APRIL protects its mill wood supply by prohibiting the use of fire in forest concessions. The company policy aligns with Indonesian law which forbids the use of fire to clear land. Nevertheless, fire and haze are an annual problem especially during the dry season, usually from June to October. As a recent CIFOR report highlighted, sometimes the fires started outside the forestry concessions as a cheap way to clear land, spread into forestry concessions. Sometimes these people occupy land inside forestry concessions and start fires.

Fires are a risk to APRIL’s business. APRIL forestry concessions, with their mix of plantation and conservation forests, are its key assets. Fires that damage the forests reduce the value and productivity of these assets. Fire burns all biomass which takes away the nutritional value for plantation growth apart from destroying the raw materials. The company enforces a strict no-burn policy but is victim to forest fires that spread from neighboring locations.

APRIL has responded by boosting the already considerable manpower, equipment, tools, technology and know-how dedicated to quickly identifying and extinguishing fires. They are :

• constant surveillance of APRIL concessions and surrounding areas by satellite, aerial and land-based methods to find fires quickly if they start

• ready deployment of helicopters with fire fighting crew, water bombing, fire trucks, air boats and teams on the ground to contain and extinguish fires

• collaboration with local communities and with Government agencies to educate the community about alternative practices – including incentivizing local communities to adopt no-burn practices (i.e. reduce fire incidence) and to help them put fires out when they occur.

• close engagement with the authorities to report and investigate the source of any fires.

• provision of helicopters and airboats to the local authorities to assist in the fire and incidence monitoring in inaccessible areas.

• support for the strong enforcement of laws banning fires and harsh penalties for those who ignore those laws. 

Reducing the risk of forest fires in Indonesia is ultimately good for the country, good for the community and good for our company. This is the principle that Sukanto Tanoto, the Chairman of RGE Group of which APRIL is a part of, requires all his businesses to adhere to.