New Community Grievances Against Pulp Giant Asia Pulp & Paper Pose Continued Risks to Buyers and Investors

Ongoing social conflicts persist despite company commitments to respect rights and resolve disputes

CONTACT: Rudiansyah, rudi.jambi@gmail.com, +62 813 66699091;

Patrick Anderson, patrickanderson1960@gmail.com, +62 812 1965 0850  

 

Jakarta, Indonesia – A coalition of nine Indonesian NGOs have submitted new grievances to Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) about conflicts between four Sumatran communities and APP. The new grievances involve both ongoing land conflicts and recent disputes about pollution and environmental impacts of APP’s controversial new PT. OKI Pulp and Paper Mill.

The OKI Pulp and Paper mill is one of the world’s largest and has been criticized over concerns that its high demand for wood fiber will drive expansion and lead to new land conflicts and other adverse impacts. The grievances filed last week suggest that APP is failing to address conflicts in a way that is timely, inclusive, transparent, free from coercion or in adherence to its own policies and procedures.

“The complaints, and the cases they depict, show that social conflict continues across APP’s operations and that new conflicts are emerging even today. These cases suggest that there are systemic problems in how APP is addressing conflict with communities and with the company’s grievance procedures themselves” said Rudiansyah of Walhi Jambi. 

The complaints submitted by the NGO coalition provide examples that can help guide APP in how to improve its grievance protocol and the effectiveness of its conflict resolution approach.

“Ongoing and new conflicts with communities over land and other issues pose a serious risk to APP’s buyers and investors and threaten to become worse given the pressure on the company to expand in order to meet new fiber demands from the OKI mill” said Patrick Anderson with Forest Peoples Programme. “It’s vital that APP increase transparency, review and improve its procedures and include communities and their advisors in the grievance and conflict resolution process if the company is to achieve improved outcomes going forward.’