Plantation establishment for APRIL began in 1993, with the objective of achieving sustainable fibre supply from plantations operated according to principles of sustainable forest management.

When concessions are licensed, APRIL undertakes comprehensive land management planning and submits those plans for approval to government. In developing land management plans, APRIL undertakes High Conservation Value (HCV) assessments within its concessions before operations commence. This approach, undertaken voluntarily, has been in place since 2005.

These assessments identify areas to be set aside for conservation and protection. They also identify plantable non-conservation areas for plantation establishment, areas suitable for community plantation and continued community use, and areas for infrastructure development.

Land Use Categories

APRIL is guided by the Indonesian Government’s forestry regulations that stipulate the general allocation of land to be used for fibre, community livelihood, natural tree plantations, conservation forest and infrastructure.

Indonesia’s Ministry of Forestry provides broad guidance on the allocation of land use within industrial forest plantation licenses that includes:

• Industrial tree plantation +/- 70%
• Infrastructure +/- 5%
• Community livelihood plantation +/- 5%
• Conservation +/- 10%
• Natural tree plantation +/- 10%.

Under the land use management plans APRIL has in place for all of its directly held concessions, the company meets all land use criteria and delineation requirements.

Land Concessions Key Data

APRIL currently holds direct licenses for 14 concessions in Riau Province. As at 31 December 2012, APRIL concessions covered a total area of 357,851 hectares.

Adjustments were made to the dimensions of the Pulau Padang and Ukui concessions in early 2013, with the result that the total land area of the concessions held by APRIL at 30 June 2013 was 344,560 hectares. Of this total area, 62% was plantable area for plantation establishment.

Overall, as at 30 June 2013, 88,610 hectares or 26% of APRIL’s concession areas were set aside for conservation and indigenous tree species with 44,147 hectares or 13% delineated for continued use by local communities, infrastructure and other uses.

When the conservation and indigenous tree species areas set aside by both APRIL and its long term supply partners are combined, they account for more than 220,000 hectares of concession lands that are set aside and protected.

Following changes made during the reporting period to APRIL’s contractual arrangements with suppliers, the total gross land area of concessions held by APRIL and long-term supply partners, at 30 June 2013, was approximately 817,000 hectares.

After taking into account conservation and indigenous tree species areas, areas for community use, infrastructure areas and land not suitable for plantation establishment, the combined total plantable area identified in land use plans on APRIL and its supply partners’ concessions is 51% of the total gross land area.

Figure 43: APRIL LAND USE (AT 30 JUNE FOR APRIL CONCESSIONS)

Completion of plantation establishment on APRIL concessions

Since commencement of operations, APRIL has worked toward creating an entirely plantation-grown supply of wood. Establishment of plantations involves the harvesting of existing degraded forested areas on designated plantable areas within licensed concession areas, then planting seedlings to establish plantations. Plantable areas are designated after HCV assessments have been conducted.

APRIL expects to complete the establishment of plantations in these concession areas by the end of December 2014.

As at 30 June 2013, the plantable area remaining to be established within APRIL’s own concessions was less than 20,000 hectares.

The areas still remaining to be established as plantation areas are primarily within one concession, licensed to APRIL in 2009, on the island of Pulau Padang.

The Pulau Padang case study in section 4.8 of this Report describes how, in late 2011, there was a halt to plantation establishment activities in this estate, in compliance with Government directives while concession boundaries were affirmed and some local community disputes were resolved. This resulted in a delay to the completion of plantation establishment in that concession.

In 2011, APRIL established 17,367 hectares as plantation areas. In 2012, 4,526 hectares were established as plantation areas.