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Forest Conservation

Conserving the Forest

In PT. Toba Pulp Lestari Tbk. (TPL), we believe in practising sustainable forest plantation and advocate the ecological contributions and importance of forest landscape. We understand the tropical forest landscapes hold large stores of carbon and biodiversity. It functions as a high canopy with a mix of vegetation from grassland to scrub as well as regenerating to dense forest. Thus, since 2016, TPL is committed to executing comprehensive and robust HCV/HCS assessments conducted by independent experts before embarking on any new plantation initiatives in our effort to the advocacy of protecting and conserving identified HCV and HCS areas.

High Conservation Value (HCV)/ High Carbon Stock (HCS)

According to the High Conservation Values (HCV) Common Guidance Toolkit, HCVs are defined as biological, ecological, social or cultural values which are considered outstandingly significant or critically important. The aforementioned, definition is further categorized into six aspects as listed below:

HCV 1: Species diversity

Concentrations of biological diversity including endemic species, and rare, threatened or endangered species, that are significant at global, regional or national levels.

HCV 2: Landscape-level ecosystems, ecosystem mosaics and IFL

Large landscape-level ecosystems, ecosystem mosaics and Intact Forest Landscapes (IFL) that are significant at global, regional or national levels, and that contain viable populations of the great majority of the naturally occurring species in natural patterns of distribution and abundance.

HCV 3: Ecosystems and habitats

Rare, threatened, or endangered ecosystems, habitats or refugia.

HCV 4: Ecosystem services

Basic ecosystem services in critical situations, including protection of water catchments and control of erosion of vulnerable soils and slopes.

HCV 5: Community needs

Sites and resources fundamental for satisfying the basic necessities of local communities or indigenous peoples (for livelihoods, health, nutrition, water, etc…), identified through engagement with these communities or indigenous peoples.

HCV 6: Cultural values

Sites, resources, habitats and landscapes of global or national cultural, archaeological or historical significance, and/or of critical cultural, ecological, economic or religious/sacred importance for the traditional cultures of local communities or indigenous peoples, identified through engagement with these local communities or indigenous peoples.

Managing Sustainable Forest Plantation

In TPL, some of the key measures we take in managing sustainable forest plantation upon identifying an HCV/HCS area are as follow:

  • Formulate plans and strategy to manage and protect the HCV/HCS areas that have been identified:
    • The formulated plans and strategy will include the schedule for monitoring the HCV/HCS areas to ensure that no illegal activities i.e. logging, mining and poaching occur. In the HCV/HCS areas identified for its cultural values, our monitoring plan is to ensure that the boundaries are respected and that there are no illegal activities such as encroachment by external parties in our concession area.
    • Proactive measures to preserve areas with confirmed historical and/or conservation sites.
  • Set up buffer zones and Green Belt areas to mitigate the risk towards the identified HCV/HCS area.
  • Social Economic Environment Development Program – (Livelihood Plantation) – Tanaman Kehidupan with indigenous communities in collaboration with the local and central government as part of TPL’s sustainable strategy to creating sustainable opportunities (e.g. elevating the social and economic aspects of the communities around HCV/HCS areas).

HCV/HCS Definition Source: www.hcvnetwork.org