Indonesian forest company joins WWF-sponsored forest and trade network

27 Feb 2006, Jakarta, Indonesia – Indonesian forest company Sumalindo Lestari Jaya II, a producer of mixed tropical hardwood, has joined the WWF-supported Indonesian Forest and Trade Network.

Part of the Sumalindo Lestari Jaya Tbk group, Sumalindo II — with a forest concession of 267,000ha in East Kalimantan — has become the largest forest company in Indonesia to obtain certification from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), the leading international standard of good forest management. Smartwood certified the company after a five-year process to improve its forest management in accordance with strict environmental and socioeconomic standards.

‘We welcome PT Sumalindo Lestari Jaya to the Indonesia FTN,“ said WWF-Indonesia Executive Director Mubariq Ahmad. ”This is a great step forward for responsible forestry in Indonesia and we hope it encourages other producer companies to follow their example and gain the support and benefits offered.”

The Indonesia FTN is part of the Global Forest and Trade Network (GFTN), WWF’s worldwide partnership between leading non-governmental organizations, companies and communities aimed at eliminating illegal logging and improving the management of valuable and threatened forests. By facilitating market links between companies committed to achieving and supporting responsible forestry, the GFTN creates market conditions that help conserve forests and biodiversity, while providing economic and social benefits for the businesses and people who depend on them.

Working in parallel with 30 other country Forest and Trade Networks that represent more nearly 300 companies trading in US$18.1 billion dollars of wood products per year, the Indonesia FTN gives its members market access to a vast global network of similarly minded businesses. In addition, member companies can enjoy benefits such as information and training on certification, support for small-scale and community forest enterprises, policy advocacy with governments, and local and global publicity.

Sumalindo II has already benefited from the Indonesia FTN’s ability to create commercially viable market links. When BlueLinx Corporation, the largest building products distributor in the United States, sought responsible hardwood maeranti plywood from Indonesia, it turned to the North America Forest and Trade Network. The North America FTN called on its Indonesian counterpart, which was able to recommend Sumalindo II as a responsible source. By linking these two companies, the Indonesia FTN facilitated a trading partnership between the US and Indonesia that will help meet the demand for certified plywood in the US, while simultaneously helping to preserve Indonesia’s valuable forests.

“This process is about securing our forestry business for the long term,” explained Amir Sunarko, President of Sumalindo Lestari Jaya Tbk. “By obtaining FSC certification and joining the Indonesia FTN, we are showing our commitment to forest conservation as well as the welfare of our employees and the community surrounding the forest. We also want to show our stakeholders and the world that Indonesia is able to contribute to better forest management.”

END NOTES:
• Part of the Global Forest and Trade Network, the Indonesian Forest and Trade Network (Nusa Hijau) is administered as a programme of WWF-Indonesia. Participation is open to forest managers, wood processors, forest products traders, specifiers and end-users operating in Indonesia. Participants must meet and comply with the Indonesia FTN conditions of participation and enter a participation agreement with WWF-Indonesia.

• The Sumalindo Lestari Jaya II concession is dominated by lowland and mixed hill dipterocarp forest formations over mostly steep terrain. In the absence of accurate digital maps for the concession, the total coverage by these forest communities in the landscape is unknown, but probably comprises more than 90 per cent of the total concession area. The transition from lowland to mountain formations may occur at a variety of altitudes, from 800–1800m, but for the purpose of this assessment (based on information from neighboring Kayan Mentarang National Park), the forest transition is defined as occurring at 1,000m.

• These are some of the most biologically diverse terrestrial ecosystems in the world. It is estimated that 7,000 to 10,000 species of plants are found in the lowland forests of Borneo, making it richer than the whole of Africa. The forest is stratified, with a canopy of up to 45m and emergent trees at tall as 65m. Trees of the family Dipterocarpaceae dominate lowland primary forests in East Kalimantan. These tall, high-topped canopy trees are of great commercial value, and often found at high densities. They may comprise 10-15 per cent of all trees and 80 per cent of those forming the upper canopy. Borneo is the centre of diversity for this family, with 267 species, two-thirds of which are endemic.

Contact Information

Nurcahyo Adi

Nusa Hijau Coordinator

WWF-Indonesia

Contact via E-mail