The Sakai: Asia Pulp and Paper and the indigenous peoples of Sumatra: towards remedy?

This independent field study shows how a pulp and paper company in Indonesia needs to respect Indigenous peoples’ customary rights to re-join the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

Read the report in English and Bahasa

Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), a member of the Sinar Mas Group, is one of the world’s largest pulp and paper companies with operations in three countries, but in 2007, it was removed from FSC due to numerous violations of human and environmental rights, including land grabbing, deforestation, peat drainage and clearance of High Conservation Value areas.  

Now, the company is trying to rejoin the Council. Since 2007, APP has made sustained efforts to recover its reputation and has made commitments to halt destructive practices. FSC’s new Remedy Framework requires that APP needs to not only stop all rights violations in their activities, but also to make remedy for the forests they’ve destroyed and to the communities whose rights they’ve violated between 1994 and 2020. 

In alignment with international human rights laws, FSC also requires companies to respect human rights and the customary rights of indigenous peoples and local communities. 

The study was requested by the Sakai people of Siak, who have been affected by APP’s activities. Forest Peoples Programme and local partners Yayasan Masyarakat Kehutanan Lestarai (YMKL) and Bahtera Alam (BA) collaborated with the Sakai to examine their situation and how FSC’s standards and regulations play out on the ground.  

APP’s bid to remedy previous land violations with the Sakai could be an opportunity for the community to strengthen their land rights and would show how other plantations need to respect customary rights if they want to remain in line with International Human Rights Law and the FSC standards.  

Context:  

By international law, indigenous peoples have collective rights to their customary lands and territories, as well as the right to restitution and remedy when their land was taken without their Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC). These rights must be upheld by businesses, even if the country where they are carrying out business does not formally recognise them. 

Although Indonesia has ratified and endorsed the main international human rights instruments, and the Constitution upholds customary rights, implementing laws are deficient. In practice, most indigenous peoples’ territorial and land rights have not yet been effectively recognised and protected. Without seeking to engage with – let alone seek consent from – the indigenous peoples who live there, the government has handed out extensive areas of land to businesses, resulting in widespread land conflicts.