Companies

Paper company defends products against tiger attacks

By Yao Jing (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-07-09 10:32

A group of volunteers of the Greenpeace protest in an Auchan supermarket in Beijing. [Asianewsphoto]

Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), one of the world's largest paper production groups, has denied accusations from Greenpeace that its production bases in Indonesia are driving Sumatran tigers to the edge of extinction.

Greenpeace staged a protest in front of an Auchan supermarket on Tuesday in Beijing, calling for a boycott of sales of paper products from APP.

APP-China said the accusation is "not true".

"APP has invested 5 billion yuan in environmental and clean production facilities and its environmental impact is better than most Western paper producers," APP-China said in a statement to METRO.

"APP's pulpwood suppliers set aside 15,025 hectares of core conservation area and an additional 4,325 hectares of conservation corridor in Senepis. They are making a vital contribution to the survival of the species," APP said.

However, Greenpeace has expressed a different opinion.

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"The so-called 'core conservation area and conservation corridor' are based on more than 30,000 hectares of natural forest that APP cut down in the past," Greenpeace said.

"APP's pulping plantation is encroaching on the virgin forest the tigers depend on. We will go on asking APP for effective and sustainable production."

In the statement, APP said that it has been making efforts to ensure humans and tigers can harmoniously co-exist in the region.

The company also said that its pulpwood suppliers and other working group members were planning to implement a study to find new ways to address the human-tiger conflict.

"We asked the supplier for relevant evidence after receiving the letter from Greenpeace on Tuesday," said a spokesman for Auchan's Public Relations.

"Our competitors are still selling Breeze, or other products of APP. Market acceptance of these products is pretty good. But we will adopt measures if an official conclusion is given that APP has endangered the tigers."