Indonesia is a top 10 global producer of pulp and paper. The raw material for this industry primarily comes from industrial tree plantations (hutan tanaman industry or HTI). Industrial tree plantations are the second largest plantation sector in Indonesia after oil palm and cover more than 10 million hectares of land in Indonesia. Industrially grown trees are not only used for the production of pulp and paper, but also for timber products and energy generation.
Indonesia’s pulp and paper sector faces a number of sustainability challenges. These include deforestation, the degradation of peatland ecosystems and land conflicts with communities. Whereas deforestation rates in Indonesia have dropped markedly in recent years, the pulp and paper sector has not seen a transformation towards a No Deforestation, No Peatland, No Exploitation (NDPE) industry. Sustainability risks may turn into financially material business risks.