One of APP’s vision is to develop a large, functional eco-cycle through “Plantation-Pulp-Paper” integration.
With this integrated approach, APP undertakes the responsibility of maintaining supply of its raw materials and developing eco-friendly ways to produce high-quality paper products from its plantations, in order to achieve sustainable development for economic, ecological and social viability.
To date, APP has established over 300,000 hectares of plantations in China and 1 million hectares in Indonesia respectively. With its emphasis on advanced scientific principles in plantation development, APP employs cutting-edge afforestation technology and places a strong emphasis on preserving biodiversity and protecting the ecosystem while achieving raw material yields at the same time.
APP has policies disallowing its plantations from being located in virgin forests, nature reserves or designated forests with high conservation values. Barren wastelands and abandoned farmland with little ecological value are the primary choices for plantation sites.
APP plantations are beneficial to the natural environment by rehabilitating barren wastelands, conserving water resources, and preventing desertification.
Below are some practices of APP China's sustainable forestry management:
- Carefully select species of trees which are able to thrive under local conditions, in order to preserve the biodiversity of the plantation.
- After establishing permanent or temporary trial sites, APP China conducts annual test to monitor the growth of its plantations, as well as environmental investigations into the soil quality, water and soil erosion, biodiversity and water quality when necessary.
- Harvest on a rotational basis, to maintain green coverage ratio within the plantation areas. Normally the trees of chosen species take six years to mature, at a time only one-sixth of the plantation is harvested, and replanting will be done immediately.
- Recycle the remnants of the paper harvest by returning them to the original plantation. As these barks, branches and leaves decompose, they enrich the soil, thus maintaining the balance of nutrients.
Based on the guidelines developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, APP's total carbon storage in China in 2008 reached 6.48 million tonnes with an average carbon sequestration level of 2.17 million tonnes per year; the approximate average annual release of oxygen was 5.79 million tones.
Thanks to the achievement in ecological management of plantation, APP China received the “Green China Travel - Scientific Plantation 2009 Award” in April 2010, which the campaign was jointly organized by, among which, China Green Foundation, Economic Development Research Center of State Forestry Administration and People’s Daily Online.