tests don`t lie - Environmental Paper Network – International

TESTS DON’T LIE
Fibre tests of ‘Pigna Monocromo’ exercise books
Last May the Italian environmental organization Terra! uncovered a link between the Italian paper
manufacturer Cartiere Pigna and the deforestation of Indonesian rainforests carried out by Asia Pulp
& Paper (APP). APP and its fibre suppliers are estimated to be the single largest source of rainforest
destruction in Sumatra and are pushing three highly endangered species – the Sumatran tiger,
elephant and orang-utan – closer to extinction. Terra! has highlighted that doing business with APP
and helping its penetration in the Italian markets, threatens the Italian paper sector and at the same
time supports the further expansion of its operations into Indonesia’s last tropical forests and
peatlands, threatening the biodiversity and impacting the livelihoods and the rights of indigenous
and traditional communities.
Instead of admitting the truth and showing corporate accountability and cleaning up its production,
Cartiere Pigna sought charges against Terra! in a suit for damages to its corporate reputation, and
wrote to the newspapers that "Cartiere Pigna has no business with the Indonesian company Asian Pulp and Paper and doesn’t source from products coming from Indonesian forests"1
Terra! has proved that this is not true. During the court case, Terra! was able to produce not only
details of billing documents that prove that Pigna is a customer of APP (and Pigna’s CEO was
forced to admit this fact) but also test results proving that Pigna's products contain fibres coming
from tropical deforestation (mixed tropical hardwood) and from plantations related to deforestation
(acacia). Despite this evidence, Terra! was convicted for damaging Pigna’s brand name, and it was
sentenced to pay €27,000.
If Terra! is no longer allowed to state that Pigna is linked to deforestation, then paper tests will, and
don’t lie.
Terra! sent some Pigna exercise books to the independent fibres IPS Testing lab2. In the sample of
four "Pigna Monocromo" hard cover exercise books, a high percentage of acacia (between 62 and
74%) was found. Conversion of natural forests to pulp and palm oil plantations is the main factor of
tropical deforestation and peatland destruction in Indonesia, which has made this country the
world’s third largest emitter of greenhouse gases.
In the analyses of the exercise books, significant percentages of mixed tropical hardwood (MTH)
were also found. MTH is a tropical rainforest turned into chips, including all the different tree
species, some of them of high value, and then turned into paper. Among the fibres found, some
have the typical features of Dipterocarpaceae (Dipterocarpus spp.) and others of Myristicaceae.
These are species of trees growing typically in South-East Asian rainforests, and most of them are
considered to be threatened (as they are included in the Red List drawn up by the International
Union for Conservation of Nature, IUCN).
Two of the exercise books were labelled “made in Indonesia”.
1
see statements released to the La Repubblica and l’Unità newspapers:
http://www.repubblica.it/ambiente/2010/05/10/foto/operazione_terra-3949877/1/ and
http://www.unita.it/news/ambiente/98512/la_beffa_di_palazzo_venezia_pubblicit_falsa_devastazione_vera
2
http://www.ipstesting.com/
Ingredients linked to deforestation
MTH: from rainforest into paper
Mixed tropical hardwoods (MTH), is a pulp produced by crushing tropical trees of
different species logged by clearing rainforests. Mixed tropical hardwood is coarse
fibres used for their bulk and stiffness. Opacity is reasonable. Favourite applications
include book paper.
The Dipterocarpus spp. genus is found only in South-East Asian rainforests, and
includes 70 species, half of which (46) are included in the ICUN Red List of
threatened species. 225 species of the Myristicaceae family are also considered by the
IUCN to be threatened. Neither Myristicaceae nor Dipterocarpaceae come from
plantations.
Acacia: converting natural forests into plantations
Acacia (Acacia Magnum) is a genus of plants from the Fabaceae family. Magnum is a
species originating from Africa. It was purposely introduced and planted in SouthEast Asia for making paper, since acacia produces high yields of pulp and produces
strong paper. A primary cause of deforestation in Indonesia is the conversion of tropical rainforests into acacia plantations by the pulp and paper industry. APP
and its fibres suppliers are responsible for past and ongoing clearing and converting of
vast areas of natural rainforests in Sumatra and Borneo to make pulp and paper. This
wholesale destruction of tropical rainforests to meet much of APP’s fiber needs is
having a devastating impact on ecosystems and species and local communities.
Moreover, the rapid destruction of Sumatra's natural rainforest – much of which
grows on carbon-rich peatlands – to supply APP’s pulp mills, releases huge quantities
of greenhouse gases. Because of this, Indonesia is now the world’s third largest
emitter of greenhouse gases, after the U.S. and China. Sadly, the Indonesian
government and industry have plans to convert up to ten million additional hectares of
forest into logging, oil palm and pulp plantations over the next decade.
Since it began operations in the 1980s, APP is estimated to have pulped more than
one million hectares of natural forests in Sumatra. The company now has forestry
operations in Kalimantan to fill wood supply gaps and is trying to enter Papua, Indonesia’s last
forest frontier.
The results of paper tests
Sample A
In sample Pigna code 800 423
536 7067 what was found were
at least 13 different types of
vessels in the Unknown
Tropical component, many of
which were large sized with
wide variance of pitting types.
These features are typical of
mixed tropical hardwoods. One
of the vessels resembled those
in the Myristicaceae family
while another had features
typically seen in some genera
of the Dipterocarpaceae family.
The fiber mixes in these papers
are typical of Asian
manufacture. Acacia
66%
MTH
19%
Softwood
2%
Eucalipto
15%
Sample B
In sample Pigna code 800 523
521 6501 what was detected
were at least 12 different types
of vessels in the Unknown
Tropical component and again
many were large sized with the
wide variance of pitting types. It
was also observed that one of the
vessels resembled those in the
Myristicaceae family and
another resembled some of the
genera in the Dipterocarpaceae
family. Most appear to be typical
of mixed tropical hardwoods but
traces of likely temperate species
were also detected. The fiber
mixes in these papers are typical
of Asian manufacture.
Acacia
62%
MTH
36%
Softwood
3%
Eucaliptus
1%
Other
1%
Sample C
In sample Pigna code 800
523 515 5855 what was
found were at least 8
different types of vessels in
the Unknown component
of which some have the
typical characteristics of
mixed tropical hardwoods.
There is a lower percentage
of unknown fiber types in
this sample than the other
three samples and it is
uncertain if some nontropical species could be
present. The fiber mixes in
these papers are typical of
Asian manufacture. Acacia
66%
Unknown
19%
Softwood
2%
Eucaliptus
15%
Sample D
In sample Pigna code 800
523 515 5886 what was
detected were at least 10
different types of vessels in
the Unknown Tropical
component with most
having the typical
characteristics of mixed
tropical hardwoods. One of
the vessels resembled those
in the Myristicaceae family
and another had features
resembling some of the
genera in the
Dipterocarpaceae family.
The fiber mixes in these
papers are typical of Asian
manufacture.
Acacia
65%
MTH
29%
Softwood
2%
Eucaliptus
6%