APRIL’s concessions exist in remote areas and our operations coexist with some villages and local communities. Positive relationships with local communities are essential to our long-term success.

APRIL's concessions exist in remote areas and our operations co-exist with some villages and local communities. Positive relationships with local communities are essential to our long-term success. See Section 5.0.

We work to maintain good relationships with local people who live near our plantation estates. APRIL’s management systems ensure that plantation development processes foster full respect for the dignity, culture, human rights, aspirations and natural resource-based livelihoods of indigenous peoples and other local people.

We also provide opportunities for development benefits in culturally appropriate ways and we seek to do this in a manner that acknowledges the aspirations of local people.

Livelihood Creation

APRIL creates direct employment for around 5,400 workers, while it has been estimated that around 90,000 livelihoods are indirectly dependent on APRIL’s operations.

APRIL’s operations provide a legitimate means of earning an income for local people. This provides an alternative to illegal logging and destructive land conversion.

With support from APRIL, Community Fiber Plantations (HTR) have been set up by communities to provide APRIL with wood supplies. 28,384 hectares are dedicated to community fibre farms. Crops are sold to APRIL under a pre-agreed benefit-sharing scheme. APRIL invests around US$1,200 in each hectare planted, creating around 30 to 35 jobs for every 100 hectares planted.

In addition to community farms which sell fibre to APRIL, about 5% of our total areas are classified as community livelihood plantations - areas within our concessions made available for community planting of crops such as rubber and sago. To support this, APRIL assists in the learning of farming skills by community members.

The company also has an Integrated Farming System (IFS) programme for the farming of other staples. The IFS trains local people in horticulture, livestock, freshwater fish cultivation, composting and organic waste recycling. Three training centres have been established for this purpose. We are also heavily involved in education and health programs for local communities.

Employment of local workers and subcontractors is a priority. If jobs are lost through mechanization, we endeavor to find alternative employment, in line with our community development commitments.

Community Dialogue & Agreements

High Conservation Value assessments are undertaken prior to plantation establishment. These take into account cultural, economic or religious factors as well as archeological and cultural heritage.

The identification of communities as falling within the definition of “indigenous peoples” is a complex issue in Indonesia and subject to the possibility of ongoing debate, given differing levels of integration of communities into broader society. Generally, the members of rural communities in Riau Province do not self identify as indigenous peoples.

A common factor affecting many rural communities in Riau is entrenched poverty. Consequently, the economic opportunities and improved livelihoods that result from our operations are generally welcomed. This has been confirmed by social audits and community dialogue.

Over the course of 2011 and 2012, APRIL has been in close dialogue with the communities that live in close proximity to our most recently licensed forestry concessions – the Meranti, Tasik Belat and Pulau Padang estates. These were licensed in 2009.

During the reporting period, multiple Memoranda of Understanding have been entered into with local communities neighboring our estates.

Dispute Resolution

APRIL operates only on concessions that have been licensed to us by the Government of Indonesia and have therefore been assessed by the Government not to be subject to any prior legitimate community land rights claims.

However, ongoing land disputes do exist in relation to plantation concession areas. APRIL therefore maintains a specialized department responsible for the management and resolution of land disputes.

APRIL is careful not to operate in areas where legitimate pre-existing land rights may exist and where prior agreement with local communities has not been reached.

However, the land tenure system in Indonesia is relatively immature and has been complicated over the past decade by a process of decentralization of decision-making from a previously highly centralized model. Jurisdictional overlap, lack of clear records and lack of precise delineation and definition are commonplace.

In addition, significant trans-migration under government policy over the past 30 years means assessment of the origin of peoples in local communities and their historical and heritage links to land is complex.

On occasions where local people have perceived that development of an operation may have adverse impacts on them, the company seeks through dialogue to minimize and mitigate such impacts and maximize commensurate benefits in other areas.

Over the course of the reporting period, improvements were made to APRIL’s method for registering grievances and to conflict resolution processes within MOUs.

An independent Grievance Redress Unit (GRU) was designated for the Pulau Padang concession. This unit includes more vulnerable groups (such as women’s groups) as representatives from local villages.

Land claim resolution procedures have been developed by APRIL to work towards the settlement of claims in a responsible, transparent, peaceful and collaborative manner.

APRIL does not undertake any forced resettlement of local communities regardless of licenses for land that may be affected by disputes.

Under APRIL’s policies, access to its concession land is preserved under agreed protocols that incorporate safety considerations and assurances that no illegal activity, such as illegal logging, will be undertaken. Access for fishing, hunting, native food gathering and river transits are uniformly included in all APRIL community engagement outcomes.

Disputes can arise with local villagers who take issue with the shared-usage protocols established by APRIL.

For example, APRIL‘s practice is to identify and set aside significant conservation areas within its concessions. These areas are protected by regular patrols to ensure the forest is not degraded through human encroachment or illegal logging.

On occasion, this causes tension and disputes with groups of local people who wish to use the conservation areas for other purposes that would involve clearing of forest.

During the reporting period, APRIL complied with and embraced all requirements under Indonesian law and regulations regarding community engagement and dispute resolution.

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Pulau Padang Case Study - Responsible Forestry and Community Engagement at Work

In 2009, after a comprehensive licensing process, APRIL was granted a forest concession license for the development of Acacia plantations on the island of Pulau Padang in Riau Province.

The licensing process, development of a land use management plan, interaction with local communities and ultimately the incidence of community dispute requiring third party involvement illustrate the complexities of establishing sustainable forestry in Indonesia.

