2023-11-17 00:00:00 | APP's OKI pulp mill and business model responsible for forest fires in Oki district, Sumatra

In the Ogan Komering Ilir (Oki) district on Sumatra, Indonesia, extensive fires are ravaging the land, largely due to the operations of Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) in the area. Once covered by rich swamp rainforests, the area is now a scorched wasteland due to conversion into plantations by APP. These plantations are prone to fires, particularly in their peat-rich soil, which burns intensely and is hard to control.

In 2023 alone, significant fires were recorded, with 83 hotspots detected in one day. From 1 January to 31 July 2023, approximately 1,178.50 hectares of land were burned in the province. Similar fires occurred in 2015 and 2019, indicating a lack of effective preventive measures by APP. The resulting air pollution severely affects the region, with PM 2.5 levels reaching hazardous amounts. Past fires have led to a spike in child mortality rates.

Local NGOs highlight that most fires originate in pulpwood and oil palm plantations established by draining peat bogs. In 2021 APP announced it would triple the mill production capacity from 2.45 millions to 7 millions tons of kraft pulp per year, which will likely exacerbate the situation, increasing fire risks to meet demands for single-use packaging. 

2019-11-05 00:00:00 | Sinarmas Forestry company found guilty of unlawful conduct by High Court over peat fires

Five of the 10 companies (PT. BMH, SBA, BPP, PT. BAP and PT. RHM) who their concessions were burned are affiliated with Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) that supply wood to feed the largest pulp and paper mill in Asia, PT. OKI Mill Pulp and Paper. The re-occurrence of fires, even in the plantation of its main crops (717 ha) proves that APP has failed to fulfill its promises to the public. The company promised that it will control forest fires, not only within its concession areas but also up to 5 kilometers bordering the concessions.10 Moreover, the effectiveness of the system that they built with a total funding claimed to be worth 20 million US dollars should be questioned.

2017-02-21 00:00:00 | Waste management issues linked to PT OKI Pulp and Paper

The waste management carried out by PT OKI Pulp and Paper, a subsidiary of pulp giant Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) and Asia’s largest pulp mill fall well short of Indonesia’s legal standards.

These violations were inadvertently discovered by the two Director Generals of the Ministry of the Environment and Forestry. The two top officials were heading back from peatland violation areas in the PT BAP concession after having symbolically removed newly-replanted acacia from 2015’s burned peatlands in this APP concession. The ministry team immediately got out of their cars upon noticing piles of garbage which had been disposed of in peatlands located to the left, right as well as behind acacia trees in one of the PT BAP concession blocks.

“Our minister was really shocked to see the ground-based evidence showing these masses of garbage from the OKI mill and immediately ordered administrative sanctions to be imposed,” Vivien told FORESTHINTS.NEWS at her office on February 20, 2017.

2016-08-29 00:00:00 | Sinarmas Forestry company found guilty of unlawful conduct by High Court over peat fires

PT BMH, a subsidiary of Sinarmas and a supplier of APP, was has been found guilty of unlawful conduct by High Court over peat fires. This overturned the decision of the District Court of Palembang from the end of December last year that was in favor of PT BMH. The new ruling states that the company indeed did commit an unlawful act with respect to the peat fires that occurred in its consession in 2014.

Last year, PT BMH continued to contribute to the vast haze that enshrouded the region as a result of peat fires in its concession located in the regency of Ogan Komering Ilir (OKI) in South Sumatra province. Due to these peat fires in its concession, the minister suspended the operating permit of PT BMH. Sinarmas concessions in South Sumatra are key suppliers for the new huge APP mill that will start its operation by the end of the year in the OKI regency.

2016-04-30 00:00:00 | Will Asia Pulp & Paper default on its “zero deforestation” commitment?

This study by twelve international and Indonesian NGOs shows that in spite of its high-profile sustainability commitments, Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) is building one of the world's largest pulp mills in the Indonesian province of South Sumatra without a sustainable wood supply.

2016-04-21 00:00:00 | APP press release on the OKI Pulp & Paper Mills

APP press release: The mill will commence production this year at low level and will gradually increase subject to demand and the availability of raw materials. Pulp production and any future increase in production will be subject to the availability of raw materials from our suppliers. The design capacity of the mill is 2.8 million tons per year.

2015-12-22 00:00:00 | Forest fires: more APP plantations licenses suspended

According to the StraitsTimes, Indonesia is punishing more than 20 companies in an unprecedented move for starting deadly forest fires that killed 19 people, a government official said Tuesday. The companies - most of them pulp wood plantations operating on concession land in Sumatra and Kalimantan - have had their business licences suspended. The firms include BMH and SWI, which have concessions in South Sumatra. BMH is a supplier to Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) in Indonesia. BMH, SWI and APP have the same parent company, the Sinar Mas Group. The suspensions would be lifted if, within the next two years, the companies show that they have made significant progress in efforts to prevent future fires.

