Indonesia :: One and Only » Environment

Four APP Indonesia mills gain PEFC standard

admin — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 07:48:28 +0000

Four of Asia Pulp and Paper’s (APP) Indonesian mills have become Chain of Custody-certified according to the PEFC standard.

APP’s Tjiwi Kimia, Pindo Deli, Indah Kiat Serang and Indah Kiat Tangerang paper mills in Indonesia can now state that they use products from sustainably sourced forests.

In a statement, APP said PEFC Chain of Custody certification also requires the mills to have in-place certain procedures to avoid the use of anything other than PEFC-certified materials.

To bear the PEFC logo a product must contain a minimum of 70% PEFC-certified virgin fibre with the balance of the material in the product coming from verified non-controversial sources.

APP has faced continued criticism about its environmental impact and has been accused of destroying a vast area of tropical forest on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

Source: Print Week

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The PEFC Council (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes) is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organisation, founded in 1999 which promotes sustainably managed forests through independent third party certification. The PEFC provides an assurance mechanism to purchasers of wood and paper products that they are promoting the sustainable management of forests.

For further information please visit PEFC Official Website

Illegal tiger traders arrested in Indonesia

admin — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 06:00:30 +0000

Wednesday September 3, 2008 MYT 8:46:14 PM

Source: Malaysian Star

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP): Illegal tiger traders are feeling the heat in Indonesia. Four people were arrested last week for selling parts of the giant cats — from bones and skins to teeth, said Noviar Andayani, an official with the Wildlife Conservation Society, which jointly carried out the raid with local authorities.

That brought the number of busts in the last three months to 10, he said, equal the total amount for the previous three years.

The Sumatran tiger, or Panthera tigris sumatrae, is the world’s most critically endangered tiger subspecies. Wildlife officials estimate fewer than 400 remain in the wild, compared to around 1,000 in the 1970s.

The tigers’ diminishing population is largely blamed on poaching and the destruction of their forest habitat for palm oil and wood pulp plantations.

The latest raid was carried out on Aug. 26 in Aceh province, on the westernmost tip of Sumatra island, the Wildlife Conservation Society said in a statement, calling the arrests part of stepped up efforts by authorities to crack down on the trade.

Pangolin smugglers arrested in Indonesia

admin — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 23:03:54 +0000

Pangolin Borneo

The Associated Press in IHT

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

JAKARTA, Indonesia: Police raided the warehouse of a suspected illegal wildlife trader in western Indonesia, seizing 14 tons of endangered pangolin, their carcasses frozen and ready for export to China, conservationists said Wednesday.

Fourteen suspects were arrested, the monitoring network TRAFFIC said, describing the seizure as the largest-ever of the scaly, lizard-like animals in Indonesia.

“This is trans-border syndicate,” the group quoted Didid Widjanardi, a senior national police officer, as saying. “The pangolins were packed and ready for export to China via seaports in Sumatra and Java” islands.

Pangolins are prized by some as a delicacy with nutritional and medicinal qualities. Despite legal protection in Indonesia, illegal trade continues to push the species closer to the brink of extinction.

Last week’s arrests in the Sumatran city of Palembang were triggered by two seizures earlier this year in Vietnam, involving more than 23 tons of frozen pangolins that were known to have originated from Indonesia.

“The police in Indonesia have done an excellent job and should be applauded,” said Chris Shepherd, senior program officer with TRAFFIC. “We hope that these criminals are prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”