The Pulau Padang concession area awarded to APRIL originally consisted of 41,205 hectares.

The area within the concession to be used for plantation establishment consisted of largely degraded forest – a result of its previous status as a selective logging concession held by other parties.

Third party reviews of the concession areas confirmed that significant illegal logging activities were underway at the time the concession was awarded.

HCV Assessments

Our concession area on Pulau Padang has been the subject of numerous HCV assessments since it was awarded to us in 2009.

Using the HCV Indonesia Toolkit, we conducted an HCV pre-assessment of the likely concession area in 2005, followed by a full assessment in 2008.

Both assessments were conducted in conjunction with third party experts and the findings influenced land use management proposals during the course of the concession licensing process.

After being awarded the concession, APRIL undertook a further HCV assessment in 2010 using three different external expert consultants.

At the conclusion of the 2010 process it was determined that of the total 41,205 hectares of the concession, 66% or 27,375 hectares would be utilised for plantation establishment while 34% or 13,830 hectares would consist of conservation areas, areas for community use and infrastructure.

Land-use planning also used plantation and indigenous tree species areas as buffer zones for the identified conservation areas to reduce the likelihood of illegal encroachment and illegal logging in the conservation and peat dome areas of the island.

Community Consultation

After receiving the concession license in 2009, APRIL undertook extensive community consultation on its land use management plans with villages located near the concession area.

More than 60 rounds of consultation were undertaken over 12 months. The process of dialogue included discussions at community and individual level with representatives appointed by villagers. Public consultation sessions involving local government, NGOs and local communities were attended by
local media.

As a result of these processes all local villages voluntarily signed community agreements with APRIL. These agreements expressed support for APRIL’s plantation establishment activities and set out a variety of community shared-value initiatives to improve the living standards of local villagers.

Subsequently however, in late 2011, the leadership of three of the villages changed and they withdrew their earlier consent to the agreements.

Community Disputes

In late 2011, subsets of the communities at the three villages, with support from a complex web of third party groups, some with political agendas, protested against APRIL’s land use plans.

Despite calls for dialogue and peaceful resolution from all sides, some villagers resorted to self-harm tactics to attract attention to their protests. Arson attacks occured against company property and tragically, this escalation resulted in the murder of one of APRIL’s contractors.

In late 2011, APRIL suspended all activities on Pulau Padang. In late December 2011, the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry issued a decree to form a multi-stakeholder team to find a solution to the remaining community disputes.

A mediation team was subsequently appointed. This included government officials, members of NGOs and scientists. The mediation team’s initial recommendations included re-checking of concession boundaries, community consultation and mapping of community areas, involvement of independent parties in the dispute resolution dialogue and the appointment of a Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) team for Pulau Padang. This MRV team was appointed in February 2012.

Based on an agreed protocol for boundary demarcation, APRIL commenced the government-supervised process of participatory boundary mapping.

The independent MRV team commenced a new round of consultations with all village heads of Pulau Padang and other community representatives, local
government stakeholders, numerous NGOs and APRIL. These consultations focused on developing a comprehensive understanding of remaining concerns about APRIL’s plans.

In November 2012, the MRV team convened a meeting of scientists to assess and make recommendations regarding APRIL’s operations on Pulau Padang peatlands. These recommendations covered peatland subsidence management, water management and protection of conservation areas. A framework was established for future monitoring of APRIL’s land-use management and conservation practices.

HCV Assessment Reviews

In early 2013, APRIL undertook an expert reviewed analysis and update of all HCV assessments conducted on Pulau Padang over the previous seven years. This resulted in the additon of several hundred hectares of land set aside for conservation.

The expert review of HCV assessments also underwent independent peer review by two members of the internationally recognised HCV Resource Network Indonesia.

Key observations and findings from the further peer review included:

  • Without responsible land management such as proposed by APRIL, there are intense external factors that threaten the sustainability of the Pulau Padang landscape.

  • That on balance, the APRIL operational plan offers an opportunity for sustainable management of the Pulau Padang region.

  • Acknowledgment of the importance of APRIL taking a lead role in the conservation of the large core area of deep peat swamp which is surrounded by and buffered from encroachment by APRIL’s land concession.

  • Endorsement of the "exceptional levels of public consultation carried out during the concession boundary demarcation process" and the excising of land by APRIL from the original concession area to accommodate community expectations.

Resolution

In May 2013, APRIL was given Ministerial approval to proceed with its revised land-use management plan. As at 30 June 2013, the community disputes that led to APRIL’s halt in operations on Pulau Padang were considered to be resolved.

As a result of the independent mediation and MRV processes:

  • All parties agreed that APRIL’s gross concession area would be reduced from 41,205 hectares to 34,865 hectares, a reduction of 15%. Redrawing of the concession boundaries took out areas that would have been in proximity to villages that had expressed ongoing concerns during the review process.

  • Conservation areas were increased to 12% of the adjusted concession area.

  • Community livelihood areas were increased in two areas, consistent with adjacent village wishes.

During the period of dispute resolution, APRIL continued to develop shared-value initiatives with the villages that had entered into agreements with the company.

In 2013, APRIL plans to spend approximately US$900,000 to implement community programmes including:

  • Establishment of integrated community farming systems through planning and supply of agricultural materials

  • Business assistance, loans and training for small-medium enterprises establishing in the area

  • Scholarships, teacher training and education equipment

  • Support of enhanced health services

  • Provision of social infrastructure including sports equipment, road infrastructure improvement, bridge repair and electricity generation capacity

  • Religious and other training focused on youth