Deforestation

Indonesia extends forest clearance moratorium
Indonesian Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan has confirmed the government is to extend the 2011 forest moratorium that was due to expire this month.
View more
Mekong river forest
Forest loss highlight need for green growth along the Mekong
CleanBiz.Asia Staff
May 02, 2013
Southeast Asia’s Greater Mekong sub-region – a biodiversity hot spot – risks losing more than a third of its remaining forest cover within the next two decades if governments fail to boost protection, value and restore natural capital, and embrace green growth, warns a new WWF report. WWF’s analysis reveals the Greater Mekong has retained about 98 million hectares of natural forest, just over half of the region’s land area, but further rapid loss is expected if current deforestation rates persist. Between 1973 and 2009, the five countries of the Greater Mekong lost just under one-third of their remaining forest cover.
View more
Indonesian paper giant told end deforestation or else
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) has called on one of its members, Asia Pacific Resources International (APRIL), to clean up its act and cease its on-going large-scale destruction of Indonesia’s rainforest.
View more
Indonesia to usher in major environmental edicts
Indonesia’s House of Representatives yesterday passed two international conventions aimed at protecting the country’s biological diversity and the environment and is expected to pass another controversial bill against deforestation within this week.
View more
APP logging
APP and NGOs trade reports on Sumatran logging
CleanBiz.Asia Staff
April 05, 2013
Controversial forest products group Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) is once again embroiled in a public relations battle with NGOs over deforestation. In February the company finally called a halt to the clearing of virgin forest, committing itself to using only farmed trees grown on plantations and embrace monitoring by outside groups to ensure transparency. Late last month, however, APP received a complaint from Eyes of the Forest (a consortium of local NGOs including WWF and Friends of the Earth Indonesia) that two of its suppliers, PT Daya Tani Kalbar and PT Asia Tani Persada were clearing natural forest in West Kalimantan Province. APP and The Forest Trust (TFT), a non-profit group that is working with APP on its Forest Conservation Policy, said it would look into the charges and publish the findings.
View more
Myanmar to ban raw logs export
Myanmar has announced a draft forestry law to ban the export of the country’s raw, unprocessed logs.
View more
APP sees the forest through the trees thanks to Greenpeace
Read Full Story In an exclusive interview with environmental website BusinessGreen,  Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) has thanked Greenpeace for the work the activist NGO has done over the past decade to help the company come around to halting its deforestation activities in Indonesia.
View more
An end to Asia Pulp & Paper's deforestation?
Can it be true? APP calls a halt to Indonesian deforestation
CleanBiz.Asia Staff
February 08, 2013
The Asia Pulp & Paper Group (APP) – one of the world's largest paper companies – has pledged to stop its suppliers cutting down natural forests in Indonesia. It hopes this will help preserve the threatened habitats of endangered species, increase respect for the rights of the region’s indigenous peoples and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from carbon-rich peatland. APP worked with environmental NGOs Greenpeace and the The Forest Trust (TFT) on the plan, which came into effect at the beginning of February.
View more
Asian firms accused of land grabs, rights violations in Liberia
Palm oil companies are grabbing more than 1.5 million acres of land in Liberia and are violating human rights of local communities, warn Liberian NGOs including Friends of the Earth Liberia (SDI - Sustainable Development Institute), Save My Future Foundation (SAMFU) and Social Entrepreneurs for Sustainable Development (SESDev).
View more
Forest losses continue to mount in Vietnam
Vietnam's General Forestry Department has reported that the country lost over 3,000 hectares (ha) of its forest cover in 2012. A conference was told that 27,671 violations of forest protection laws were discovered last year, including 5,724 cases of deforestation, 13,550 cases involving illegal transportation of forestry products, 905 wood processing violations and 928 cases of wildlife hunting and trading.
View more