Issues and Options Brief IUFRO Task Force on Forest Governance 1 Implementing Asia Pulp and Paper’s Forest Conservation Policy Version 1.0 Authors: Urs Dieterich 1 and Graeme Auld 2 Date: 11 November 2013 Issue Asia Pulp and Paper, a large paper company operating across Indonesia and China, announced a new corporate environmental policy in 2013 to improve conservation and management of forests. This paper examines key challenges to the effective implementation of this policy to maximize its environmental and social benefits for Indonesian forests. Problem Definition Southeast Asia forests have been under pressure for decades (Dauvergne 2001; FAO 1980; FAO 2010). Research in Indonesia has documented the role of public policies (e.g., subsidies) and other pressures, including the timber industry (Rudel 2005; Gillis 1998), as drivers of forest extraction. This work also highlights the consequences of forest practices and conversion for biodiversity losses (Curran et al. 2004). Recent studies have clarified the links between forest losses and forest harvesting to free up lands for agricultural production, including coffee (Kinnaird et al. 2003; O'Brien and Kinnaird 2003) but most significantly palm oil (Koh et al. 2011; Carlson, Curran, Ratnasari, et al. 2012; Wicke et al. 2011; Carlson, Curran, Asner, et al. 2012). At the same time, forest conversion has contributed to the economic growth of the region and Indonesia (Naidoo 2004). This paper focuses on the Indonesian pulp and paper sector, and particularly one prominent company – Asia Pulp and Paper (APP). The role of APP, and the forest sector in general, in contributing to the conversion and degradation of Indonesian forests has been controversial. Stark contrasts exist between public pronouncements of APP and non‐governmental organizations (NGOs). NGOs claim APP’s operations adversely impact biodiversity, cause greenhouse gas emissions, and exacerbate unresolved community conflicts (Rainforest Action Network and Japan Tropical Forest Action Network, 2010; Eyes on the Forest, 2011). WWF‐U.S. (2012) has found that expansion into natural forests, while providing 1 Urs Dieterich is a Master of Environmental Management candidate (2014) at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, urs.dieterich@yale.edu. 2 Graeme Auld is an associate professor at Carleton University School of Public Policy and Administration and cross appointment in the Institute of Political Economy, graeme.auld@carleton.ca.