Jakarta (ANTARA News) - A new Greenpeace investigation into the operations of Sinar Mas reveals that the company is continuing to break its own environmental commitments on protecting forests and peatland.

"We`ve caught Sinar Mas red-handed destroying valuable rainforests, and breaching the limited promises it has made to clean up its act. This is typical of a group that has an appalling record of environmental destruction.

Sinar Mas has to be reigned in if there is to be a future for what`s left of Indonesia`s rainforests. Until this group changes course, other businesses should have nothing to do with Sinar Mas," said Bustar Maitar, Greenpeace forest campaigner on a press statement on the environmental NGO`s website, Thursday.

Publishing new photographic evidence, aerial monitoring and field analysis, Greenpeace International details how the Sinar Mas group continues to clear rainforest containing priceless biodiversity - such as orang-utan habitat - and carbon-rich peatlands, despite public promises it has made to clean up its act.

"The revelations also highlight Sinar Mas` ambitions to expand its pulp and palm oil empire into millions more hectares across Indonesia, including large tracts of rainforest and peatland in the province of Papua. These ambitions are outlined in confidential Sinar Mas documents obtained by Greenpeace," Greenpeace said.

Last week, the head of Sinar Mas` palm oil division confirmed the company`s intentions to expand its empire by an additional 1 million hectares.

Sinar Mas claims not to develop on peatland and to protect forests of `high conservation value`.

Earlier Greenpeace investigations repeatedly documented cases where Sinar Mas operations actively cleared rainforest and peatland areas, including tiger and orang-utan habitats.

Following the latest revelations Greenpeace is calling on Sinar Mas to come clean and make public its maps detailing all its landholdings, to enable analysis of which areas are critically important for biodiversity and climate protection, and what it is doing in those areas. (*)

Editor: Aditia Maruli
COPYRIGHT © 2012

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