APRIL - Environmental Paper Network

Indonesia: Indigenous Forest Defender Criminalized While Massive Deforestation Goes Unpunished

A troubling pattern of criminalizing forest defenders is once again unfolding in Indonesia. While large-scale deforestation continues in West Kalimantan, a traditional leader who sought to protect his community’s ancestral forest now finds himself facing criminal charges. Tarsisius Fendy Sesupi, the traditional leader of the Indigenous village of Lelayang (Kualan Hilir, West Kalimantan, Indonesia), recently […]

Justice for Sumatra’s Forests: A Turning Point After Deadly Floods – Now Remedy Must Follow

On January 20, 2026, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto ordered the revocation of business permits for 28 companies operating in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra. The decision followed catastrophic floods and landslides that struck Sumatra in late 2025, killing at least 1,200 people, leaving 143 missing, and forcing more than 114,000 to flee their homes. […]

Continued abuses and deforestation in Indonesia by PT Mayawana Persada

On Tuesday, December 9, the West Kalimantan police tried to forcibly arrest Mr. Tarsisius Fendy Sesupi, the Traditional Head of Lelayang Hamlet, Kualan Hilir Village, Simpang Hulu District, Ketapang Regency, West Kalimantan, Indonesia. For years, the community has resisted the encroachment on its customary land and the deforestation—largely illegal—carried out by the logging company PT […]

Indigenous Communities Under Attack: Escalating Violence Linked to APRIL’s Pulp Operations in North Sumatra

On 22 September 2025, security forces from PT Toba Pulp Lestari Tbk (TPL), a sister company of APRIL, assaulted an indigenous village in North Sumatra, Indonesia, amid an ongoing land conflict over customary territories. According to the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN), hundreds of TPL workers and security personnel stormed the villages of […]

Greenwashing, deforestation and more emissions. The Indonesian paper giant is setting the tune in Baku.

To see how a global climate summit is going, it is not necessary to take note of the number of polluting companies showing up there, but this may help. All kinds of companies travelled to Baku, one of the largest global oil hubs. They register for meetings and panels, present their beautiful glossy image, and […]

Indonesia: human rights violations and deforestation are the price of single-use paper packaging

Ahmad bin Hanapi, a resident of Buong Baru Village in the eastern corner of Borneo, was tending his garden when the police arrived and arrested him, questioning his ownership of the land. Mr Ahmad produced an old document proving that this land belonged to his family. The document was taken by the police and eventually […]

The pulp & paper industry keeps abusing human rights in Indonesia

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_margin=”-62px|||||”] Indigenous land deforested by Toba Pulp Lestari @ AMAN Tano Batak On July 22, 2024, five members of the Tano Batak indigenous community were abducted by individuals driving security cars belonging to […]

Another Indigenous Leader Jailed for Protecting Ancestral Land In Indonesia

On Friday, the 22nd of March, Sorbatua Siallagan, the head of the Dolok Parmonangan indigenous community in North Sumatra, was approached by ten men in plain clothes, forced into a black car and taken away, while in the village to buy some fertilizer for his community. The men turned out to be police agents, who […]

Massive deforestation in Borneo destroying orangutan habitat

Destruction calls into question “zero-deforestation” commitment of the world’s largest viscose producer Jakarta, March 18, 2024 – Today, a coalition of leading environmental organizations have released the report Deforestation Anonymous that sheds light on the alarming resurgence of deforestation in Indonesia, driven by PT Mayawana Persada in Indonesian Borneo. The evidence presented in the report […]