprieve
April maintains that it didn’t
lose any customers due to
the CNN story and the 2002
boycott, but it acknowledges
that it had to defend its
actions to customers.

20. Rainforest Reprieve
Three days after the CNN
news crew left Indonesia,
April promised to stop all
logging inside Tesso Nilo and
to stop building a second
road through it.

21. Rainforest Reprieve
April has also agreed not to
log 386 square miles of the
rainforest adjoining Tesso
Nilo, effectively doubling the
park’s size.

22. Rainforest Reprieve
Today April is developing
acacia wood plantations in
areas surrounding Tesso Nilo
National Park to supply wood
for its mill on Sumatra.

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24. Rainforest Reprieve
WWF ended its boycott in
2006 and visited potential
MNC customers like Proctor
& Gamble to let them know
that April was now a model
of corporate environmental
responsibility.

25. Rainforest Reprieve
Fearing the effects of negative
publicity, APP agreed to
negotiate with the WWF, and
in 2003, APP agreed not to
log the most ecologically
sensitive areas.

26. Rainforest Reprieve
But this ended six months
later after WWF refused to
approve the environmental
management plan, and
questioned the figures APP
was supplying. WWF then
began lobbying buyers
worldwide to boycott APP.

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28. Rainforest Reprieve
APP entered into a five year
partnership with Rainforest
Alliance in 2005 to identify and
monitor high conservation value
forest within four concessions
managed by APP in Palau Muda,
Serapung, Siak, and Bukit Batu.

29. Rainforest Reprieve
Rainforest Alliance made a
number of requests for
changes in the management
of these areas in the first
year of the contract but
found that out APP was not
adhering to the agreement.

30. Rainforest Reprieve
Currently a new logging road
in Riau Province -- strongly
indicated as illegally built by
companies connected to Asia
Pulp & Paper) -- is cutting
into the heart of Sumatra's
largest contiguous peat land
forest.

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Key findings;
1. No NGO-MNC private
contract can account for all
environmental concerns so
mutual trust and respect
must govern such
relationships.

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Key findings;
2. MNC must agree to be
monitored by NGO and NGO
must be willing to
compromise its interests

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Key findings;
3. An economically sustainable
alternative to illegal logging
must be provided for the
native population.

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