Open Letter to Financial Institutions
06 November 2012
Dear Sir/Madam,
with this letter the 60 undersigned non-governmental organisations (NGOs) wish to ask you to carefully screen any pulp industry investment projects related to Indonesia, such as new mills, particularly those of companies associated with the Sinar Mas Group, notably Asia Pulp & Paper (APP).
Our concern is the environmental and social consequences of the massive destruction of natural forests that can be shown to be linked to past and current over-capacity in pulp milling plants in Indonesia. We would contend, however, that investment in further milling capacity that relies on natural forest or utilizes land without the free, prior and informed consent of affected communities carries considerable reputational hazard and economic risk to financial institutions.
Our concern is heightened by reports in the Indonesian and trade press that APP is preparing to build a new pulp mill in Sumatra in Indonesia. This would reportedly be one of the world’s biggest pulp mills, with a planned production of between 1.5 and 2.0 million tonnes per year.
The undersigned NGOs are very concerned about the threat any such new mill might pose to the remaining natural forests in Sumatra and beyond. According to a recent estimate by Sumatra-based NGO coalition Eyes on the Forest, APP has pulped more than 2 million hectares of tropical forests in Sumatra since it started pulp production there in 1984.
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Read the complete letter here (PDF).
