Asian Pulp and Paper, one of the world’s biggest paper companies, is to support the conservation of 1m hectares of rainforest in Indonesia, as a way of reducing its impact on the habitats of endangered species such as orangutan, elephants and tigers.

 

However, green experts said the plans would be difficult to make work and would not solve the problem of loggers depleting the animals' natural habitat.

 

APP’s project will involve creating and protecting “wildlife corridors” for species, allowing them to move between areas without having their habitats cut off by logging activities, and “buffer zones” so that habitats are less encroached on by loggers, in at least nine areas across Indonesia. The 1m hectare figure represents an area roughly equivalent to the area of land the company exploited for sourcing pulp last year alone.

 

APP has been the target of concerted action by Greenpeace and other conservation charities over its activities, which have included allegedly using an endangered species of tree in its products. Last year the company responded to the criticism by initiating a “forest conservation policy” that it said resulted in an end to the clearance of “natural” forest in its concessions.

 

The company did not say how much investment would go into the projects.

 

A campaign by Greenpeace in 2012 to alert some of APP’s large customers to the problems with deforestation and the threat to species from illegal logging affecting its operations, and which resulted in some removing its products from their supply chains, was credited with helping to spur action on the issue. Green groups are now planning to extend their scrutiny to other large companies engaged in similar activities in the region.