2015-12-11 00:00:00 | New report: drained plantations on peat in the Kampar Peninsula cannot be sustained

A new Deltares report, commissioned by Wetlands International, reconfirms that pulp wood and oil palm plantations in peatlands cannot be managed sustainably. Such drained plantations will inevitably suffer from severe land subsidence, increasing flooding and eventually production loss. The report also provides evidence that fires only occurred in drained peatlands and therefore inside or near plantations.

2015-10-21 00:00:00 | Letter from Indonesian NGOs to government and buyers

A coalition of Indonesian NGOs sent a letter to the government and to the buyers. "It is now more than 100 days that people in Sumatra and Kalimantan have suffered from uncontrollable haze” says the letter. The haze is coming from forest fires related to forest conversion and plantation management, especially on dried peat soil, and exacerbated by El Nino. The letter is signed by TUK Indonesia, HAKA, JMGJ, JMG South Sumatra, PUSAKA, Linkar Borneo PADI, HaKI, Persatuan Petani Jambi and Jikalahari.

2015-10-15 00:00:00 | Haze and forest fires linked to APP

The Indonesian NGO coalition Eyes on the Forest (EoF) published a set of maps showing that fibre suppliers related to the forestry and paper conglomerate Sinar Mas/APP are linked to the forest fires and haze crisis.

2015-10-12 00:00:00 | Singapore: supermarket chains remove all APP products from their stores

Singaporean supermarket chains are removing all Asia Pulp & Paper Group (APP) products from their shelves. According to the StraitsTimes, NTUC FairPrice, Sheng Siong and Prime Supermarket started to remove APP's products. The Dairy Farm group, which operates chains such as Guardian, 7-Eleven, Cold Storage and Giant, has also stopped replenishing APP stock, but will continue to sell existing items till they run out.

2015-09-17 00:00:00 | Indonesia arrests seven company executives for illegal forest fires

According to The Jakarta Post: Indonesian police nabbed seven corporate executives in connection with illegal forest fires across Sumatra and Kalimantan, as part of a wide-ranging effort to arrest the haze crisis. Suspects from the latest bust included a senior executive from Bumi Mekar Hijau, a unit of Singapore-based APP.

2015-04-06 00:00:00 | APP likely to receive more loans from China’s banks to fund new Sumatra pulp mill

Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) is expected to obtain more loans from Chinese banks to fund its expansion projects in Indonesia. The company's parent group, Sinar Mas, has secured a USD1.5 billion loan from the China Development Bank (CDB) and ICBC Financial Leasing to fund the conglomerate's expansion in the power, pulp and telecommunication industries in Indonesia (source RISI).

2015-03-01 00:00:00 | Brutal murder at APP concession

According to APP-watch: On Friday, Indra Kailani (23) of Lubuk Mandarsah was killed by security guards hired by Asia Pulp & Paper's sister company PT. Wirakarya Sakti (WKS) in Bukit Tigapuluh landscape, Jambi Province, Sumatra.

2014-05-20 00:00:00 | Jacobs will supply Chlorine Dioxide Plant for Oki mill

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. announced that it was awarded a contract by PT. OKI Pulp and Paper Mills for the design and supply of an integrated chlorine dioxide plant for its pulp mill project in South Sumatra, Indonesia.

2014-03-15 00:00:00 | Complaint to APP on the lack of transparency regarding OKI mill consultation process

Wahana Bumi Hijau Foundation (WBH) sent a letter to Asia Pulp and Paper  to complain on the lack of transparency regarding the changes in the OKI mill project. WBH accuses APP of changing the location of the mill for about 20 km, without informing relevant NGOs in the region nor properly informing the local communities. It has also not ammended the environmental assessment impact, which, by law, it should.

2014-02-21 00:00:00 | Andritz to supply the world’s largest High Energy Recovery Boiler to OKI Pulp & Paper Mills

International technology Group ANDRITZ has received an order from OKI Pulp & Paper Mills to supply the world's largest recovery boiler for OKI's new kraft pulp mill in Indonesia. The order value amounts to approximately EUR120 million.

2014-02-07 00:00:00 | Valmet will supply machinery

The Finnish company Valmet has signed a contract with OKI Pulp & Paper Mills to supply key technology, including two biomass gasifiers, two biomass boilers, an evaporation system, two lime kilns and two pulp dryers. In total the machinery will be worth EUR340 million. Valmet is a long time partner of APP, as it also supplied equipment for its mill in Riau.