Asia Pulp & Paper Group (APP) is pleased to announce that this week marks the start of a comprehensive training programme on endangered species conservation, with an emphasis on orangutan conservation, for the company's employees, affiliates and pulpwood suppliers.

This programme builds on the two-year Friends of Orangutan partnership with Orangutan Foundation International (OFI) announced in November 2011. The Friends of Orangutan partnership was formed to support the release of 40 wild born, ex-captive, orangutans into their natural habitat, as well as to help provide care for the welfare of 330 orangutans in the OFI Care Center at Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan.

The training is designed to educate those living and working in and around the orangutans' natural habitat on best practice to protect this endangered species, while also reinforcing APP's policy of zero tolerance on harming endangered animals. No Hunting, No Killing, No Catching is the underlying principle of the programme. The training for Asia Pulp & Paper's pulpwood suppliers starts this week and will initially see 30 trainees go through an intensive 6 day training course in Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan. These 30 people will train a further 270 staff members over the next 9 months.

The course will take place in Kalimantan Province where APP is also working closely with two of its pulpwood suppliers in East Kalimantan, PT. Surya Hutani Jaya - SRH and PT. Sumalindo Hutani Jaya - SHJ to develop a wildlife corridor to the Kutai National Park. The corridor is an important initiative as it will provide the orangutans with better access between a number of conservation areas in Eastern Kalimantan. SRH and SHJ staff, along with APP personnel will also be involved in the training programme conducted by OFI.

OFI is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the welfare of wild orangutans and their rainforest habitat and was founded by Dr. Birute Mary Galdikas in 1986. The partnership with APP, which also involves PT SMART Tbk (SMART) is an example of strong collaboration between the government, NGOs and the private sector.

Dr. Galdikas, founder of OFI said: "Protection of orangutan populations in the wild is of crucial importance to Indonesia and the world. The forestry sector has a special duty to act in a responsible manner since it is profiting from forests and timber. We are grateful for the support provided by our partners PT SMART Tbk and APP. The launch of OFI's training programme this week for our partners is a crucial part of our strategy to educate people working in Indonesia's forests regarding orangutan conservation and protection. The more initiatives we see of this kind, not just for orangutans, but also for other endangered species, the better."

In January 2012, APP signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Forestry of Indonesia to foster a series of public-private partnership principles to enhance the protection of a number of endangered species in Indonesia.

Aida Greenbury, Managing Director Sustainability & Stakeholder Engagement, APP, said: "The implementation of this programme is further evidence of our commitment to support the Government of Indonesia's conservation efforts. There is a need to create further awareness for education, training and socialisation for our employees, our partners and the community more broadly in order to protect endangered animals. This is an integral part of the Sustainable Forest Management principles which we are implementing in our pulpwood concessions and across our supply chain.

"A team-effort is essential to achieving progress, which is why we've been working with our suppliers to enhance the wildlife corridors in Kutai National Park since 2010. We've faced many challenges along the way, which adds to the excitement of being at the heart of this partnership with a global leader like OFI. A collaborative approach is the only way to address an issue as important as the protection of orangutans.

"More broadly, utilising sustainable raw materials while protecting biodiversity, which is based on a strong engagement strategy with local communities, academics, NGOs and government partners, is the backbone of our Sustainability Roadmap."